Well, I am writing this on 8-8-08 (the start of the Olympics) and the craziness of this summer’s Dog Days continues. Consider the following:

• Brett Favre is now a Jet after a protracted soap opera with the Packers
• Manny Ramirez, formerly of the Red Sox, is now a Dodger;
• Paris Hilton puts out the best political ad of the season that sounds, in some degree, intelligent and reasonable
• The Governor of Massachusetts, Deval L. Patrick, brings Mr. Cuomo’s investigations full circle, as shown in a Chronicle of Higher Education article.

The Chronicle article indicates that the Governor has asked Massachusetts colleges to invest in the state-owned Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority (MEFA) so thousands of the state’s students can continue to receive student loans. MEFA recently suspended its federal and private student loan operations. The Governor’s request appears to be a clear violation of Mr. Cuomo’s conflict of interest guidelines established last year. Nevertheless, the Governor’s actions are considered commendable by many.

So what do you think? Should colleges and universities invest in what some would say is a noble action for Massachusetts’ students, or do conflict of interest concerns outweigh those sentiments? Is the pendulum swinging back to some uncomfortable arrangements between schools and lenders? Or, has public policy moved well beyond?

(And speaking of Mr. Cuomo, just what is he planning to do with the funds he collected last year? My suggestion? Work with NASFAA to target those funds to enhance access and financial literacy initiatives!)

Now I’m trying to figure out whom the next celebrity may be that will make the news. Enjoy what’s left of your summer!

Those of you attending NASFAA’s National Conference this past week possibly heard my remarks at the Business Meeting, but I thought I would share some of them again.

I come from the Cowboy state of Wyoming and have lived and worked in Oklahoma - another Cowboy state. And, as you are aware, next year’s NASFAA Conference is in Texas – another Cowboy state. So, I’m warning you now that we are going to ‘Cowboy Up!!’ this year. For those who have never heard this phrase, the simplest explanation for ‘Cowboy Up!!’ is that it’s the ‘Cowboy Spirit’ - to give it all you’ve got; don’t give up; do the best you can with the hand you’re dealt.

The Western ethos is alive and well where I live. In the West there is an unwritten Cowboy ‘Code of the West’. Although we hear much about change, these days, I believe that basic truths never change and that the Code is still applicable in today’s world and to how we, as financial aid professionals, do business. While NASFAA has developed a written code, we also live by an unwritten code within our profession. While there are many platitudes in the Code, there are two that are especially significant and applicable to us in financial aid: 1) be proud of your occupation, and; 2) be loyal to your brand and those you ride with.

Like you, I am very proud of what we do. I can’t think of a more dedicated and inspiring group of folks than those in the trenches assisting students and families every day. We are the champions for the under-privileged seeking education and pursuing a better life. We work long and hard often under some very exacting and perplexing regulations to serve our students and institutions. Volunteering is one way to demonstrate pride for your occupation. We have a moral duty to each other, to our institutions and especially to our students to be involved professionally. Without volunteers, we cannot achieve the necessary level of training and good works that our associations thrive on. Show your pride by supporting NASFAA and your state and regional associations by volunteering your knowledge, thoughts and time. It’s your duty, so ‘Cowboy Up!!’

The ongoing Direct Loan vs. FFELP debate provides a great avenue to demonstrate loyalty to ‘those we ride with.’ This debate has been going on for 15 years! Isn’t it time to put aside our differences? Let’s trust one another to make the best decision for our students and institution. So ‘Cowboy Up!!’ and refrain from personal attacks and remember our loyalty to each other and to our students. As long as the two programs are supported by the government, NASFAA will continue to support both, providing good information and training for both so that institutions can make the right decision for their students.

We have had a rough couple of years, but through the strong leadership of past Chairs Janet Dodson and Michael Bennett we have persevered. But, let’s not dwell on the past. Let’s look forward, to where NASFAA will lead in providing students with access, choice and success in higher education. I know that at times we can get mired down with regulations making it easy to forget why we do what we do. That’s when we need to ‘Cowboy Up!!’ Attorney General Cuomo’s investigations provide an opportunity to demonstrate our loyalty to our students and our profession. I challenge Mr. Cuomo to join with NASFAA to efficiently use the funds he has accumulated to educate students and families about financial aid and financial literacy. Who better for him to work with than the professionals most trusted by college-going students? Mr. Cuomo, let’s ‘Cowboy Up!!’ and work together.

This is such a rewarding profession. For many of us financial aid is more than a job, it’s a career, it’s a cause. Like many of you, we give our personal time to be involved in our professional associations. My involvement has given me so much more than I have ever put in. Like you, I’ve met and assisted many fantastic students – students who would not have been successful without our counseling and assistance. And, like you, I’ve visited places I never would have gone, I’ve met people that I never would have met, and I’ve established friendships that have endured many years and will last a lifetime. I hope that when you take a deep breath and can look back over your career that you will feel, like me, that you feel truly blessed to have chosen financial aid as your career.

So, are you ready to ride with me? ‘Cowboy Up!!’

Last weekend, I couldn’t help but notice the full page My Rich Uncle ad in the New York Times. To use their words, My Rich Uncle is “a different kind of loan company.”

Boy ain’t that the truth!

Their ad has a middle-aged man standing with dazed look on what I assumed to be a golf course landscape with the caption reading, “I Didn’t Use My Brain, I Went Right to the Financial Aid Office.”

In other words, “If you go to the financial aid office, you must be stupid.”

(Because the top of the gentleman’s head was sawed off, I found myself thinking “Where did his brain go?” but I’ll solve that mystery another time.)

The remainder of the MRU ad reads:

“Most families aren’t prepared for what college costs today. So why do they check their brains at the door when it’s time to get a student loan? Smart families know that the financial aid office isn’t their only option. It takes fifteen minutes to save thousands of dollars on a student loan with My Rich Uncle. That’s probably why more and more people are learning that thinking saves thousands at MyRichUncle.com”

As one who has worked as a financial aid administrator for over 25 years, let me first say that I believe that families are “using their brains” when they seek help from the office that is responsible for helping them find financial resources to attend college.

I have absolutely nothing against the loan products that MRU offers. Any lender that can offer a stable benefit to students is welcome to do so. Financial aid offices do not discriminate against any loan provider that can offer low-cost loans to students.

The real issue at hand is the advertising used by MRU and other direct-to-consumer loan marketers that attempt to create mistrust between financial aid offices and families. It’s destructive, abhorrent, and downright dirty, and ultimately it harms the customers they’re supposed to be serving.

The financial aid process can be challenging. MRU and other DTC marketers make it even more complicated by boiling down all financial aid to student loans. Contrary to popular belief, the College Board reports that by far the largest form of financial aid in the country comes from institutional grants and tuition discounts, not loans. The very first step in a student’s quest for financial aid must be the financial aid office – plain and simple. Students who are discouraged from reaching out to the financial aid office could potentially lose out on all sorts of financial aid.

It’s simply an inappropriate business model to exploit a family’s apprehension about college costs in an attempt to increase loan volume. Creating distrust between a family and the financial aid office is counterproductive to students and certainly a loan company must realize that a healthy loan market requires a healthy and fully funded need-based aid program first, so that low-income students and families can avoid loans altogether if possible.

If I had the money, I’d run a companion ad. The ad would consist of me giving the “brainless” man his brain back to help him make informed decisions using all of the financial aid information that we provide. It has always been my firm belief—and this has been confirmed in my travels the past year–that the 14,000 financial aid professionals across this nation are, and will continue to be, the most trustworthy source in helping students and families.

Also, as a parent, when I read an ad of this nature, my first thought is, “If this is true, why aren’t other lenders marketing in this inflammatory manner?

I agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Day’s letter that encourages each of us “to oppose on every level the ultimate harm done to students and families by advertisements that intentionally cause families to distrust the financial aid office.”

What are your thoughts? What, if anything, should be done about direct-to-consumer student loan marketing?