CIT Group Inc. has place three executives of its Student Loan Xpress division on “administrative leave” following reports that the company provided stock to an official of the U.S. Department of Education and at least three university administrators involved in student lending.

In a written statement issued today, CIT said it had placed on leave Michael Shaut, chief executive officer of Student Loan Xpress; Fabrizio (Breeze) Balestri, the division’s president; and Robert deRose, vice chairman.

The changes are the latest upheaval in the wake of an investigation by New York’s attorney general that received added momentum last week by word of the stock grants, which were disclosed by Higher Ed Watch, a blog published by the New America Foundation.

The revelations have led Congressional Democrats to accelerate plans to investigate the matter. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, said today’s announcement by CIT was a “welcome first step toward ensuring that the facts surrounding this matter come to light quickly.”

“These officials are charged with vigorously defending the interests of America’s students — not profiting from them,” Senator Kennedy said in a written statement. —Paul Basken