As a member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) the Sweet Briar College Office of Financial Aid has adopted the NASFAA Code of Ethics and Conduct to ensure good business practices in our day-to-day activities. Please contact us if you have any questions.
Statement of Ethical Principles
The primary goal of the financial aid professional is to help students achieve their educational potential by providing appropriate financial resources. To this end, the Sweet Briar financial aid professional shall:
- Be committed to removing financial barriers for those who wish to pursue post-secondary learning.
- Make every effort to assist students with financial need.
- Be aware of the issues affecting students and advocate their interests at the institutional, state and federal levels.
- Support efforts to encourage students, as early as elementary grades, to aspire to and plan for education beyond high school.
- Educate students and families through quality consumer information.
- Respect the dignity and protect the privacy of students, and ensure the confidentiality of student records and personal circumstances.
- Ensure equity by applying all need analysis formulas consistently across the institution’s full population of student financial aid applicants.
- Provide services that do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age or economic status.
- Recognize the need for professional development and continuing education opportunities.
- Promote the free expression of ideas and opinions, and foster respect for diverse viewpoints within the profession.
- Commit to the highest level of ethical behavior and refrain from conflict of interest or the perception thereof.
- Maintain the highest level of professionalism, reflecting a commitment to the goals of Sweet Briar College and NASFAA.
Code of Conduct for Sweet Briar Financial Aid Professionals
An institutional financial aid professional is expected to always maintain exemplary standards of professional conduct in all aspects of carrying out his or her responsibilities, including all entities involved in any manner in student financial aid, regardless of whether such entities are involved in a government-sponsored, subsidized or regulated activity. In doing so, a financial aid professional should:
- Refrain from taking any action for his or her personal benefit.
- Refrain from taking any action he or she believes is contrary to law, regulation or the best interests of the students and parents he or she serves.
- Ensure that the information he or she provides is accurate, unbiased and does not reflect any preference arising from actual or potential personal gain.
- Be objective in making decisions and advising his or her institution regarding relationships with any entity involved in any aspect of student financial aid.
- Refrain from soliciting or accepting anything of other than nominal value from any entity (other than an institution of higher education or a government entity such as the U.S. Department of Education) involved in the making, holding, consolidating or processing of any student loans, including anything of value (including reimbursement of expenses) for serving on an advisory body or as part of a training activity of or sponsored by any such entity.