Office of Financial Aid Code of Conduct

Georgia Southern University participates in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program which includes the Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Student Loans, the Graduate PLUS Loans, and the Direct Parent PLUS loans. A small number of private loans are also processed for students on a need based case by case situation. In compliance with the requirements of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA, enacted August, 2008), the Office of Financial Aid adopts the following Code of Conduct as the formal guiding principles for student loans:

• Georgia Southern University and our employees will not enter into any type of revenue-sharing arrangement with any lender, guarantor or servicer.
• Our students are not provided with any type of private loan preferred lender list.
• Employees do not solicit or accept anything of value from any lender in exchange for any advantage sought by the lender to make educational loans to students enrolled at, or admitted to Georgia Southern University.
• Employees of the Office of Financial Aid, or any employee with responsibilities with respect to educational loans are prohibited from accepting any gift worth more than nominal value from any lender.
• Employees of the Office of Financial Aid, or any employee with responsibilities with respect to educational loans are prohibited from entering into any type of consulting arrangement or contract to provide to a lender services relating to educational loans.
• Prohibits any lender, guarantor, or servicer of student loans from providing any type of staffing services to the Office of Financial Aid.
• Employees of the Georgia Southern University Office of Financial Aid are expected to maintain exemplary standards of professional conduct in all aspects of their work and to refrain from using University resources, University data, or their positions as University employees for their own personal benefit.

As University employees, employees of the Office of Financial Aid are also subject to the expectations applicable to all University employees, including the Code of Ethics for Government Service and state law concerning conflicts of interest. (Official Code of Georgia, Title 45, Chapter 10)