When laundry facilities in the old Towers Residence Halls were installed, there was a bit of a problem – they had a card reader instead of coin slots for students to pay for their laundry.

Students’ Flex Dollars would not work on the machines, so in January 2008 CMU developed the Campus Cash System.

The Campus Cash system is similar to FLEX Dollars, in which students can use the cash at retail stores, residences and restaurants on campus. Students however, will not receive the usual 10 percent discount as with FLEX.

“With FLEX Dollars students have the discount, which couldn’t really be used on the machines,” said Anthony Smucler, coordinator of the Campus ID Office. “The dollars are geared more towards food and needs, so we found something else they could use.”

Students have easy access to the Campus Cash accounts at the Campus ID office in the Bovee University Center or in one of the self-serve stations in the Towers lobby with options to make deposits or check their balances online.

Saginaw junior Carolyn Wilson, who works at the reception desk for the Towers, said students experienced a few problems with the machines.

“We had a couple of instances when it was installed where students couldn’t make deposits,” Wilson said. “We usually just sent them to Campus ID. Toward the end of the year they had fixed it.”

Students’ easy access to the accounts extends to the Web site LaundryAlert.com, in which students can monitor available machines or remaining load times for machines in use. The site also sends e-mail notifications when machines are available or when the laundry load is complete.

Grand Rapids junior Dan Morse used the machines all year.

“The Web site was great,” he said. “I was up on the eighth floor, and going down to the basement (to do laundry) was rough.”

Smucler said unlike FLEX Dollars, Campus Cash carries over each semester.

“Say a student has $5 at the end of the year,” Smucler said. “When they return in the fall, those $5 will still be there.”

Students transferring and graduating can also receive their campus cash. Students are to notify the ID office, and the funds on the Campus Cash account will be credited to their student account.

Campus Cash is not only useable for laundry, but also for many of the same areas and locations as the FLEX Dollars like bowling at the Student Activity Center, the rock climbing wall in Finch Fieldhouse and most on-campus dining facilities.

CMU is not planning on replacing the FLEX system with Campus Cash – it’s a way to pay for the extras, Smucler said.

“We would prefer students to use the FLEX dollars, but it’s really all up to the students,” he said.

For more information regarding the Campus Cash system or to activate an account, visit cmich.edu/fas/campus_id.htm.

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