Parents
Thank you for visiting our Parents Section. While this web site is primarily designed for your student’s use, we want to be sure that all of your debit spending account and meal plan questions and issues are addressed. If you do not find your question listed below or if an answer needs additional clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us at one of the numbers listed on this page. The Commodore Card Office staff looks forward to serving you.
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Did you know that you can access your student’s Commodore Card account through this web site!
To gain access to your student’s Commodore Card account, they simply need to request "Guest Access" for you by selecting the Give Guest Access to Your Commodore Card link on this site. Once the request has been made, we will email you a password. You will use your email address for a VUNet ID log-on.
Once you receive your access instructions, sign onto the Commodore Card web site to view your student's spending activity and account balance. You can also report a card lost or stolen and add funds to their Commodore Card by clicking on the Add Funds Now link.
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Most Common Parental Questions:
What is a Vanderbilt debit spending account (a.k.a. Commodore Cash and Meal Money)?
A Vanderbilt debit spending account functions in much the same way as a bank debit card. Funds are added to a debit spending account, which can be used at any number of campus locations to purchase various products and services. When a purchase is made using the Commodore Card, funds are deducted from the account balance.
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What debit spending account options does Vanderbilt offer?
Vanderbilt offers students two types of debit spending accounts:
- Commodore Cash is a debit spending account that can be used anywhere on campus where the Commodore Card is accepted for payment, which includes food and non-food purchases, such as books and supplies, vending, laundry, printing, and athletic events. Commodore Cash balances can be carried over from year-to-year on your student’s debit spending account.
- Meal Money is a debit spending account available to meal plan participants and can be used for food purchases only. Meal Money must be depleted by the end of each academic year as it is a “use it or lose it” plan.
All Meal Money is removed from a student’s Commodore Card when a meal plan is cancelled. In addition, rollover funds resulting from missed meals are transferred to Meal Money. See Rollover below for more details.
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What are the primary differences between a Commodore Cash account and a Meal Money account?
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Commodore Cash |
Meal Money |
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No meal plan required |
Meal plan required |
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Can be used for food and non-food purchases |
Can be used for food purchases only |
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Can be used on campus only |
Can be used at on and off campus eateries |
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Unused balance can be carried over year-to-year |
Unused balance can not be carried over year-to-year (“Use it or lose it”) |
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Purchases are taxable |
Purchases are non-taxable except for off-campus purchases |
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What is Rollover?
Students with meal plans who do not use all of their allotted meals during a weekly period are eligible to receive a portion of the missed meal’s value. This amount, if any, is added to your student’s Meal Money account where they can use the funds to purchase food items on and off-campus where the Commodore Card is accepted.
Additional meal plan information can be found at Vanderbilt Dining Services.
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How can I add funds to my student’s Commodore Card?
There are three ways in which funds can be added to your student’s Commodore Card:
- If your student has given you Guest Access, you can add funds to their Commodore Card and the amount will be billed on your next Student Account billing statement. Simply click on the “Add Funds Now” link.
- Send a check made payable to Vanderbilt University to:
Commodore Card Office
184 Sarratt Student Center
Nashville, TN 37240.
Be sure to include your student’s name, last four digits of their social security number, and the account to which funds are to be added (i.e. Commodore Cash or Meal Money).
- Your student may come to the Commodore Card Office and add funds via check or cash. We do not accept cash transactions of more than $20.00 per day.
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How and when can I make a change to my student’s debit spending funds or meal plan?
Changes to your student’s Commodore Cash and/or meal plan selections can be made online during the housing selection process that begins on February 13, 2008 and ends on July 15, 2008.
If you do not make a Commodore Cash selection as part of the housing selection process, any addition billed to your student account between July 16, 2008 and September 15, 2008 will incur a $35 deferred payment fee.
Additional meal plan descriptions and information can be found at Vanderbilt Dining Services.
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Can my student remove cash from their Commodore Card?
No. Cash cannot be removed from the Commodore Card. However, funds can be transferred from Commodore Cash to the Office of Student Accounts where a refund check can be requested by the student. However, no transfers or refunds may be made from Meal Money.
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How can I get a report of my student's Commodore Card account spending?
There are three ways in which to obtain a report of your student’s spending:
- You may request a transaction report from your student.
- Your student may grant you access to view their Commodore Card activity online by giving you Guest Access to their account (Requires a VUNetID and E-Password).
- You may contact the Commodore Card Office at (800) 632-0998. If you are the account guarantor on the Student Account Agreement, we will supply you with the desired information.
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