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MASSACHUSETTS BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION
CODE OF CONDUCT-STUDENT LOAN PROGRAMS
Purpose
The following Code of Conduct is proposed to govern the education lending practices of Massachusetts public colleges in an effort to help ensure integrity in all aspects of the student educational loan program. This policy formalizes long-standing code of conducts practiced by public institutions of higher education in their efforts to provide affordable access to higher education.
Code of Conduct
The primary goal of the institution and its financial aid staff is to help students achieve their educational potential by providing appropriate financial resources. To this end, this document provides institutions, specifically financial aid professionals, with a set of principles that serves as a common foundation for an acceptable standard of conduct.
Institutions and their Financial Aid Professionals shall:
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Maintain the highest level of professionalism
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Commit to the highest level of ethical behavior and refrain from conflict of interest or the perception thereof
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Respect the dignity and protect the privacy of students, and ensure the confidentiality of student records and personal circumstances
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Provide information to families for lenders that have proven to provide the best combination of price, access to funds, and service to students and families
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Further, institutions shall ensure that all officers, trustees, directors, employees or agents, and financial aid professionals adhere to the following:
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May not accept gifts, meals, travel, or any other non-trivial items from student loan providers in connection with the institution's loan business
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May not accept, from a lending institution, money, equipment, or printing services or anything of value that may provide or suggest an advantage or grant a preferred status
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If serving as a member of a lending institution's advisory board, may not accept anything of value in exchange for this service, such as "revenue sharing"
