This story was originally published in VOA’s Learning English.

Many college and universities are adding banking functions, like that of a debit or credit card, to student identification cards and charging students fees and interest for the use.

Student IDs are typically used to enter campus buildings, access online sites and check out library books. But some schools have entered into financial agreements with banks so students can link their ID cards to private banking accounts. The convenience allows students to pay for food, school supplies and other expenses on campus.

But new research suggests these card programs put some students at risk of paying high banking fees.

Kaitlyn Vitez is the higher education campaign director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), a nonprofit organization focused on protecting individuals’ financial interests. U.S. PIRG has looked into agreements between schools and banks for several years, she said.

In April, PIRG found that students with campus debit cards paid more than $24 million in fees. Some students paid an extra fee to use an ATM machine to withdraw money that wasn’t in their banking network. Or, they paid penalty fees for overdrawing bank accounts. Many international students faced fees for using the cards for purchases outside the U.S.

Any large fee can create unexpected problems for students, Vitez says. And, she argues, banks do not make those fees clear. Additionally, some banks pay colleges and universities to advertise their debit card programs on campus. The advertising might appear as official school programming, she says, and students may feel pushed to opening accounts.

PIRG also found that students at schools that derived revenue from banks paid up to 2.3 times more in fees than students at schools without those paid agreements. Vitez pointed to Wells Fargo Bank, which earned nearly $11.3 million in fee payments from students at 24 schools where it has paid agreements.

“When schools are setting their students up for … lifelong relationships with Wells Fargo, does that set students up for success?” Vitez asked. “I would say, no.”

​What do schools say?

At Texas State University, students paid more than $1 million in fees last contract year. Students at Florida International University paid more than $1.3 million. And at Virginia Commonwealth University, students paid more than $500,000. All three schools declined to comment to VOA.

U.S. Bank collected nearly $300,000 in fees from its 36 partner colleges and universities last year. SunTrust Bank earned more than $1 million from one school alone: Florida State University, where 93% of students have accounts.

On the other hand, PNC Bank was able to earn $1.3 million in fees while keeping its average fee payments per student to nearly a third of what others charge. In an email, PNC representatives said the amount the company pays the schools is “never directly tied to the amount of fees paid by student account holders.”

The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) started its paid agreement for a campus debit card program with Wells Fargo in 2005. Last contract year, UNR students paid more than $700,000 in fees. The bank paid the school about $100,000.

More than 9,000 students have campus debit cards at UNR, indicating that the program works well, said Penny Leathley, UNR’s campus card manager.

“To me, that’s a good program,” Leathley said. “That shows that many parents and their students want to be involved in it.”

All banks have fees, she said, and students have the option to join the campus debit card program offered by Wells Fargo.

Tanya Ladha, director of the Center for Financial Services Innovation, a nonprofit consumer support group, said excess fees are not all the result of irresponsible use of the banking products. She said some students don’t have enough information about the products.

Students can give their parents access to their accounts, and Wells Fargo Bank offers lessons on financial responsibility.

But Ladha said some parents lack financial literacy, and most high school students lack financial education. As a result, a number of students know little or depend on what the banks tell them.

What do banks say?

In April, Wells Fargo announced changes to its campus debit cards: Account holders may overdraft their accounts without a penalty fee once a month, and students may withdraw money from another bank’s ATM up to four times a month.

“We’re proud of the fact that 4 out of 5 students that join us through the campus card program stay with us after they leave school,” Wells Fargo representative Jim Seitz said. “We maintain that relationship by providing high-quality service and great customer experiences.”

But Vitez, of U.S. PIRG, argues that the best solution is for the government to limit paid agreements between banks and schools, and ban aggressive advertising of debit cards on campus.

“All this information at the Department of Education’s fingertips that they’re not looking into, and there’s real harm being done to students,” she said.

It’s tough to gain admission to Yale University, and it’s getting even tougher for international students as standout students from around the world set their sights on Yale.

The Yale Dale News, the campus newspaper, takes a look at the situation here.

Read the full story here.

Ruth Chane, a computer science major from Ethiopia, writes about her experiences settling into student life at Whitman College in the U.S. state of Washington.

"The community at Whitman College made sure I felt welcomed even before I stepped foot on campus," she says.

Read her essay here.

In The Student Life, the student newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California, student Rochelle Lu writes about readjusting to her Shanghai home after spending a semester in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Cedarville University in the U.S. state of Ohio says it’s got more than 140 international students representing 44 countries.

Here, the school interviews Jonathan Sutton, director of international student services. He talks about his job and the opportunities for international students on campus.

Read the full article here.

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

• Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
• Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
• Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.

It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."

Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."

The Times of India breaks down the most popular subjects for international students to study in the U.S.

STEM and business lead the pack. Read the full story here. (January 2025)

U.S. News & World report addresses some of the misconceptions about U.S. colleges and universities, including the difficulty of getting a visa.

Read the full story here. (January 2025)

US News & World Report details the three top factors in foreign students' decision to study in the U.S. They include research opportunities and the reputation of U.S. degrees. Read the full story here. (December 2024)

A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.

Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.

Read the full story here. (December 2024)

Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health reaches out to international students by detailing the international student experience at the school.

Learn more about housing, life in Boston and more here.

China issued its first national action plan to build a "strong education nation" by 2035, which it said would help coordinate its education development, improve efficiencies in innovation and build a "strong country."

The plan, issued Sunday by the Communist Party's central committee and the State Council, aims to establish a "high quality education system" with accessibility and quality "among the best in the world."

The announcement was made after data on Friday showed China's population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, with the number of deaths outpacing a slight increase in births, and experts cautioning that the downturn will worsen in the coming years.

High childcare and education costs have been a key factor for many young Chinese opting out of having children, at a time when many face uncertainty over their job prospects amid sluggish economic growth.

"By 2035, an education power will be built," the official Xinhua news agency said, adding that China would explore gradually expanding the scope of free education, increase "high-quality" undergraduate enrolment, expand postgraduate education, and raise the proportion of doctoral students.

The plan aims to promote "healthy growth and all-round development of students," making sure primary and secondary school students have at least two hours of physical activity daily, to effectively control the myopia, or nearsightedness, and obesity rates.

"Popularizing" mental health education and establishing a national student mental health monitoring and early warning system would also be implemented, it said.

It also aims to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas to improve the operating conditions of small-scale rural schools and improve the care system for children with disabilities and those belonging to agricultural migrant populations.

The plan also aims to steadily increase the supply of kindergarten places and the accessibility of preschool education.

The Open Notebook, a site focusing on educating journalists who cover science, has complied a list of U.S. graduate program financial aid information for international students.

Read it here.