Monday, August 17, 2009
A name change and a troubled economy might have decreased the sales of one optional campus fee: Student Union Activities’ Student Saver Card.
Susan Hoffman, assistant director for Union Programs, said SUA has sold 243 fewer cards than last year.
Optional campus fees, which students can add to their tuition bills through the University’s Enroll & Pay system, fund organizations such as the Student Alumni Association, Student Union Activities and the Board of Class Officers.
Hoffman said SUA needed to do a better job of reaching upperclassmen in its marketing of the $30 Student Saver Card, previously called the Preferred Student Card. The card gives students admission to more than 20 movies shown by SUA during the year and also gives discounts at the KU Bookstore and at some campus dining locations.
Hoffman said SUA’s efforts to reach freshmen were dampened this year when New Student Orientation was restructured to pitch the card to incoming students at the beginning of the orientation instead of the end.
“You had these folks who are brand new to campus and you had 20 seconds,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman also said she thought the economy may have had a role in the decline in sales.
“I think people are being more conscious on what they’re going to use,” Hoffman said. “If you’re only going to have so much money, you’re going to have to pick and choose what you’re going to do.”
Justin Sailer, El Dorado senior and vice president of administration for SUA, said there was additional confusion on the Enroll & Pay Web site because the fee is labeled as the SUA movie card.
“People think that all it is is a movie card,” Sailer said. “It offers so many more perks than that.”
Stefani Gerson, coordinator of student programs at the University of Kansas Alumni Association, said sales of the Student Alumni Association card are similar to last year, with about 1,300 cards sold. The card has benefits such as a T-Shirt, pint glass, study space at the Adams Alumni Center and a finals dinner. She said the Alumni Association was probably more successful in signing freshmen up for the card. She also said she thought students aren’t cutting back on their college experience.
“You still want to make sure you can make the most out of it,” Gerson said.
Students can purchase the Student Saver Card online at suaevents.com through Aug. 19 and at the SUA office on the fourth level of the Kansas Union through Aug. 31. Students can purchase the Student Alumni Association Card at the alumni center through the end of the school year.
— Edited by Samantha Foster
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