Students returning to Kansas University this fall won’t be bombarded with pitches from on-campus credit card solicitors after all.

KU officials will prohibit credit card companies from distributing applications to students on campus from Aug. 15 to Sept. 5. The policy is similar to a proposal tabled in June by the Kansas Board of Regents.

“Credit card solicitation on campus at the beginning of the academic year can cause new students, especially freshmen, to make inappropriate decisions about making purchases on credit,” said David Shulenburger, executive vice chancellor and provost. “As a result, a number of students accumulate significant debt loads that damage their long-term ability to obtain credit.”

Former student body President Justin Mills fought last school year to ban all credit card pitches from campus. He also made it a statewide issue by bringing it to regents along with two legislators, Reps. Rocky Nichols, D-Topeka, and Ralph Tanner, R-Baldwin.

Regents in June were to consider a policy that would have banned solicitations for three weeks at the beginning of the fall semester, required companies to distribute information on credit risks and responsible use of credit cards with applications and required universities to include educational material on credit-card use in student orientation programs. It also would have allowed campuses to adopt stricter rules.

Bank pressure

But they abandoned the issue after officials from Intrust Bank said the policy would violate multimillion dollar contracts it has with KU, Kansas State University and Wichita State University to solicit on campuses.

Dick Carter, director of external relations for the regents, said he didn’t think other campuses had adopted a policy similar to KU’s. The regents are scheduled to discuss the issue in September, and KU officials said they would wait until regents made a decision before determining future credit-card policies.

The new KU policy has three exceptions because of existing contracts, officials said. Credit card solicitations can’t be banned from Memorial Stadium and the Commerce Bank branch inside the Kansas Union. KU Bookstores may continue to include applications in shopping bags, but receipts will refer customers to a Web site that offers help dealing with credit problems.

Mills called the policy “a step in the right direction.”

“It’s a good idea,” he said. “It’s something I worked on for a long time. These are good results, but at the same time there needs to be more in terms of education. We’d like to see more protection for students, either through a full ban or at least the regents adopting their proposal.”

Will it help?

Robert Baker, a credit counselor at Lawrence Housing and Credit Counseling Inc., said the policy was a good beginning to dealing with student credit problems. He said he’d like more students to attend workshops on using credit cards.

“It’s a good first start, especially for students who have never been in school before,” he said. “They often get a credit card before they know what their monthly budget will be. They can get in serious debt before they know their expenses.”

Jennifer Sanner, director of communications for the KU Alumni Association, which has a contract with Intrust for a KU credit card, declined to comment about the policy.

But Chuck Stones, senior vice president of the Kansas Bankers Assn., said the moratorium wouldn’t shield students from credit card applications, which also can be found at stores, in the mail and online.

“I’m not sure they’re doing anything,” he said.

He also said the policy amounted to discrimination against credit card companies.

“It seems to single out one particular product,” he said. “If the issue is they’re getting bugged on campus, let’s do away with all solicitations. I’m not sure what they’re trying to do.”