NYHELPs Bulletin 2010 - 001

Guidance Regarding NYHELPs and SLATE

For colleges choosing to participate in the New York Higher Education Loan Program (NYHELPs), HESC is providing the following guidance, after consultation with the State Education Department, regarding compliance with the provisions of the Student Lending Accountability, Transparency and Enforcement (SLATE) Act.

A college's participation in NYHELPs is in compliance with SLATE provided that:

• The college abides by the requirements of SLATE in its interactions with NYHELPs lenders, including, but not limited to, the prohibition of receipt of gifts;
• The college discloses to its students that there are other alternative/private loan products that may be available to its students in addition to NYHELPs;
• The college explains the benefits of Federal PLUS loans; and
• The college, if it maintains a preferred lender list, continues to follow the provisions of SLATE¹.

A college may inform its students about the methods for applying for a NYHELPs loan, including but not limited to the HESC Student Loan Marketplace, provided the college also informs its students about the Federal PLUS Loan Program and other private student loans that may be available to the student from other private lenders, and does not specifically create a list of preferred lenders for such Program.

NYHELPs is a State program. Colleges that inform students about the availability of the Program and its available loan options would not violate preferred lender list provisions if the college merely informs students of the Program and how to apply for a loan through the Program, provided that the college discloses other loan options available to the student and does not specifically recommend preferred lenders in the Program.

Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to John Austin, Senior Vice President, Customer Relations at (518) 473-0733.


^1. The purpose for the preferred lender list provisions contained in SLATE is to prohibit colleges from encouraging students to borrow from certain lenders whose names appear on a preferred lender list without full transparency and the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest.

Note: This guidance is limited to the State SLATE Act and therefore does not address any federal rules or requirements.