As revelation after revelation about real and potential conflicts of interest wrongdoing has battered the student loan industry in recent months, college leaders and higher education groups have largely responded (when they have done so at all) by acknowledging problems -- and proposing possible solutions -- in and around financial aid offices.
The market for private student loans has exploded in recent years, fueled by the growing gap between the price of attending college and the availability of federal grant and subsidized loan funds. And the competition among student loan companies to provide those non-federal loans, occurring at a time of little or no federal regulation, created an environment in which some questionable (if not illegal) marketing practices flourished.
As the student loan scandal has unfolded in recent months, college financial aid officers and their advocates have repeatedly dismissed the hysteria as a case of a few bad apples in an ethical orchard. But a report released Thursday by Senator Edward M.
