TERRIER CARD ALL BARK, NO BITE

In 19th-century Siberia, the husky aided tribesman in the tundra by helping them find food and maintain contact with the outside world. Meanwhile in North America, the Boston Terrier was serving a role in the lives of New Englanders, humoring them with its boisterous demeanor and lovable antics, while occasionally digging up rats.

Today, Northeastern University pays tribute to the Husky with its Husky Card, a student ID that doubles as a debit card compatible with over 90 on- and off-campus dining and convenience locations, according to the Husky Card customer service website.

NO DOGGY BAG NEEDED

Back on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston University students rely on their trusty little companion, the Terrier Card, only to charm their way past dormitory security, dig up the occasional Domino’s Pizza or Campus Convenience snack . . . and not much else.

Unlike other urban universities, including Northeastern, George Washington University, New York University and Boston College, BU’s points program emphasizes on-campus dining and convenience options and minimizes off-campus options, according to BU Associate Vice President for Auxiliary Services Craig Hill.

“The University is not interested in extending credit for purchases to off-campus merchants by allowing students to charge the off-campus point purchases to their student account,” Hill said in an email.

“Communal dining, whether it be in the residence halls or The Union Court, is an important aspect of a Boston University student’s social life,” Hill, who is responsible for BU’s dining and points programs, continued.

As it stands, students can use the dining points on their Terrier Card at dining halls, the George Sherman Union, Domino’s Pizza, cafés in academic buildings and Ferretti’s sandwich shop in Warren Towers, which Hill said is owned by BU.

“Dining Points were introduced in 1984 to provide students greater meal plan flexibility when it comes to where they want to dine on campus,” Hill said. “Convenience Points were introduced in 1992 to provide a safer, more convenient way for students to purchase just about anything on-campus (e.g., books, supplies, food, concessions at athletic events, laundry, snacks and other convenience items).”

ALTERNATIVES ALL OVER

The off-campus dining and convenience options the Terrier Card affords pale in comparison to those GWU’s GWorld Card offers, BU College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Adam Klein said.

“My sister’s a grad student at GW, and I went to visit her a few times,” Klein said.”I remember going to a random mall around campus, and they accepted her GWorld points. It would be nice if more places accepted the Terrier Card.”

GWU introduced its Colonial Cash program about three years ago, GWorld Card Program Director Kenneth Pimental said in an email.

“Student’s love the choices they have with the Colonial Cash Program,” Pimental said. “We now have 100 on- and off- campus partners: everything from renting DVDs, to day spas, to fine food, to good-ole pizza delivery.”

NYU, which, like BU, is located in the heart of a major metropolitan area, began partnering with off-campus locations in 1998 to make the city’s resources more accessible to students, Director of NYU Card Services Ann Marie Powell said.

“Between on-campus and off-campus [locations], there are probably close to 160 opportunities for students to use their cards,” she said. Powell said students spend their “Campus Cash” at a variety of emporiums around NYU’s Washington Square Park campus, including department stores, Virgin Record stores, restaurants and even a Broadway ticket service.

NYUCard Services puts little effort into marketing its program, Powell said, although it actively sought its first business partners in 1998.

“The majority of our marketing is done by our students,” Powell continued. “A lot of merchants will call and tell us they want to get on the program because students suggested it to them.”

Operations back in Boston run similar to its New York counterparts.

Interested vendors contact Northeastern an average of two times a week, Husky Program Operations Coordinator Lauren Mondino said.

“Usually the vendors contact us directly, wanting our system because there’s a demand for it in their stores,” Mondino continued.

Northeastern partners with off-campus vendors to better meet the diverse needs of its vast student population, Mondino said.

Although its program is not as expansive as Northeastern’s, BC is currently partnered with eight off-campus eateries, according to its Eagle-One Card website.

Unlike BU students, who must choose between CampCo and City Convenience when spending their convenience points on a late night snack, BC students can use their Eagle Bucks at both Store 24 and CampCo.

Eagle One Card Administrator Sean Clarke declined to comment on the details of the program, citing contractual obligations to vendors of BC.

VENDORS’ VOCAL VIEWS

Unlike its urban counterparts, BU has only extended its points program to include one off-campus merchant not affiliated with the university: Domino’s Pizza.

“The decision to go with Domino’s was made 13 years ago,” Hill said. “They were the only operation that could handle the peak volume periods.”

BU’s apparent disinterest in partnering with more off-campus vendors has frustrated area business owners, some of whom have approached the university about accepting points in the past.

Hoping to boost business and strengthen his ties to the university, Espresso Royale Owner and BU alumni Larry Margulies said he contacted the BU dining program about four years ago to request dining points be accepted at his café, which is across Commonwealth Avenue from the GSU.

“I called them and I said that at other schools, namely Northeastern, BC and Berklee [College of Music], student ID cards also have redeemable dollars,” Margulies said. “They were like, ‘We just don’t offer it.'”

Margulies added that he feels betrayed by BU, to whom he said he pays roughly $9,500 a month in rent.

“We kind of act as a BU study hall,” Margulies said. “We cater almost exclusively to BU students, provide a place for students to hang out and we pay rent to BU.”

“I kind of feel that BU should throw us a bit of a bone here and bring us some business because we are providing a service for them,” Margulies continued.

U-Burger owner Nick Kesaris, who graduated from BU’s College of Arts and Sciences in 1998, said he called BU to inquire about the points program in mid-June, 2006.

“I called BU at least a dozen times to get some information on [the Terrier Card], and nobody ever called me back,” Kesaris said.

He said he continued to call until the end of August.

“I had a couple of connections but nobody came through for me,” he said.

BU has not formed partnerships with off-campus vendors such as U-Burger for fear the drawbacks of doing so would outweigh the benefits, Hill said.

“If we open the program up to all businesses near campus, then there will have to be a significant reduction in the on-campus offerings,” Hill said.

“Many colleges and universities have had to charge substantial commissions on student transactions with off-campus merchants to make up for lost on-campus revenues,” he continued. “Is this appropriate?”

Michael Ferrante, a manager at Uno’s Chicago Grill in Kenmore Square, seems to think so.

Uno’s is partnered with Northeastern, whom it pays a commission on every purchase Northeastern students make with their Husky Card, a bill worth footing to attract the college crowd, Ferrante said.

Ferrante said he would be receptive to accepting BU dining points if the university contacted him about it.

“We take the Fenway Card and we take the Northeastern card, why wouldn’t we take the BU card?” he asked.

Matt Larson, manager of a CVS store on Commonwealth Avenue, said he would be willing to accept convenience points and pay BU a reasonable premium on purchases made with them if it would attract more students.

“If it would bring more [BU students] into the store, then I’d definitely be receptive to it,” Larson said. “You wonder how many people come in who find we don’t accept [the Terrier Card] and leave.”

Although a hefty commission could potentially cut into Espresso Royale’s business, Margulies said it would not deter him from discussing the prospect of being incorporated into the dining points program with BU.

“I might lose money because these people are coming here anyway. I might make 10 percent less money because [BU is] offering the dining points service,” Margulies said. “But that doesn’t mean the service shouldn’t be offered to me.