New York State’s attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, has sent settlement agreements to dozens of colleges across the country that he has accused of accepting kickbacks from student-loan companies.

Colleges in New York State had until noon today to sign the agreements. If they did not, they faced the possibility of being served with subpoenas from Mr. Cuomo’s office. Colleges in other states were reportedly given a later deadline.

It is not clear how many colleges received the settlement document or how many have agreed to sign it. Mr. Cuomo is expected to announce settlement agreements with colleges in New York State on Monday. His office did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Under the terms of the settlement documents, obtained today by The Chronicle, Mr. Cuomo will agree not to take action against any of the colleges or their employees if they pledge to abide by a code of conduct and reimburse borrowers who took out private loans.

The code of conduct would prohibit college employees and trustees from accepting gifts from lenders, serving on paid lender-advisory boards, and entering into revenue-sharing contracts with private lenders.

It would also place strict new limits on how colleges may use their preferred-lender lists, requiring the college to disclose how they chose the lenders on their lists and to notify prospective borrowers that they may choose any lender they like.

Monday’s planned announcement comes five months into Mr. Cuomo’s investigation into what he has called “an unholy alliance” between colleges and lenders. He announced the first legal step in that investigation last week, saying that he planned to sue Education Finance Partners, a lender, over its revenue-sharing agreements with more than 60 colleges. Under the terms of those agreements, colleges that put the company on their preferred-lender lists would get a percentage of the net value of the loans that it made to their students.

Six lenders and more than 60 public and private colleges have been swept up in the attorney general’s investigation, including all of the institutions in New York State. Among the New York institutions that Mr. Cuomo says have engaged in “problematic practices” are Pace and Syracuse Universities, and Dowling and Mercy Colleges.

Syracuse has a revenue-sharing agreement with Citibank, while Pace and Mercy pay loan providers to operate call centers that give students advice about loans. Dowling College has an agreement with Sallie Mae to sell the Stafford loans that the college makes to its graduate students to Sallie Mae at a premium.

Watch for more details in Monday’s Daily Report from The Chronicle on this Web site. —Kelly Field