For Immediate Release
Contact: David Hawkins
dhawkins@nacacnet.org
703/299-6809
Shanda Ivory
sivory@nacacnet.org
703/299-6803
NACAC Issues Statement in Response to Education Department’s Report
On Oversight of Incentive Compensation
Arlington, VA (March 27, 2015) – NACAC issued this statement in response to the US Department of
Education’s Office of Inspector General audit report on the Office of Federal Student Aid’s oversight of
the HEA Title IV ban on incentive compensation, which highlights ongoing deficiencies in protecting the
integrity of federal student aid programs
[http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oig/auditreports/fy2015/a05n0012.pdf]:
The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) continues to believe that strict
enforcement of the ban on commissioned sales (“incentive compensation”) in college admission is
needed to protect students and taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse at the hands of unscrupulous
institutions. NACAC agrees with the OIG’s recommendations for the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA)
to improve oversight and enforcement of incentive compensation regulations. The OIG’s audit notes,
“[b]ecause of the potential harm to students that could occur if schools violate the ban, incentive
compensation is an area that poses significant risk to the Title IV programs and the Department’s
reputation.”
FSA in charge of protecting the tens of billions of dollars in federal student aid and loans issued each
year.
The OIG report also highlights the extent of the damage that can be caused by excessive de-regulation,
as policies implemented more than a decade ago to effectively gut the Department’s enforcement
capabilities continue to hamstring the Department today. In light of recent calls for extensive deregulation in federal higher education programs, NACAC urges Congress and other stakeholders to
consider that maintaining strong, reasonable and well-enforced rules is a critical element of an effective
and vibrant federal student aid program. Failure to provide sufficient oversight of institutions receiving
federal student aid jeopardizes billions of taxpayer dollars, and further erodes public confidence in
higher education.