Colleges Have a Responsibility to Protect Students’ Best Financial Interests
Students look to their college as a trusted source of information as they determine how to pay for tuition, housing, books, and other basic needs. In today’s environment, students are facing additional financial challenges coinciding with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising interest rates, and inflation. Each year, millions of students look to their college when receiving federal financial aid and may receive information about financial banking products, debit cards, and deposit accounts.
Institutions of higher education can help students manage the complicated process of paying for expenses and foster good financial habits when providing information on such products. They also hold a responsibility to ensure certain products offered to their students are in the best financial interest of those students. Institutions of higher education partner with third party service providers to disburse federal aid to students and offer them basic account products. Under the Department of Education (Department)