Tuition + Financial Aid

1. No action will be taken by financial aid staff that is for their personal benefit or could be perceived to be a conflict of interest.

1. Employees within the financial aid office will not award aid to themselves or their immediate family members. Staff will reserve this task to an institutionally designated person, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
2. If a preferred lender list is provided, it will be compiled without prejudice and for the sole benefit of the students attending the institution. The information included about lenders and loan terms will be transparent, complete, and accurate. The complete process through which preferred lenders are selected will be fully and publicly disclosed. Borrowers will not be auto-assigned to any particular lender.
3. A borrower's choice of a lender will not be denied, impeded, or unnecessarily delayed by the institution, even if that lender is not included on the institution's preferred lender list.
4. No amount of cash, gift, or benefit in excess of a de minimis amount shall be accepted by a financial aid staff member from any financial aid applicant (or his/her family), or from any entity doing business with or seeking to do business with the institution (including service on advisory committees or boards beyond reimbursement for reasonable expenses directly associated with such service).

2. Information provided by the financial aid office is accurate, unbiased, and does not reflect preference arising from actual or potential personal gain.

3. Institutional award notifications and/or other institutionally provided materials shall include the following:

1. A breakdown of individual components of the institution's Cost of Attendance, designating all potential billable charges.
2. Clear identification of each award, indicating type of aid, i.e. gift aid (grant, scholarship), work, or loan.
3. Standard terminology and definitions, using NASFAA's glossary of award letter terms.
4. Renewal requirements for each award.

4. All required consumer information is displayed in a prominent location on the institutional web site(s) and in any printed materials, easily identified and found, and labeled as "Consumer Information."

5. Financial aid professionals will disclose to their institution any involvement, interest in, or potential conflict of interest with any entity with which the institution has a business relationship.

I. Definitions

• “College” shall mean any postsecondary education institution in Oregon.
• “College employees” shall mean any College officer, administrator, or employee.
• “Education loan lending institution” shall mean any entity other than a college or university which is in the business of making loans to students, parents or others for the purpose of financing higher education expenses.

II. Code of Conduct

• REVENUE SHARING PROHIBITION — A College and its employees are prohibited from receiving anything of value from any education loan lending institution in exchange for promoting the education loan products of that lending institution. This provision does not prohibit College employees from receiving compensation for conducting non-College business with any education loan lending institution or from accepting compensation that is offered to the general public. This provision also does not prohibit a College from accepting charitable contributions from an education loan lending institution, so long as the College gives no competitive advantage or preferential treatment to the education loan lending institution related to its education loan activity in exchange for such support.
• GIFT AND TRIP PROHIBITION — College employees are prohibited from receiving anything of more than nominal value ($50) from any education loan lending institution during any 12-month period. This prohibition includes trips for college employees paid for by education loan lenders; except that this provision shall not be construed to prohibit any College employee from receiving compensation for the conduct of non-College business with any education loan lending institution, or from accepting compensation that is offered to the general public.
• ADVISORY BOARD COMPENSATION RULES — College employees are prohibited from serving on the advisory board of any education loan lending institution. Education loan lending institutions may obtain advice and opinions of financial aid officials on financial aid products and services through Trade Associations, industry surveys or other mechanisms that do not require service on education loan lending institution advisory boards, provided such person receives no compensation for such service. This provision shall not apply to participation on advisory boards that are unrelated in any way to financial aid or higher education loans.
• PREFERRED LENDER GUIDELINES — College “preferred lender lists’ must be based on the characteristics of the education loan products – including interest rates, borrower benefits, and services to borrowers – offered by the listed education loan lending institutions rather than on the financial interests of the college. If a college also makes education loans, the education loan(s) it provides must have characteristics that are comparable to or better than those of the other education loan lending institutions listed.
• PREFERRED LENDER DISCLOSURE — All preferred lender lists must clearly and fully disclose the criteria and process used to select preferred lenders. Every brochure, web page or other document that sets forth a preferred lender list shall state in the same font and same manner as the predominant text on the document that students and their parents have the right and ability to select the lender of their choice and are not required to use any lenders on the preferred lender list.
• USE OF MASCOT, LOGO, EMBLEM, OR NAME BY LENDERS — No college shall authorize or permit an education loan lending institution to use the name, emblem, mascot, or logo of the college; or words, pictures, marks, or symbols readily identified with the college; in the marketing of education loans in any way that implies that the college endorses those loans.
• LOAN RESALE DISCLOSURE — To be eligible to appear on a preferred lender list, a lender must disclose any agreement(s) to sell its loans to another entity. In addition, no lender may bargain to be a preferred lender with respect to a certain type of loan by providing benefits to a college as to another type of loan.
• LENDER IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT — The college will not permit employees of education loan lending institutions on campus to identify themselves as employees of the college, and no employee of an education loan lender may work in or provide staffing assistance to a college financial aid office; except that employees of colleges that also make education loans may perform their normal functions as long as those functions comply with relevant laws and regulations, and with the other items of this Code of Conduct.