The State University of New York said Tuesday it has agreed to adopt a code of conduct developed by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to safeguard students from what he calls "deceptive and unfair credit card marketing."
Cuomo's code outlines steps schools should take to monitor and limit credit card marketing to students, according to an e-mailed statement from the state attorney general's office. The code requires the schools to offer financial literacy programs and not share personal information with credit card companies without permission.
It also bans agreements in which the school earns a percentage of finance charges imposed on students. If a school enters into an exclusive agreement with a credit card company, it must select the card based on their students' best interests, Cuomo said. It also must monitor all credit card offers promoted on campus.
SUNY's chancellor, Nancy L. Zimpher, said in a press release from Cuomo's office that the university wants to "make sure that all of our students are prepared with the financial education they need and have the strongest safeguards against financial danger." SUNY has 64 campuses across the state.
"I commend SUNY for being at the vanguard of reform and I urge other colleges and universities to follow their lead," Cuomo said in the release.
