Office of Financial Aid Code of Conduct

Gettysburg College is committed to providing students and their families with the best information and processing alternatives available regarding student borrowing.

In support of this and in an effort to rule out any perceived or actual conflict of interest between Gettysburg College officers, employees or agents and education loan lenders, Gettysburg College has adopted the following with respect to the Private Education Loan Programs:

  • Gettysburg College does not participate in any revenue-sharing arrangements with any Private Educational Loan Programs as lender, guarantor or servicer operating in the capacity as lender, guarantor, or servicer.
  • Gettysburg College does not permit any officer, employee or agent of the school who is employed in the financial aid office or is otherwise involved in the administration of education loans to accept any gifts of greater than a nominal value from any lender, guarantor or servicer.
  • Gettysburg College does not permit any officer, employee or agent of the school who is employed in the financial aid office or is otherwise involved in the administration of education loans to accept any fee, payment or other financial benefit (including a stock purchase option) from a lender or affiliate of a lender as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.
  • Gettysburg College does not permit any officer, employee or agent of the school who is employed in the financial aid office or is otherwise involved in the administration of education loans to accept anything of value from a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders and/or guarantors in exchange for service on an advisory board, commission or other group established by such a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders and/or guarantors. Gettysburg College does allow for the reasonable reimbursement of expenses associated with employees' participation in such advisory boards, commissions or groups.
  • Gettysburg College does not assign a lender to any first-time borrower through financial aid packaging or any other means.
  • Gettysburg College recognizes that a borrower has the right to choose any lender from which to borrow to finance his/her education. Gettysburg College will not refuse to certify or otherwise deny or unreasonably delay certification of a loan based on the borrower's selection of a lender and/or guarantor.
  • Gettysburg College will not request or accept any offer of funds to be used for private education loans to students from any lender in exchange for providing the lender with a specified number or volume of loans, or a preferred lender arrangement for loans.
  • Gettysburg College will not request or accept any external assistance with call center or financial aid office staffing from a lender, with exception to those services allowed under The Higher Education Opportunity Act, such as professional development training, providing educational counseling materials(as long as the materials identify the lender that assisted in preparing the materials), or short term, nonrecurring staffing assistance during disaster or emergencies.
  • Note: This policy is intended to set forth policies and procedures pertaining to conduct of individuals processing and administering student loans.  This Code of Conduct augments the existing institutional Conflict of Interest Policy.  In areas where this policy is different from the institutional policy, this addendum is the controlling document of the two.