CORVALLIS - Oregon State University is considering whether to turn student identification cards into debit cards, which could be used to buy books, food or even items off campus or online.

The university could profit from a deal with the bank it chooses to issue the cards, most likely based on a participation rate, said Casey Dale, card production coordinator for the OSU ID Center.

Students would have the option of not having their IDs double as a debit card, Dale said. But those who do want to use the service would need to have an account at the bank that OSU partners with.

"It's just a normal debit card," Dale said. "Right now, we're just in the exploratory phase on this. We are getting student feedback before we make any decisions."

OSU isn't alone in considering ID-debit cards. According to industry report CR80News, bank and school campus card programs have increased from 47 in 2003 to 127 in 2007.

An ID-debit card program at Portland State University has generated protests from students who felt the university was taking advantage of them for profits and had chosen a bank poorly.

"It's very different based on the bank they chose and what we would choose here at OSU," Dale said.

At OSU, she said, the impetus for the potential change came from students have talked about it for several years. One factor is that the OSU Bookstore does not accept the university's card cash program, which already acts as a debit card system for printing or dining at university housing and the Memorial Union.

OSU freshman Alicia Lopez of Tigard said she was fine with the idea of an ID-debit card - as long as it didn't take away any of her ID's existing uses.

She carries her card everywhere on campus to unlock the door to her dorm, pay for dining hall food, check out library books and more.

"We use our ID cards for everything right now. I think it's a good idea," said freshman Kathleen Fuller of Portland. Her friends at Southern Oregon University already have ID-debit cards and like them, she added.

OSU senior David Hogan of Portland was unsure. "It doesn't sound like something I'd use, unless I didn't have an account," he said.

Stuart Bradley of Eugene, a junior studying political science, said his support hinged on what OSU did with the proceeds from the program. Students already have plenty of access to debit cards and credit cards, he noted.

"I don't know if it's really necessary here," said Carly Todd, a senior from Wilsonville. "My sister went to Portland State and they had them. Everybody hated them."

According to USA Today, PSU students complained the bank that the school chose, Higher One, was more expensive than other options, and that it was difficult to opt out of the service. Nearly 30 schools use Higher One for debit-ID card services.

PSU's contract with that bank could reap it more than $300,000 and save hundreds of thousands more in administrative costs, according to USA Today.

Kyle Odegard covers Oregon State University. Contact him kyle.odegard@lee.net.

Forum

An online survey about the possibility of debit-ID cards, which lasted about a month, ended Friday. A forum on the issue will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Monday in the Memorial Union La Raza Room (208).