Sallie Mae goes for the jugular
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Student loan giant Sallie Mae (ticker: SLM) is looking to grab college directories of students for marketing purposes, arguing that it falls under the Freedom of Information Act. HigherEdWatch.org has the complete story - here’s a snapshot of the actual FOIA request.
Note how they are asking for an awful lot of information. If Sallie Mae wins this court case, every direct marketer in the world will be copying college student directories and spamming the crap out of students - and not just loan companies, but any company will be able to use this tactic.
What can you do about this? When the case goes to court, as it’s expected it will, New York SUNY students should be prepared to submit an amicus curiae legal brief to the court. For students outside of New York State, contact your state legislators and your federal Congressional representatives and ask for legislation that will enforce FERPA (Family Education Rights Protection Act) over the Freedom of Information Act as it relates to personal student information at federally-funded colleges and universities.
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Wow - Sallie Mae has crossed the line again. Thanks for keeping us informed.
October 10th, 2007 | #
Thanks. Good looking out. I’ll be sure to look into this. That last thing I need is more spam and aggressive marketers trying to get at me.
October 11th, 2007 | #
You should black out the poor girls contact info, she’s probably just a just-starting-out college graduate drone doing what her supervisors told her to do.
October 11th, 2007 | #
Did you know that Sallie Mae has been doing this in other states. Pennsylvania is one of them. The letters are meant to intimidate colleges into releasing private date. They have no shame!
October 12th, 2007 | #
Look up studentloanjustice.com for testimonials concerning what those ;enders have done–literally ruined lives. Please do what you can to help bring notice to these disgraceful practices.
July 12th, 2008 | #