Langston Named In Student Loan Inquiry

Saturday, July 21st 2007, 2:08 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Langston University officials say they do not have details of an investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office that found that a Langston financial aid officer accepted perks from a student loan company before
advocating the lender on a preferred list for students.

Langston is among at least 565 institutions that got perks from the College Loan Corp., which agreed to settle the case with Cuomo by paying $500,000 to the National Education Fund that Cuomo established to inform families about financial aid.

The Langston officer, whose name and employment status was not released, served on a company advisory board and accepted travel, entertainment and meals from the San Diego-based company, said Jeffrey Lerner, director of communications for Cuomo.

"This was a widespread systematic practice in the college loan industry," Lerner said. "CLC has agreed to end these cozy relationships they had with schools and financial aid officers."

Langston issued a statement that said any involvement with the company happened prior to the current administration.

"We commend the New York Attorney General for his efforts to reform the student loan process and ensure the best interest of students and parents are served," the statement said.

Cuomo and others are pushing for national legislation, the Student Loan Sunshine Act, which would set high ethical standards for student loan companies.

Cuomo has reached agreements with 10 other student loan companies.

He also has requested documents from 90 alumni associations, including one at the University of Central Oklahoma, to find out if they got improper payments for funneling students to a student loan consolidation company, Nelnet.