FastChoice
FastChoice is QCOM’s is the link to our preferred lender list. You are under no obligation to use any of our lenders from the preferred lender list and may select any lender of your choice. All private loan requests most come to our office for certification.
For the direct link to FastChoice, please contact ofs@etsu.edu.
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Code of Conduct for Lender Relationships & Education Loans
Any East Tennessee State University, Quillen College of Medicine (ETSU, QCOM) officer, employee and agent of the school is required to comply with this Code of Conduct for Lender Relationships & Education Loans as outlined below.
• QCOM shall not enter into any revenue-sharing arrangements with any lender.
• QCOM officers, employees or agents will not steer borrowers to particular lenders or delay loan certification.
• QCOM shall not request or accept from any lender any offer of funds to be used for private education loans, including funds for an opportunity pool loan, to students in exchange for providing concessions or promises to the lender for specific number of FSA loans, a specified loan volume or a preferred lender arrangement.
• For any first-time borrower, QCOM shall not assign, through award packaging or other methods, the borrower’s private education loan to a particular lender; or refuse to certify, or delay certification, of any education loan based on the borrower’s selection of a particular lender or guaranty agency.
• No officer or employee of QCOM who is employed in the Student Finance Department or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans, or an agent who has responsibilities with respect to education loans, shall not accept from any lender or affiliate of
any lender any fee, payment or other financial benefit (including the opportunity to purchase stock) as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or other contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.
• QCOM shall not request or accept from any lender any assistance with call center staffing or financial aid office staffing. Assistance will be permitted for the following instances:
o Professional development training for Student Finance Department staff;
o Providing educational counseling materials, financial literacy materials, or debt management materials to borrowers, provided that such materials disclose to borrowers the identification of any lender that assisted in preparing or providing such materials; or
o Staffing services on a short-term, nonrecurring basis to assist the institution with financial aid-related functions during emergencies, including State-declared or federally declared natural disasters, federally declared national disasters, and other localized disasters and emergencies identified by the Secretary of Education.
• Any employee who is employed in the Student Finance Department of QCOM, or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to the federal loan programs or private education loans or other student financial aid of the institution, and who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor or group of lenders or guarantors, shall be prohibited from soliciting or accepting any gift in excess of a de minimis amount from the lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, except that the employee may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in serving on such advisory board, commission or group.
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Code of Conduct for Administration of Private Education Loans
As required by The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) of August 12th, 2008, effective July 1, 2010 and in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Board regulations pertaining to the Truth in Lending Act, ETSU Quillen College of Medicine (the institution), an institution participating in the Title IV Financial Aid Programs, publishes, administers, and enforces the following a code of conduct for its officers, employees and agents.
1. The Institution publishes a “preferred lender list” of lenders with whom there is a business arrangement to process private student loans. As of the date of this policy, only five lenders have been selected and indicated their willingness to make private loans to our students. Therefore, only five lenders can be recommended to our students but a student has the right to select any lender of their choosing.
2. The Institution will not enter into a revenue-sharing arrangement with any lender. The HEOA defines revenue-sharing arrangement as any agreement between an institution and a lender under which the lender makes private education loans to students attending the institution, the institution recommends the lender or the loan products of the lender and this information is evaluated each year to verify that the current lenders are still providing the best overall loans for our students. The preferred lender list is updated annually.
3. No officer or employee of the Institution’s financial aid office (or any employee who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to educational loans) will solicit or accept any gift from a lender,
guarantor, or servicer of education loans. A “gift” is defined as any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan or other item having monetary value of more than a de minimis amount. However, a gift does not include (1) a brochure, workshop, or training using standard materials retaining to the loan, default aversion, or financial literacy, such as a brochure, workshop or training: (2) food, training, or informational material provided as part of a training session designed to improve the service of a lender, guarantor, or servicer if the training contributes to the professional development of the Institution’s officer or employee; (3) favorable terms and benefits on an education loan provided to a student employed by the Institution if those terms and benefits are comparable to those provided to all students at the Institution; (4) entrance and exit counseling as long as the Institution’s staff are in control of the counseling and the counseling does not promote the services of a specific lender; (5) philanthropic contributions from a lender, guarantor, or servicer that are unrelated to education loans or any contribution that is not made in exchange for advantage related to education loans, and; (6) State education grants, scholarships, or financial aid funds administered by or on behalf of the a State.
4. No officer or employee of the Institution’s financial aid office (or employee who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans will accept from a lender, or an affiliate of any lender, any fee, payment, or other financial benefit as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or contract to provide services to or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.
5. No officer or employee of the Institution’s financial aid office (or employee who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans) will steer borrowers to particular lenders or delay loan certification. For any first-time borrower, the Institution will not assign, through the award packaging or other methods, the borrower’s loans to a particular lender. In addition, the Institution will not refuse to certify, or delay the certification, of any loan based on the borrower’s selection of a particular lender or guaranty agency.
6. The institution will not request or accept from any lender any offer of funds for private loans, including funds for an opportunity pool loan, to students in exchange for providing concessions or promises to the lender for a specific number of Title IV loans made, insured, or guaranteed, a specified loan volume, or a preferred lender arrangement. An “opportunity pool loan” is defined as a private education loan made by a lender to a student (or the student’s family) that involves a payment by the institution to the lender for extending credit to the student.
7. The institution will not request or accept from any lender any assistance with call center staffing financial aid office staffing, except that a lender may provide professional development training, educational counseling materials (as long as the materials identify the lender that assisted in preparing the materials), or staffing services on a short-term, nonrecurring basis during emergencies or disasters.
8. An employee of the Institution’s financial aid office (or employee who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans or financial aid) who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender or guarantor (or a group of lenders or guarantors) is prohibited from receiving anything of value from the lender, guarantor, or group, except for reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee for serving on the board. The Institution will report the receipt of any such reimbursements to the Department of Education on an annual basis.
9. The report will include the following:
a). The amount of each specific instance of reasonable expenses paid or provided.
b). The name of the financial aid official, or other employee or agent to whom the expenses were paid or provided.
c). A brief description of the activity for which the expenses were paid or provided.
Federal laws require that students must be informed about Federal student loan options before school certification of a Private Educational Student Loan can be processed. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid Services at (423) 439-2035 if you are considering a Private Educational Student Loan from a private lender.