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"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
Jill Biden Shines a Global Spotlight on American Community Colleges
Speaking at a Unesco conference in Paris, the vice president’s wife stressed the importance of two-year institutions to the nation’s educational goals.
Connecticut Public Colleges Lose 200 Professors to Early Retirement
Administrators are scrambling to plug holes in their course schedules for fall, with most expecting to do so by hiring more adjuncts or increasing class sizes.
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five with houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
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May 9, 2007
House Passes Legislation to Overhaul Ethical Standards in Student-Loan Industry
The U.S. House of Representatives easily passed a bill today that aims to put an end to unethical practices in the student-loan industry.
The bill (HR 890), dubbed the Student Loan Sunshine Act, represents a compromise between Democrats and Republicans on the House education committee. It would require colleges and lenders to adopt codes of conduct governing their interactions with each other and would place strict limits on the use of preferred-lender lists. The vote today was 414 to 3.
Introduced in February, the Sunshine Act underwent significant revisions in the days leading up to the vote. While the original would have required college officials to disclose their conflicts of interest, the revised bill would seek to eliminate such conflicts altogether, in part by barring financial-aid officers from serving on lenders’ advisory boards or accepting staff support from lenders. It also would outlaw several practices that have been uncovered by parallel investigations in Congress and the New York attorney general’s office — including revenue-sharing agreements, which give colleges a portion of the profits on loans taken out by their students, and opportunity loans, which are pools of private loan money that lenders give to colleges to secure spots on their preferred-lender lists.
In a news release, the New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, praised the House for passing the bill, saying it had “taken the next step in closing the book on corruption in the student-loan industry.” New York’s Legislature passed similar legislation on Monday.
After today’s vote, two major lending groups — the Consumer Bankers Association and American’s Student Loan Providers — issued news releases supporting the bill. “Everyone needs to know there are no conflicts of interest,” said Joe Belew, president of the bankers association.
Posted on Wednesday May 9, 2007 | Permalink |
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