It would be nice to think that institutions of higher education stand above the insider dealings that can be found in so many other sectors of the economy. But time and time again, those hopes have been deflated. An investigation by Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office reveals that sleazy practices at Lasell College’s financial aid office are the latest example.
Between 2003 and 2007, Lasell employees received various free gifts, including meals, access to entertainment, and trips, from Citizens Bank. But it wasn’t just Citizens Bank that paid for these trips — it was Lasell students. As these gifts were being made, Lasell was falsely telling students seeking loans that they had to borrow from Citizens, despite the fact that other lenders offered lower rates.
Lasell, thanks to Coakley’s pressure, will be paying out more than $191,000 to more than 1,000 affected students. (Surprisingly — or perhaps not — nobody in the financial aid office has been fired.) It isn’t the first local college to make such a payout — in 2009, Emerson, after being investigated by Coakley and New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, handed out almost $800,000 to settle similar charges.
It’s clear that student lending is still in need of major structural reforms, but in the meantime Coakley is right to aggressively police a thoroughly broken system.
