Use of the campus card for off-campus purchases is one of the most crucial value-added service students can enjoy from their ID card. Moreover, off-campus programs provide universities with the unique ability to better integrate with their surrounding communities and foster the all important town-and-gown relationship by opening up the opportunity for local merchants to provide their services to students.

But forging a truly successful off-campus program takes time, effort and commitment that campus card administrators don't always have at their disposal. With this in mind, we recently spoke with the University of Pittsburgh’s Julie Bannister on how Pitt has been able to grow its off-campus program into one of the more extensive in the country, with a total off-campus spend of more than $1.5 million annually.

In our latest on-demand webinar, hear how Pitt managed its program from a few merchants in its early days, to a full roster of more than 55 local merchants. At the heart of our discussion is the key decision to either self-operate your institution’s off-campus program, or opt for managed services from a third-party partner. Hear specifically how Pitt has used managed services from Blackboard Transact to create an extensive network of off-campus merchants, drive a wide array of card deposits, market its program to the community and boost sales both on and off campus.

Key takeaways:

• Learn how Pitt created an extensive network of off-campus merchants
• Discover how Pitt increased deposits on their campus card
• Understand how Pitt promoted its off-campus program to boost sales

Access this free, on-demand webinar now and learn more about the history of Pitt's off-campus program, and how your institution can apply some of the same growth strategies.