Students wade through loan market with less help from administration
Hopkins students choosing financial aid providers can no longer receive recommendations from the Office of Student Financial Services, which is still looking for a new director after the resignation of Ellen Frishberg nearly four months ago.
The University reached a settlement on June 14 in the investigation conducted by the U.S. Senate into conflicts of interest between financial aid directors and their preferred loan companies.
On May 18, after spending over a month on administrative leave, Frishberg resigned, stating that she considered her departure to be "in the best interest of her family, the University and its students and their parents."
Soon after, it became apparent that Frishberg had received at least $130,000 in consulting payments from a number of lending companies over her tenure at Hopkins - a number significantly higher than the $65,000 initially reported.
In an e-mail to the News-Letter, Frishberg said that she "never intended to do anything that would be perceived as harmful" and has "always acted in good faith and with integrity," sending her best wishes to future generations of Hopkins students and their families.
In April the University suspended all lists of recommended lenders when it was made aware that Frishberg had received over $65,000 in consulting and tuition payments from Student Loan Xpress (SLX), a student loan company that was on the preferred lender list.
The University immediately eliminated all lists of lenders, citing that it would refrain from providing any recommended list of lenders to students and parents until there was a national consensus on how they should be impartially formed.
"Although it is clear that one University employee violated University policy in her relationships with student loan companies, Johns Hopkins as an institution has always stood for a financial aid program that meets the highest ethical standards," President William Brody said in a press release.
The University reached a settlement on June 14 in the investigation conducted by the U.S. Senate into conflicts of interest between financial aid directors and their preferred loan companies.
On May 18, after spending over a month on administrative leave, Frishberg resigned, stating that she considered her departure to be "in the best interest of her family, the University and its students and their parents."
Soon after, it became apparent that Frishberg had received at least $130,000 in consulting payments from a number of lending companies over her tenure at Hopkins - a number significantly higher than the $65,000 initially reported.
In an e-mail to the News-Letter, Frishberg said that she "never intended to do anything that would be perceived as harmful" and has "always acted in good faith and with integrity," sending her best wishes to future generations of Hopkins students and their families.
In April the University suspended all lists of recommended lenders when it was made aware that Frishberg had received over $65,000 in consulting and tuition payments from Student Loan Xpress (SLX), a student loan company that was on the preferred lender list.
The University immediately eliminated all lists of lenders, citing that it would refrain from providing any recommended list of lenders to students and parents until there was a national consensus on how they should be impartially formed.
"Although it is clear that one University employee violated University policy in her relationships with student loan companies, Johns Hopkins as an institution has always stood for a financial aid program that meets the highest ethical standards," President William Brody said in a press release.
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