University of Texas System officials said Wednesday that employees will no longer be allowed to own stock in student loan companies nor to accept gifts from them.
The UT System is implementing a new statewide ethics policy that contains the bans. It mirrors a deal that UT reached in May with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott after it fired its financial aid chief for violating university rules by owning stock in a loan company.
The deal announced Wednesday bars employees at all 15 UT System campuses from soliciting or accepting gifts worth more than $20 from student lenders. That's stricter than state law, which allows employees to accept gifts worth less than $50.
Associate Vice President Lawrence Burt had been on paid leave since early April. That's when he was named as part of the New York attorney general's investigation into the $85 billion student loan industry. He has denied wrongdoing.
