Saybook University Financial Aid Code of Conduct
Saybrook University prohibits conflicts of interest among the officers, employees, or agents of the University with respect to education loans for students. The University shall comply with, administer, enforce, prominently publish on its website(s), and annually inform officers, employees, and agents of the University of their responsibilities regarding the Financial Aid Code of Conduct.
An institutional financial professional is expected to always maintain exemplary standards of professional conduct in all aspects of carrying out his or her responsibilities, specifically including all dealings with any entities involved in any manner in student financial aid, regardless of whether such entities are involved in a government-sponsored, subsidized, or regulated activity. In doing so, a financial aid professional should:
1. Ban on Revenue-Sharing Arrangements
The University shall not enter into any revenue-sharing arrangement with any lender or other vendor working with any of its offices that are responsible for carrying out financial aid functions. The University shall not accept any fee or other material benefit in exchange for recommending a lender to its students.
2. Gift Ban
No University officer or employee with financial aid responsibilities shall solicit or accept a gift having a monetary value of more than a de minimus amount from a lender, guarantor, or servicer of education loans.
3. Contracting Arrangements Prohibited
No University officer or employee with financial aid responsibilities shall accept from any lender or lender affiliate payment or other financial benefit as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or other contract to provide services to a lender.
4. Interaction with Borrowers
The University shall not automatically assign a particular lender to any borrower, unless required to do so by law, and shall not refuse to certify or delay certification of any loan based on the lender or guarantee agency selected by the borrower.
5. Prohibition on Offers of Funds for Private Loans
The University shall not request or accept from a lender an offer of funds to be used for private education loans in exchange for the University’s providing the lender with a specified number or volume of federal loans or in exchange for placement on a preferred lender list.
6. Ban on Staffing Assistance
The University shall not request or accept from any lender assistance with call center staffing or financial aid office staffing unless any such assistance has been legislatively defined as acceptable. Lenders, for example, may provide professional development training to financial aid administrators, educational advising materials to borrowers, or assistance in state or federally-declared natural disasters.
7. Advisory Board Assistance
All employees with financial aid responsibilities shall be prohibited from receiving anything of value from a lender or guarantor in return for service on its advisory board.