The primary goal of the financial aid office and financial aid professionals is to help students achieve their educational potential by providing appropriate financial resources. To this end, this Statement, adopted from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), provides the financial aid office with a set of principles that serves as a common foundation for accepted standards of conduct.
Staff Members in the Office of Financial Aid shall:
- Be committed to removing financial barriers for those who wish to pursue postsecondary learning.
- Make every effort to assist students with financial need.
- Be aware of the issues affecting students and advocate their interests at the institutional, state, and federal levels.
- Support efforts to encourage students, as early as the elementary grades, to aspire to and plan for education beyond high school.
- Educate students and families through quality consumer information.
- Respect the dignity and protect the privacy of students, and ensure the confidentiality of student records and personal circumstances.
- Ensure equity by applying all need analysis formulas consistently across the institutional full population of student financial aid applicants.
- Provide services that do not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, age, or economic status.
- Recognize the need for professional development and continuing education opportunities.
- Promote the free expression of ideas and opinions, and foster respect for diverse viewpoints within the profession.
- Commit to the highest level of ethical behavior and refrain from conflict of interest or the perception thereof.
- Maintain the highest level of professionalism, reflecting a commitment to the goals of NASFAA.
It is the policy of the Office of Financial Aid at the University of Mary Washington to accept and promote a standard of conduct as outlined in the Statement of Ethical Principles of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Staff members are provided the statement and it is reviewed at the annual financial aid staff training, usually held in the spring semester.