The U.S. Education Department on Friday proposed new regulations aimed at reining in agreements between colleges and banks that want to market their products to students. The proposed rules, scheduled for publication in Monday’s Federal Register, represent the Obama administration’s latest effort to curb those agreements, which can leave students on the hook for fees they may have incurred unintentionally.
Colleges and banks have reached hundreds of deals that, for example, allow students’ financial-aid refunds to be deposited into new bank accounts — often linked to co-branded debit cards — offered by the partner financial institution. Critics of the agreements say they expose impressionable students to fees by having colleges appear to condone opening unnecessary accounts.
Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/education-dept-proposes-reining-in-deals-between-colleges-and-banks/98949