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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 your debit spending questions are addressed. If you do not find an answer to your question below, or if an answer needs additional clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us. The Commodore Card Office staff looks forward to assisting you.

The Commodore Card is used for identification, access to residence halls, academic buildings and sporting events, and is used as a debit card for meal plans and other purchases both on and off campus. Commodore Cards for new students are made in advance of fall move-in to minimize inconveniencing students with long lines and delays.

Your first-year student will pick up their Commodore Card at The Ingram Commons Multi-Purpose Room on the Saturday of move-in beginning at 8:00am.  If they are unable to obtain their card during move-in, the Commodore Card Office will be open during its normal business hours, which are: 8:30am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday.  Need directions to the Commodore Card Office?

 If you lose your Commodore Card or if your card has been stolen, you must report it immediately! You may do this anytime by clicking here and following the "I lost My Card" link on the website.

They may also contact the Commodore Card Office at 615-322-2273 (On-campus dial 2-CARD) between the hours of 8:30am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday.

Lost Commodore Cards are reissued at the Commodore Card Office only. There is a $25.00 fee for all replacement cards.

For student's protection, all Commodore Cards used by someone other than the cardholder will be confiscated. Unauthorized expenditures of up to $500.00 are the responsibility of the cardholder for lost or stolen Commodore Cards not reported within 24 hours.

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 a number of campus locations to purchase various products and services. When a purchase is made using the Commodore Card, funds are automatically deducted from the debit account balance.
Vanderbilt offers students two types of debit spending accounts:

  • Commodore Cash can be used anywhere on or off campus where the Commodore Card is accepted for payment, which includes food and non-food purchases.  Commodore Cash balances are carried over from semester-to-semester until your student graduates.
  • Meal Money is available only to meal plan participants and is used for food purchases. Meal Money must be depleted by the end of each spring semester as it is a “use it or lose it” plan. If a meal plan is canceled or removed during a semester, Meal Money is forfeited.

 

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COMMODORE CASH AND MEAL MONEY

Commodore Cash

Meal Money

No meal plan required

Meal plan required

Can be used for food and non-food purchases

Can be used for food purchases only

Unused balance can be carried over year-to-year

Unused balance can not be carried over year-to-year (“Use it or lose it”)

Purchases are taxable

Purchases are non-taxable except for off-campus purchases

 

Guest access is no longer available.  However, there are two ways you can receive your student's information.

  • The student may generate a transaction report for the parent/guardian. Log in to the Get Funds site. Click on "View All Transaction History".  From here you may choose to print, email or export your transactions to a .pdf file.
  • If you are the account guarantor on the Student Account Agreement form, the Commodore Card Office will supply you with the desired information. You may contact the Commodore Card Office at (615) 322-2273 or commodorecard@vanderbilt.edu.

Click here for a list of the locations where the Commodore Card is accepted.

Meal Plan options and details can be viewed at the Vanderbilt Dining website.

There are several ways in which funds can be added to your student’s Commodore Card:

  • The website for additions for the upcoming academic year opens April 1 (click here ). The deadline to have funds pre-loaded and included on your August 1st billing statement is July 15th. If you would like funds for immediate use, click here !
  • If you make no selection or select $0, you will incur a $35.00 late payment fee per addition between July 23rd and September 15 and again between November 23 and January 15. 
  • You may add by check at any time without incurring a fee. Please make checks payable to Vanderbilt University and include the student's name and Commodore ID on the check.

Commodore Card Office
PMB 407813

2301 Vanderbilt Place

Nashville, TN 37240 -7813

  • Your student may come to the Commodore Card Office to add funds via check or cash.

Your student will make their Commodore Cash selection beginning April 1 through July 15 for the fall semester and through November 15 for the spring semester.  Selections made during this time frame will be billed to your student account and appear on your August billing statement for the fall and December for the spring.

If a Commodore Cash selection is not made or your student selects $0.00, your student will incur a $35.00 late payment fee if additions are made between July 23 and September 15 and again between November 23 and January 15. You may add by check at any time without incurring a fee.

No - cash cannot be removed from the account.  However, funds can be transferred from Commodore Cash to the student's account at the Office of Student Accounts. No transfers or refunds may be made from Meal Money. Students should visit or email the Commodore Card Office to start this procedure.