Since 2003, concerns have circulated about the close ties between the student loan industry and the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), an organization that lobbies on behalf of college aid officials. Suspicions rose as NASFAA’s policy positions often fell directly in line with big student lenders like Sallie Mae and intensified last summer in the wake of the student loan scandal that found some schools financial aid offices colluding with lenders to the detriment of students. NASFAA, while denying that lenders have sway over policy, recently agreed to take steps to sever ties with the student loan industry including ending lender sponsorships of social events and lender meetings at the association’s annual conference – moves that will cost them tens of thousands of dollars. A recent study conducted by the New America Foundation, however, found that while NASFAA has policy of prohibiting loan industry officials from serving on its national board, the rule that does not apply to the organization's state affiliates and regional associations which depend heavily on student loan providers for both leadership and financing. The study found that 19% of the individuals serving leadership positions were members of the loan industry during the 2007-08 academic year.

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