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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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December 31, 2007
Sallie Mae Faces Education Dept. Audit Over 9.5% Loans
Washington — Sallie Mae, the nation’s largest student-loan company, is facing a further investigation by the Education Department concerning its billing practices.
In a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sallie Mae said late last week that the department’s Office of the Inspector General is examining whether the company had complied with federal law when billing for subsidy payments under the 9.5-percent loan program.
The inspector general has issued a series of reports accusing lenders of improperly claiming hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies through the program, which was intended to give lenders a reimbursement rate of at least 9.5 percent in the 1980s, when general interest rates on the open market were much higher.
The lenders allegedly received windfall profits by continuing to bill for the 9.5-percent reimbursement even after general interest rates fell well below that level. The Education Department announced this year that it would allow lenders to keep those profits if the lenders agreed to stop seeking subsidies through the program.
Sallie Mae, in its regulatory filing, said company officials “believe that our billing practices were consistent with longstanding department guidance, but there can be no assurance that the OIG will not advocate an interpretation that differs from the department’s previous guidance.”
The regulatory filing came a day after Sallie Mae sold $3-billion in securities, $500-million more than planned, to finance a repurchasing of company stock, among other things. —Paul Basken
Posted on Monday December 31, 2007 | Permalink |Comments
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My daughter had a loan with Sallie Mae and her interest rate went up to 18.3%. I used my Home Equity line of Credit at 7.3% to pay them off. Cheaper in the long run. Plus these people are just pigs to deal with.
— Debbie Jan 7, 04:36 PM #