News | 4/3/08

Media Credit: Kris Marsh [Click to enlarge]

Students can now officially make purchases with their OneCards off-campus.

After a year of discussion between University administrators and businesses in Towson, President Robert Caret joined Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith to usher in the partnership at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Towson Tuesday.

About 2,200 students have already registered for the program.

Students, faculty and staff can now use retail points to purchase food, non-alcoholic beverages and basic goods at a select number of off-campus establishments.

Ridgely and Ferrens Market Place, located just off the Towson circle on Allegheny Avenue, was the site of the new partnership.

"We've done a lot of work at Towson to get where we are…I'm confident there are going to be more leaps and bounds," Caret said. "We're very excited about the OneCard…I think it's going to be a bright future for the University and the community."

Current locations where the OneCard is accepted include A Taste of Philly, Bill Bateman's Bistro, Burger Bros., CVS, Jerry's Subs and Pizza, and Ridgely and Ferrens Market Place.

Smith said he was anxious to make the OneCard available off-campus.

"I think it's a great sign of the town and gown sentiment," Smith said.

The family owned and operated delicatessen, Ridgely and Ferrens Market Place, has been open for nine years.

"It should effect business positively," Hafey Hyle, Marketplace owner, operator and Towson alumnus, said.

Burger Bros., across Allegheny Avenue, had some problems with the original swipe card terminal not reading the magnetic strip on students' OneCards.

"Right now it's not working for us…I'm sure it'll be worked out in the next week or so," Burger Bros. manager Tim Murphy said. "I think everybody from Towson that's come in and noticed we have the off-campus OneCard program is excited about it."

The University employed the services of Off-Campus Advantage, part of CBORD Group, Inc., to integrate the system. Off-Campus Advantage has partnered with more than 30 universities, according to marketing coordinator Jenna Domber. Institutions close to Towson include Catholic University of America, York College of Pennsylvania, James Madison University, and Old Dominion University.

"The way the system is currently set up is it works on our existing ID card platform with CBORD so working with them is an addendum to our existing contract," Joe Oster, associate vice president for Auxiliary Services, said.

He also listed the benefits to Towson's off-campus OneCard program, including that electrical transactions of money that ensure off-campus businesses are reimbursed for student purchases the same day.

To use the off-campus OneCard program, students can register online at www.towson.edu/adminfinance/auxservices/onecard/.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools