The CBORD Group, Inc., a provider of campus card and integrated security solutions to colleges and universities, is pleased to announce that Southern Connecticut State University (New Haven, Conn.) and Central Connecticut State University (New Britain, Conn.) have selected CBORD to manage their sizable off-campus payment programs. Although both universities were already managing large off-campus programs with success, they wanted to reduce time spent managing the programs and offer better service to their merchants.
Previously, Central Connecticut State University had 19 merchants accepting its Blue Chip campus card. Since partnering with CBORD, the count has increased to 25. The UGryd central server solution offers CCSU’s participating merchants powerful reporting and efficient reconciliation, making it easy to drive business without increasing labor.
“We’ve immediately removed $8,000 in annual maintenance costs for outdated equipment,” says Jeff Benner, Campus One Card Administrator, Central Connecticut State University. “System availability has distinctly improved, especially during evening and weekend hours. We also have eliminated payment and reconciliation processes, though we do spend 10 to 20 minutes tracking sales on a daily basis. It’s been a positive change for the students, CCSU, and the merchants.”
Southern Connecticut State University previously worked with 30 merchants, and 15 have been added since its partnership with CBORD began. CBORD allows the university to continue to offer its widely accepted off-campus payment program-and increase merchant participation-while directing labor and capital elsewhere.
Mark Waters, Director of Financial Business Applications, oversees the University Card Office at Southern Connecticut State University. He states, “Aside from the cost-saving and administrative efficiencies, perhaps the most conclusive advantage to partnering our off-campus program has been the increased participation of merchants. Our students were clamoring for more participation, but limited resources (funding, manpower, time, etc.) required us to limit the number of participating merchants to a manageable number. However, since our partnership with CBORD, we have been able to increase merchant participation by 50% without any additional resources.”
“As self-operated off-campus programs grow, they can require management and oversight which can become difficult to manage along with regular card office operations,” says Shawn McCarthy, Managing Director, CBORD Off-Campus Commerce Programs. “Our 24-hour support services for both the merchants and the campus allow successful off-campus programs to continue to grow effectively.”
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CBORD November 2009 press release.
