No more freebies:University program hoping to create "Money Savvy Cats"

By Anita Miller
News Editor: San Marcos Daily Record

San Marcos November 14, 2009 05:52 pm

— No more free T-shirts.
At least, not for college students who sign up for a credit card, not after February of next year.
That’s when the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 takes effect. Among other measures, it prohibits credit card companies from soliciting student business on or near college campuses or of offering any promotional item in exchange for a new card application.
It also bans anyone 21 and under from getting a credit card without a co-signer, who would be someone over 21 with a good credit history. Minor card holders will also need parental approval for an increased credit limit.
Much touted for provisions that apply to card holders of all ages — such as requiring lenders to issue warnings before raising rates and outlawing the process of penalizing card holders who make payments on time — CARD takes special steps to protect young people, said officials at Texas State.
“This legislation will insure that credit card companies will uphold basic standards of fairness, transparency and accountability,” said Kimberlee Davis, Ph.D., assistant professor of Consumer Science and director of Money Savvy Cats, the university’s financial literacy program.
Under another provision of the legislation, institutions of higher learning are still allowed to market alumni or other college-related cards but must disclose their relationship to the credit card company.
Also, beginning in February, card holders will receive their bills 21 days before the due date as opposed to the current window of 14 days. Companies would also have to give a 45-day notice before making changes to the agreement.
While it’s not known how many Texas State students use credit cards, Davis provided results of a 2007 study at Buffalo State College indicating “one-third of students reported having two credit cards or more, while 12 percent had three or more credit cards,” and that “College students carry an average of $1,035 in credit card debt.”
The same study also indicates many college students overrate their future financial status. “Many students believe they will make much more money after college than they will actually learn.”
That study and others have shown that the financial behavior of many students is shaped by what they learned, or didn’t learn, from their parents.
For example, according to Charles Schwab in 2008, “Only about one in three parents (34 percent) has taught their teen how to balance a checkbook, and even fewer (29 percent) have explained how credit card interest and fees work.”
Money Savvy Cats is designed to pick up where parents might have left off. Its Web site offers a variety of online courses, designed to be completed in 20 minutes or so, on topics including budgeting and financial planning, overspending, protecting credit, setting financial goals, saving money and more.
The site also has a Budget Wizard and Financial Calculator.
Last week, a presentation on Money Savvy Cats was given to new freshmen but according to Sarah Harborth, who works with Davis, a push is underway to have an overview of the program become a part of routine orientation for all incoming freshmen and transfer students.
And, they point out, the program is even ahead of its time, as the CARD legislation also directs colleges and universities to offer credit card and debt counseling.
The site is http://www.vpsa.txstate.edu/moneysavvy.

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Textile association chapter established at Texas State

By Chelsea Stockton
University News Service
August 19, 2009

The student chapters of the Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists at Texas State University-San Marcos and the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Lima, Peru, have been approved by the board of the AATCC.
 
The world’s leading nonprofit association serving textile professionals, the AATCC provides test method developments, quality control materials and professional networking for members in about 60 countries throughout the world.
 
The newly established AATCC student chapter members will work together to gain international product development experience, as well as work with major U.S. retailers in areas such as color management and control in order to meet color quality requirements.
 
Texas State chapter members are planning a trip to Peru in 2011. Meanwhile, they will collaborate with UNMSM students and industry organizations to raise funds for activities, such as a denim drive, during their “Sustainability of Textiles Year” in 2010-2011.
 
In addition, the students are formulating plans for entering the annual AATCC Concept 2 Consumer student design competition.
 
“Getting an understanding of all areas of the textile supply chain will help the students succeed in the industry,” said Gwendolyn Hustvedt, assistant professor and faculty advisor of the Texas State chapter. “We intend to demonstrate a new model of involvement in the textile industry for university students and AATCC student chapters, in the United States and globally.”

 

"Group raising funds for new Goliad Senior Citizens Center"

The Interior Design Program requires a senior course that emphasizes architectural and design research and programming.  Nancy Granato, who has developed and taught the course for twenty-five years, recognized the service-learning potential of the class soon after its inception.  Ms. Granato's class has granted many communities and institutions student design services over the years, resulting in word-of-mouth references for many worthy not-for-profit projects.  So, it was no surprise when she was contacted early in 2008 by Mr. Larry Lancaster of Goliad, Texas.

To view this article in its entirety on the VictoriaAdvocate.com site, pl

Impact of cross-border tourist shopping growing in Central Texas

Interior Design Chapter hosts "Passport to Your Profession"

Distinguished visitor attends ID student design presentations.

Dr. Mary P. Hoy arrived from Kansas to attend the presentations of student designs for one of her major projects, the College of Integrative Medicine in Eudora, Kansas. Sixteen senior interior design students from Texas State University teamed up in pairs to propose eight renovation plans for the 1980's building, recently acquired in order to institute and launch the program. She was joined by critic Jacqui Dodson, AIA, of STG Architects in Austin. The presentations took place Thursday, May 4, 2007 8:00 to 10:30 A.M. in the second floor gallery of the Family and Consumer Sciences Building .

Dr. Hoy's credentials are extensive, beginning with a bachelor's degree in Home Economics. She earned both of her advanced degrees from the University of Iowa. After teaching home economics and special education in public schools, she became a professor of special education and later Dean of Colleges of Education at both Fort Hays State University (Hays, KS) and Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her numerous federal and private foundation grants were directed towards the delivery of instruction using various technologies. She consulted for over five weeks in Gansu Province, Peoples Republic of China in 1991, assisting in distance education. She ended her full time career as an Associate Dean for Medical Education at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences.

Although now semi-retired, she keeps active in several organizations and does academic accreditation consulting. She is part of a group of individuals developing the not-for-profit College of Integrative Medicine. The first program offered will be a four year post baccalaureate Naturopathic Doctoral Program. The College's mission is to "educate future leaders in natural health sciences that integrate mind, body, spirit, and nature while improving health and well-being of the human community through natural health education, research, and clinical services focused on naturopathic and other complimentary and alternative medical philosophies."

Dr. Michelle Toews & her colleague Dr. Karen Brown receive grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.