As numerous cases have emerged of universities’ getting payments to steer loan volume to a lender, or of university officials’ getting gifts and payments, many college officials have said that the rates offered by recommended lenders were competitive. It appears that in this case, as soon as Pratt learned of the high interest rate, it acted to cancel the relationship with the lender.  Thomas F. Schutte, president of Pratt, said in a statement released to students and faculty members that he was “pleased to inform you that Pratt is in complete compliance” with the code of conduct.  Besides Pratt, three New York colleges — Marist College, Manhattanville College and Mercy College — agreed to the code of conduct. So did Lewis & Clark College in Oregon and Texas Christian University, which also agreed to pay to student borrowers more than $13,000 that it received from one lender in exchange for greater student loan volume.  “Schools and lenders are no longer defending these practices or refusing to recognize the problem,” Mr. Cuomo said. “They are looking for a solution.”  With the six new colleges, 21 institutions, along with some of the nation’s largest student loan companies, have adopted the code of conduct, according to Mr. Cuomo’s office, and the New York Senate has passed legislation to put it into law.  At Pratt, in addition to the arrangement with Education Finance Partners, an employee served on the advisory board and received trips from another lender. Education Finance reached a separate agreement with Mr. Cuomo’s office in mid-April, adopting his code of conduct and paying $2.5 million into a fund for education of students and parents about financial aid.  Mercy College had a contract with Sallie Mae, the nation’s largest student lender, to operate a call center on behalf of the financial aid office, Mr. Cuomo’s office said, and call center operators did not identify themselves as Sallie Mae employees.  At Marist College, employees served on advisory boards to loan companies and received trips. An employee at Manhattanville College received theater tickets from Nelnet, another student loan company, and some lenders provided printing services to the institution.  Lewis & Clark and Texas Christian both had “revenue sharing” agreements, in which Education Finance paid the college based on loan volume. Lewis & Clark has already returned the money.  Separately, the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation, which administers scholarship programs in New York and that guarantees federal student loans against default, also adopted the code of conduct.  A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A17 of the New York edition with the headline: New York Art College Canceled Deal With Lender After Learning of High Interest Rates. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe
Pratt Institute found that a deal it had with a student loan company was not so good for its student borrowers.