Students heading to Wal-Mart will need more than their OneCard.

Though Huskie Bucks are accepted at a number of businesses across DeKalb, Wal-Mart, 2300 Sycamore Road, which is frequented by many NIU students, is not one of them.

Daniel Ketcham, district manager of the store, said he was not aware of the Huskie Bucks program and hasn’t had it brought to his attention.

“No one has contacted me personally,” Ketcham said.

Steve Cunningham, associate vice president and administrator of human resources, said NIU does not approach outside businesses in regard to accepting Huskie Bucks; rather, the businesses approach the university.

“Participating businesses must complete a contract and participation agreement,” Cunningham said. “A certain amount of equipment and set-up requirements are also required.”

Cunningham said the market base for larger department stores is different than smaller merchants, and many universities encounter similar situations.

“The large department stores typically do not accept university debit cards in the various communities where they are located,” Cunningham said.

Sophomore undecided business major Steve Mruk finds Huskie Bucks useful, and though he thinks there are many good locations to spend them, he would still like to see other larger chains accept them.

“I love using them. It comes in handy a lot. I pretty much use them for everything I can,” Mruk said. “I would rather have them take Huskie Bucks [than cash or credit].”