Where did all the free T-shirts go? Because of the credit card reform act signed into law by President Barack Obama in May, college students may soon have this question on their minds as they wander about campus.

The act will restrict card companies from using giveaways to sign up college student customers, one of several reforms aimed to protect young adults. But the credit card industry contends the law will make it harder to get credit after it goes into effect in February.

“In the past, credit card companies were allowed to market aggressively, to give people premiums, trinkets, T-shirts, sandwiches just for filling out an application, and students don’t know always what the consequence of that will be,” says Jim Campen, executive director of Americans for Fairness in Lending. “They have a history of giving credit cards to college students who don’t have any ability to repay the loan and don’t know what they may be getting into.”

Besides the restrictions on giveaways, the act contains several provisions specifically designed to protect young adults:

• No one under 21 will be able to receive a credit card without a co-signer or proof they will be able to pay the bills.

• Card companies will be unable to raise limits on accounts with a co-signer without the cosigner’s approval.

• The law limits card companies’ ability to send young people preapproved offers.

• Universities will have to publicize deals with card companies.

Kansas University has restricted credit card companies on campus since 2002. Credit solicitations are prohibited on campus during the week before and the two weeks after the first day of each semester.

“Freshmen especially can be vulnerable to credit card solicitations and very quickly develop debt loads that damage their long-term credit rating,” says Todd Cohen, a university spokesman. “We hope this window allows them to get settled and started on their college career without being hit by a credit card pitch. The first three weeks are a stressful time when some bad decisions about credit may be made in haste.”

In addition:

• Credit card companies at KU must provide students with information on the responsible use of credit cards.

• The KU Bookstore no longer includes credit card solicitation brochures in its bags.

• Educational materials on the use of credit cards are included during orientation programs for incoming students.

Gail Cunningham, vice president of public relations for the National Foundation of Credit Counseling, says the new national regulations will help to bring the rules for offering credit to young people in line with the general population. College-aged people are the “only segment” of the population that can get credit cards “with no credit history and no income,” she says.

But the co-signer prevision could prevent some young people from getting credit cards who could use them responsibly, says Peter Garuccio, senior director of public relations for the American Bankers Association.

The new regulations come at a time when college credit card use is at an all-time high. Eighty-four percent of college students have at least one credit card, up eight points from 2004, according to a Sallie Mae study released in April. Students have an average of more than four credit cards each, and median student credit card debt has risen to $1,645 from $946 since 2004, according to the study. Thirty percent of respondents says they had charged tuition to a credit card.

Cunningham says only about 3 percent of people who seek counseling with her organization are 24 or younger. But almost 20 percent are between 25 and 34 years old, and many may be plagued with credit issues that began as young adults, she says.