SGA continues to offer Student Savings Club to ISU students
Michelle Gutknecht

The Student Government Association announced that they will be continuing to offer the Student Savings Club program at ISU during the 2006-2007 school year.

The Student Savings Club is the nation's largest savings club and discount program available to college students. It is run by a company called Collegiate Services, Inc. and has been in operation across the country for the past 17 years.

According to Jason Sejud, the operations manager at Collegiate Services, the primary focus of the Student Savings Club is to help those in the collegiate community save money. "The goal of our company is to provide the students, faculty and staff at participating colleges and universities the opportunity to save money at their local retailers and restaurants," Sejud said. If a college wants to bring the program to campus, the first thing they have to do is get a university organization to sponsor the program. Most schools have their Student Government Association sponsor the program including ISU. Matt Sanchez, programs administrator for SGA and a senior political science major, has been involved in communicating with representatives from Student Savings Club since last semester. "With all the expenses college students have to deal with, SGA is constantly looking for new programs in which students can save money. The student body president and I met to discuss the benefits of bringing this program back this year to ISU. Seeing that there are no costs, and only benefits to the ISU students we decided it could be a valuable resource for students," Sanchez said.

Sanchez mentioned there is no cost to the students and staff that participate. "The program is funded by the small fees that all the businesses involved pay to be a part of the program. The average price is only a few hundred dollars for a year of participation in the program. It is a good deal for the businesses and is a way for them to reach out and give back to the community," Sejud said.

Sejud also mentioned that now it is even easier for students and staff to save money through the program. In the past, participants had to have a special Student Savings Club card that they could either pick up on campus somewhere or print off the company's Web site. However, due to feedback from students, the company decided to change the policy.

"We heard from many students that the Student Savings Club card was just one more thing to carry around. Most schools have an ID card, so we made the change," Sejud said. Now, all students have to do is present their university ID card at participating retailers and they can get their discount. To find out which Bloomington/Normal businesses are participating in the Student Savings Club, simply go to StudentSavingsClub.com, then click on the offers and discounts section and select ISU. Students and staff can even print out a pocket guide to always have on hand that lists all participating businesses and their specific deals and discounts.