One University rated lenders by perks

May 1, 2007

One University rated lenders by perks

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the University of Texas – Austin actually ranked lenders based on perks their office received!   I’m not trying to defend all financial aid departments, but I really must point out that this case is an exception and not the rule.  I’ve noticed that even the innocent financial aid departments are being attacked in the current climate, and that’s not fair to people who dedicate their lives to helping students.

But by all means – this particular group needs a major wake-up call and some strict guidelines (and perhaps a little shakeup at the top?).

“University Rated Lenders by Perks

The University of Texas at Austin’s Office of Student Financial Services rated student-loan firms based on “treats” and other meals provided to university officials, school documents show.

In internal reviews of their lists of lenders recommended to students, financial-aid officials rated the loan companies based on loan volume, customer service and whether they offered students reduced fees. But “visibility” was another factor the office cited, which it defined as “based on the number of lunches, breakfasts and extracurricular functions for entire OSFS staff.” Lenders on the list were graded on the quality of their culinary largesse by metrics ranging from ‘very good’ to ‘poor.’ ”

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