According to Campus Progress, a websblog sponsored by the Center for American Progress, a Ralph Nadar Group, the FAMU financial aid office has been steering potential student borrowers to two “partner” lenders in a manner that could easily suggest to students that they have no other lending options. By law, schools must give students a choice of lenders.Recently, universities and lenders across the country have been caught up in a wave of scandals involving conflicts of interest in college financial aid offices. Lenders have offered meals, vacations, staff time, revenue sharing deals, scholarship funds, stock options, and other inducements to financial aid offices or their employees, apparently in hopes of being listed as a “preferred lender” and recommended to students. Because students generally trust that their school is impartial and acting in their best interests, students overwhelmingly follow their schools’ advice.
Morehouse College was recently attacked because its college president serves on the board of Bank of America, a loan provider at the school.
Continue reading: FAMU steers students to favored lenders
ONLY THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG. THERE'S MORE THAN JUST "STEERING" STUDENTS INVOLVED.
ReplyDeleteYou have to give parents and their children props for simply figuring out ways to even pay for college and then navigating the financial landscapes in order to get funds to attend. I fear that this "new" (yeah, right) initiative will be shown in the enrollment figures come fall 2007. But more importantly, parents are to simply be commended for still allowing their children to attend FAMU, when there has been so much negative publicity about the school. It's a great and wonderful place to learn and students, upon graduation, will be able to compete with any college graduate on any level. I know this, because I teach there.
ReplyDeletewhat school do you teach in? I do not believe that all schools in the university produce a "competitive" product.
ReplyDeleteA student told me (a professor) that financial aid regularly cuts checks to students with the expectation of up to a 50% kickback. Here is a grant check for $1000, $500 for the student and $500 for the financial aid officer.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone else heard of anything like this?
I think the "A" students at SBI can compete with anyone in the nation.
ReplyDeleteThe "B" students probably can compete with regional or community college graduates.
The "C" students are signaling (by their grades) that they are lazy, unmotivated, or can't manage their time effectively. They do just enough to get by. These are not qualities that top employers desire.
Graduates of Florida A&M University will be able to compete with other students in the national job market--and beyond--no matter what division or school they were enrolled in as a student at the university.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of such practices, but of course such practices are illegal.
ReplyDeleteLogic tells me that "C" students know their limitations, but believing that they are capable of competing with A/B students, and making the effort to do so, is part of what we attempt to instill in them. Some students succeed and some students do not. What we have to continue to do, however, is instill the belief that they can. Whether or not they accept the challenge and the theory of believing that they can is a different story. But it doesn't prevent the professors from being vigilant in their (own) efforts.
ReplyDelete"C" students should not necessarily be labeled "lazy" and/or "unmotivated." Many "C" students, especially in-coming freshmen, need the academic and collegiate environment to challenge them. And while their academic assessment may indicate a general success and thus may be considered "average," academically, they may indeed have skills and talents that may not necessarily be seen in the classroom in a particular course. It is very easy to discount and arbitrarily dismiss the "C" student based on a few artificial assessments designed by academicians. Grades aren't the final arbiter of whether "C" students are capable of competing on the national playground. Let us all be careful about labeling people and defining what is and is not the norm.
ReplyDelete11:39... lets have it!
ReplyDeleteWhat more than "steering" is going on?
Wait a little while longer and some issues will be revealed.
ReplyDeleteWhy has the loan link been removed from financial aid website when they tell us to go to it. Nobody will answer that question, can you help?
ReplyDeleteAlso I have a loan that was suppose to be taken care of and now I am unable to summer school. People in financial aid stated that the reason was the loan was not sent off in time, so why am I being punished?
PLEASE HELP I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE
This practice has surfaced among MANY institutions in the country. FAMU is not alone and now most universities are checking themselves to determine the extent of their relationships.
ReplyDeleteMany schools did it for ease of operation. It is easier to work with two oe three lenders where you have a relationship and can move through the system and know and understand each others requirements. Unfortunately it is now being frowned upon especially if schools, employees and others related to the schools received kickbacks.
I suggest you go to the USA Today, Washington Post and New York Times and read in its entirety about the student loan problem that is beginning to surface.
Sallie Mae the largest lender in the ocuntry has been penalized millions of dollars becuase of its practices.
This is not a FAMU problem only and probably most schools have some issues worhty of further investigation.