Higher Ed | Daily Report

Flickr photo by Colin Robertson

This fall, University of California Davis students, faculty and staff will get new photo ID cards emblazoned with the US Bank logo. They can use the cards to check out books from the library and, if they choose, withdraw money at an ATM from a new US Bank checking account.

The cards come courtesy of a new partnership forged between the bank and university that provides cash to UC Davis in exchange for new student, faculty and staff accounts.

The university stands to gain millions of dollars in cash for student services from US Bank by giving the bank exclusive access to marketing opportunities, free advertising and signage and other perks. Under the 10-year agreement, the more people at the university who sign up for US Bank accounts, the more money UC Davis would get.

UC Davis estimates it will receive nearly $3 million over 10 years. At a minimum, the bank will pay the university $130,000 in the first year. After that, the exact amount depends on how many university accounts are set up.

If only 5,000 people sign up for accounts, the annual royalty is $105,000. If 21,000 people sign up, the university gets an annual payment of $680,000, said Brett Burns, executive director of auxiliary enterprises for the university. Much of the money would be used to stave off cuts to financially strapped student services.

The university chose US Bank after a competitive selection process that began in 2005.

In return for the cash, US Bank gets to become the "preferred bank for UC Davis student services," complete with a a bank branch in the Memorial Union Building and six new US Bank ATMs on campus. The bank also gets free season tickets for executives, signage paid for by the university and rent-free access to university facilities for bank conferences or meetings. Here are a few details from the 60-page agreement:

Free advertising: The university must pay to create and install US Bank signage – including fixed scoreboard signs – at the stadium, called the Pavilion. The bank also gets 264 column inches per year of free print advertising in The California Aggie and could get spots on local radio, Burns said.

Season tickets: Bank officials get four premium season tickets per season for Aggie football, men's basketball and women's basketball, plus 50 other tickets per year.

Space for meetings: The university provides US Bank with rent-free access to university facilities, such as Memorial Union, Silo Union, Freeborn Hall and lodges, for conferences, team building and other meetings.

Exclusive access: US Bank gets exclusive access to significant on-campus events including new student orientation, marketing exclusivity at student-affairs facilities and organizations and first right of negotiation to provide new ATMs on campus. 

In addition to the deal with the bank, the university signed an agreement with the Associated Students of the University of California Davis to ensure students are involved in how the US Bank royalties are spent. But US Bank also gets a say.

According to the agreement, the bank gets to weigh in on how some of the money set aside sponsoring for key events is used – keeping in mind the best marketing opportunities.

One thing the university won't provide to the bank is student information – such as student names, e-mails, addresses or phone numbers, Burns said. 

"It is a new project for our campus, and it’s something I’d like to be somewhat proud of in trying to be very protective of student services on this campus," Burns said. "At the same time we are being very principle-based. We know it’s a very slippery slope. We are very protective."