Lone Star College System Statement of Ethical Principles
Financial Aid staff members will:
Be committed to removing financial barriers for those who wish to pursue postsecondary learning.
Make every effort to assist students with financial need.
Be aware of the issues affecting students and advocate their interests at the institutional, state, and federal levels.
Support efforts to encourage students, as early as the elementary grades, to aspire to and plan for education beyond high school.
Educate students and families through quality consumer information.
Respect the dignity and protect the privacy of students, and ensure the confidentiality of student records and personal circumstances.
Ensure equity by applying all need analysis formulas consistently across the institutions full population of student financial aid applicants.
Provide services that do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age or economic status.
Recognize the need for professional development and continuing education opportunities.
Promote the free expression of ideas and opinions and foster respect for diverse viewpoints within the profession.
Commit to the highest level of ethical behavior and refrain from conflict of interest or the perception thereof.
Maintain the highest level of professionalism, reflecting a commitment to the goals of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
Ensure that the information he or she provides is accurate, unbiased, and does not reflect any preference arising from actual or potential personal gain.
Be objective in making decisions and advising his or her institution regarding relationships with any entity involved in any aspect of student financial aid.
Disclose to his or her institution, in such manner as his or her institution may prescribe, any involvement with or interest in any entity involved in any aspect of student financial aid.
Lone Star College System Code of Conduct
Financial Aid staff members will refrain from:
Taking any action for his or her personal benefit.
Taking any action he or she believes is contrary to law, regulation, or the best interests of the students and parents he or she serves.
Awarding 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.
Soliciting or accepting anything of other than nominal value from any entity (other than an institution of higher education or a governmental entity such as the U.S. Department of Education) involved in the making, holding, consolidating or processing of any student loans, including anything of value (including reimbursement of expenses) for serving on an advisory body or as part of a training activity of or sponsored by any such entity.
Developing revenue-sharing arrangements with any lender.
Receiving gifts from a lender, a guarantor, or a loan servicer.
Developing a contracting arrangement that generates financial benefit from any lender or affiliate of a lender.
Directing borrowers to particular lenders, or refusing or delaying loan certifications
Offering funds for private loans.
Accepting call center or financial aid office staffing assistance from a lender, a guarantor, or a loan servicer.
Receiving compensation for service on an advisory board, commission, or group established by lenders or guarantors, except for reimbursement for reasonable expenses.