Jackson State University, University of North Alabama, and St. Lawrence University Partner with Off-Campus Advantage

For Immediate Release

August 5, 2008

Ithaca, New York—Off-Campus Advantage™, LLC, a leading provider of off-campus payment services for universities and colleges, today announced it has begun managing the existing off-campus payment programs of Jackson State University, University of North Alabama, and St. Lawrence University. Off-Campus Advantage's (OCA) suite of services enables institutions to grow and streamline their university off-campus payment platform, while removing the burden of program management from university staff and administrators.

“Universities that manage their own off-campus payment programs often find it difficult to achieve scale. We offer a solution that provides flexible levels of support while allowing university employees to remain as involved as they would like to be,” said Shawn McCarthy, Vice President of Wide-Area Commerce for The CBORD Group, Inc., the parent company of OCA.

“Whether that means back-end management of transactions or a more comprehensive approach involving merchant management, marketing platforms, and incentive-based usage plans, OCA can offer the level of service that best fits their needs.”

Jackson State University, in Jackson, MS, contracted OCA to aid in the management of the JSU SuperCard, its successful off-campus program. The participating merchants were interested in more efficient transaction times and daily ACH reconciliation, while the students wanted to use their accounts at even more locations.

University of North Alabama (UNA), in Florence, AL, wanted to expand its decade-long self-administered off-campus program, the Mane Card. With the promise of reliable point-of-sale terminals, and expert marketing plans, UNA partnered with OCA to rebuild the once-robust sales volume and participating merchant numbers.

St. Lawrence University, in Canton, NY, created its off-campus program primarily as a service to the student body. By partnering with OCA, the university was looking to grow the number of merchants participating in the existing offcampus program, Community Wide Account, with providing exemplary merchant customer service as a primary focus. OCA's twenty-four-hour service hotline, online reporting tool, and terminal upgrades were motivators in outsourcing the program.

“With more than eighty merchants accepting the JSU SuperCard, taking care of the day-to-day merchant issues, as well as the monthly reconciliation and check cutting, were very time-consuming processes,” said Alcinia Pugh, Director, Office of Contractual Services at Jackson State University. “By outsourcing the settlement process and merchant management with OCA, the JSU SuperCard staff is now able to focus on promoting the program on campus and on servicing our core constituency—students.”

All three universities utilize CBORD^® campus card solutions—Jackson State uses CS Gold^®, while University of North Alabama and St. Lawrence University use Odyssey PCS™—and can now take advantage of the powerful integrations that exist between the card systems and OCA. OCA offers an industry-leading Central Server Solution for Odyssey PCS and CS Gold, providing real-time connections between universities and merchants, as well as eliminating modem banks, phone lines, and other hardware on campus.

About Off-Campus Advantage, LLC

Off-Campus Advantage, LLC, expands the functionality of the university-issued ID card by enabling merchants in the local community to accept it as a form of payment. With its suite of services, including UGyrd Central Server Technology, OCA creates fully customized programs for schools with existing off-campus vendors, as well as those migrating off campus for the first time. To learn more about OCA, visit us online at www.offcampusadvantage.com. OCA is a wholly owned subsidiary of The CBORD Group, Inc.

The CBORD Group, Inc., founded in 1975, has provided service to the campus-wide needs of higher-education facilities for more than thirty years.

 

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