Students attending Blinn College now have their own debit card. Qualified students received their “Blinn Bucs” cards this week. The college will load the card with financial aid and refunds for dropped classes and other charges. Students may also supplement the card account with other funds and use it as they would any bank debit card.

“We are pleased to offer this new service to our Blinn College students for their convenience in handling their financial transactions," Blinn College Vice President for Student Services Dr. John Harris said. "We already provide an outstanding value in education. This affords our students one more opportunity to manage their college careers in a cost-effective and efficient manner."

The service is offered through Higher One, a financial services and payment company focused exclusively on higher education. Blinn joins 20 other colleges and universities in Texas that issue refunds through Higher One.

Automated teller machines will be available on Blinn’s Brenham and Bryan campuses for students to make cash withdrawals or deposits to their debit account. The Blinn Bucs card will also work in other ATMs for a fee.

“We call it Blinn Bucs without a “k” because our college mascot is the Buccaneer, which generally gets shortened to Bucs,” Blinn Associate Director of Business Services Jeff Cermin said. “The Blinn Bucs card is a clever way to promote Blinn spirit.”

More than 3000 eligible students were sent a Blinn Bucs card in the mail. Other students may request a card. Students log onto a secure website to select whether they would like to receive refunds on their Blinn Bucs card or receive an automatic bank deposit or a paper check.

More than one million college students currently utilize Higher One’s services. Founded in 2000, Higher One ranked 85th on the 2007 Inc. list of the fastest growing private companies in the United States. Higher One is based in New Haven, CT.