Attorney general showcases new loan law for students
by KEATON T. DEPRIEST AND LUCY RUSHANOVA Editor and Reporter

Students at Cleveland Hill High School were among the first in Western New York to learn about a new student loan protection program recently passed by the State Legislature.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo visited the school Thursday with some local members of the legislature to explain how the new law will benefit them and students across the state.

Calling the measure a "graduation present" for the seniors in attendance, Cuomo said the lending protection bill will give students and families clearly defined rights and protection related to student loans.

"A lot of work went into this," Cuomo said. "Both sides of the legislature agreed on this, and that doesn't happen often."

The Student Lending Accountability, Transparency and Enforcement Act of 2007, officially ratified by the legislature on May 7, is designed to protect college-bound students from widespread conflicts of interest and deceptive practices in New York State.

Cuomo said he has been investigating the practices of the $85 billion-a-year student loan industry and feels the new law will prevent companies from doing financial harm to students and families.

"Today, we are arming students and families with the knowledge of how to protect themselves from being taken advantage of by lenders or schools partaking in unethical and sometimes illegal practices," Cuomo said.

As part of the new act, Cuomo issued a Student Bill of Rights, or eight ways which the law benefits students. Such rights include:

+ Unbiased advice about loans and lenders from the financial aid office.

+ Being able to choose the lender that is best, even if it is not preferred by the school.

+ The right to know what criteria a school uses to select a preferred lender.

+ To know whether borrower benefits and discounts will continue if the loan is sold.

+ To know before borrowing what interest rate will be paid for the loan.

+ To exhaust federal borrowing options, such as Stafford and Perkins, before turning to higher-cost private loans.

Nicole Habermehl, the president of the student government council and a college bound senior at Cleve-Hill, said she recently

received a loan to attend the University at Buffalo and believes the new law will be beneficial to students.

"I took out a federal loan to help with tuition," Habermehl said.

Joining Cuomo in the announcement were State Sens. William Stachowski and George Maziarz and Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak, D-Cheektowaga.

"This is a type of issue that's important regardless if you are a Democrat or a Republican," Gabryszak said. "It's a common sense legislation."

He said the rest of the country has been taking notice of the new law, and he hoped that similar laws will soon be passed in other states.

Cuomo said he hopes the new legislation will provide students and parents with enough guidelines to allow them to shop wisely when encountering the loan process.

"Now you have the law - you're empowered to use the law if you have to," Cuomo told the students.

For more information about the new legislation, visit the Web site at www. oag. state. ny. us.