June 14, 2007
A Senate panel on Thursday issued a report making new allegations of misconduct by
student-aid lenders and colleges, while Johns Hopkins University separately agreed
to pay $1.125 million to settle an investigation of its student-loan practices.
"The problem is systemic and cannot be isolated to a few 'problem' schools," it concluded.
In one example, committee investigators cited a violation "involving cash payments
by Texas Tech University."
A March 29, 2005 letter from Texas Tech told some lenders they had been chosen for its 2005-2006 academic-year list of preferred lenders, the report said. The letter said lenders "will have the opportunity to purchase space as a preferred lender on the TTU Financial Aid website" for $500.