Powell calls the solicitation for the Coop card a "very soft sell," but what about the credit card applications--currently for the Freedom Visa--slipped inside each and every shopping bag along with the merchandise?

The applications result from the Coop's affiliation with Barnes & Noble, Powell explains. Barnes & Noble uses the advertising revenues to pay for the cost of the bags themselves, so there is not much the Coop can do about those flyers.

"We review what goes in there, and make sure it isn't...a product...that we wouldn't want to support," Powell says.

In the envelope with the Coop Visa are written materials informing them about the seriousness of credit card debt and the importance of budgeting. Such parental advice is of course not included with the Freedom Visa solicitation materials.

Powell says the warnings distributed by the Coop are sufficient, because credit card companies' rarely issue cards to students already in debt. And the company has gotten positive feedback from First USA.

The Coop Visa was an experimental project, but Powell said the results of the arrangement have more than satisfied First USA.

"Quite frankly, if there was a problem with students abusing the credit card and defaulting, First USA would say, 'No, we will not grant automatic credit for your students,'" Powell said.

"There are controls for this thing," he added. "We review this program on an annual basis."