Title IV Code of Conduct
1. No action will be taken by financial aid staff that is for their personal benefit or could be perceived to be a conflict of interest.
a. Employees within the financial aid office will not award 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.
b. No amount of cash, gift, or benefit in excess of a de minimis amount shall be accepted by a financial aid staff member from any financial aid applicant (or his/her family,) or from any entity doing business with or seeking to do business with the institution (including service on advisory committees or boards beyond reimbursement for reasonable expenses directly associated with such service.)
2. Information provided by the financial aid office is accurate, unbiased, and does not reflect preference arising from actual or potential personal gain.
3. Institutional financial aid offers and/or other institutionally provided materials shall include the following:
a. Breakdown of estimated individual components, including which are direct (billed by the institution) costs vs. indirect (not billed by the institution) costs
b. Clear identification and proper grouping of each type of aid offered indicating whether the aid is a grant/scholarship or loan
c. Estimated net price
d. Standard terminology and definitions, using NASFAA's glossary of terms
e. Renewal requirements for each aid type being offered as well as next steps and financial aid office contact information.
4. All required consumer information is displayed in a prominent location on the institutional web site(s) and in any printed materials, easily identified and found, and labeled as "Financial Aid, Consumer and VA Procedure Guide.”
5. Financial aid professionals will disclose to their institution any involvement, interest in, or potential conflict of interest with any entity with which the institution has a business relationship.
FA-I-0005
01-Aug-23, Rev. B