Credit card debt, although very common among undergraduate students, is the lowest it has been since 1998.

“It’s a problem,” said Aaron Clayberg, personal banker at U.S. Bank, 2546 Lincoln Way. “A lot of students mis-manage credit cards.”

According to a recent national survey by Nellie Mae, average undergraduate debt is falling. The average outstanding balance on undergraduate credit cards is $2,169.

“Credit card debt probably is falling a bit because people are seeing others in trouble, an older brother or sister or a parent,” Clayberg said.

Mark Oleson, director of the Financial Counseling Clinic, said debt is also falling because students are taking advantage of low interest rates to use loans to cover their debt.

“It indicates trends in student loan borrowing,” he said. “People are using loans to mask credit card debt.”

Oleson said student loans are considered good debt, while credit cards are bad debt.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if people were using a student loan to pay off a credit card debt,” Clayberg said. “Some people buy cars with their student loan money, that doesn’t mean they should.”

He said paying off a credit card debt with a loan is refinancing because the debt is still there, just in a different place.

Rising interest rates could affect students using loans to pay off their credit card debt.

As interest rates go up, bankruptcy is an option, Oleson said. He said students facing bankruptcy need to decide if it is better to pay off the credit card debt with a student loan unaffected by bankruptcy or leave the balance on the card where it would be cleared with bankruptcy.

Clayberg said he does not think rising interest rates will prevent students from using loans to cover debt.

Both student loan and credit card interest rates are going up, he said, and the student loan rates are always lower.

Approximately 15,000 students used the Financial Counseling Clinic last year, and 10 to 15 percent of them needed help with their credit card debt, Oleson said.

Clayberg said credit card abstinence is the best way to pay off debt.

“Stop using the card,” he said. “Find a payment plan that works for you, and stick to it.”