Code of Conduct for Educational Loans (federal and private loans)

The college has established the following code of conduct that prohibits a conflict of interest with the responsibilities of a college official with respect to federal and private educational loans.

Employees of South College are prohibited from soliciting or accepting gifts of more than a nominal value from any lender, servicer, or guarantee agency, including but not limited to a prohibition against any college employee accepting trips and meals which are paid for by a lender.

Employees of South College are prohibited from receiving anything of value from any student loan lender in exchange for any preference desired by the lending institution, including placement on a preferred lender list. (See Preferred Lender Arrangement below)

The college will not engage in any inappropriate financial arrangements with a lender, including but not limited to revenue sharing arrangements and loan pools.

Members of the financial aid staff may not receive compensation to participate on an advisory board for a lending institution. This does not preclude the financial aid staff from discussing any services or products offered by the lender to students and parents.

Employees of a lender may not work in the financial aid office or provide staffing assistance to the financial aid office. The college may utilize employees of lenders to provide limited assistance to the financial aid office with loan entrance counseling, loan exit counseling and loan default management. In such circumstances, the lender’s employees are prohibited from identifying themselves or otherwise representing themselves to students and parents as employees of South College.

Regardless of which lender a student or parent may choose, the financial aid office will not delay certification, or refuse to certify a loan based upon the choice of lender made by the student or parent.

Preferred Lender Arrangement

South College has not entered into a preferred lender arrangement with any lender and does not recommend or endorse any lender, their products or services. At the request of a student or parent, the financial aid staff may be able provide the names of lenders who have made loans to students enrolled at South College in the past. Providing such information is not to be construed as a recommendation or endorsement of those lenders, their services or products.