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So far, the student loan scandal is a brush fire, but keep watching. We predict that where there is greed and a scramble for a big pot of money, we will soon see a forest fire.

The scandal that started with an investigation in New York involves conflict-of-interest violations among universities and financial aid officers accepting kickbacks and bribes in exchange for steering student loan business to particular lenders.

The student loan market is worth an estimated $50 billion annually. Everybody with money to lend wants a piece of that action, and why not? It's a no-risk loan, guaranteed by the federal government.

A student borrows money to get an education and is not required to make any payments until six months after graduation. During that time, the federal government pays the interest.

Is it any wonder that lenders love these loans? They don't get high interest rates — 6.8 percent is typical — but they get that money over and over from a huge population of young adults who must borrow to pay for tuition and books.

After graduation, if the student defaults, no problem. The federal government pays off the debt.

A better co-signer is not to be found.

And because the market is risk-free and lucrative, it is fiercely competitive. Because it's so competitive, it's a major achievement for a lending company to win a place on a university's list of preferred lenders. That's where most students look before they borrow because of the belief that if the company is on the preferred list, it is reliable and will offer students the best deals.

Now it turns out this trust may have been misplaced because some universities and their financial aid officers — notably not the University of Arizona — have cut deals with various lenders who provide them with kickbacks and bribes in exchange for getting their names on the preferred list.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that one of the companies investigated by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo buttered up university financial aid officers by selling stock to some, hiring others as consultants and placing them on the company's advisory board.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that "financial-aid directors at three universities, including Johns Hopkins (in Baltimore), received a total of almost $160,000 in consulting fees, personal tuition reimbursements and other payments from a lender they recommended to their students."

The unholy alliance between university officials and lending companies that make billions of dollars providing federally guaranteed student loans is evidently not illegal, or at least its legality is unclear. But illegal or not, the practice stinks.

So far, the scandal has not reached Arizona to any significant degree.

The University of Arizona allows its students to help compile its list of preferred lenders, according to John Nametz, director of student financial aid.

The university monitors the companies from which students choose to borrow and places those that are attracting the most students on a "convenience" list that's posted on the university's Web site. All companies on that list are required to submit the terms of their loans in exactly the same format, which makes it easy for students to compare loans at a quick glance.

At the UA, Nametz said, "we are a national leader in bullying lenders into providing meaningful discounts for our students. Our students have proven they are very credit savvy, and this makes lenders more than willing to compete for their business."

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said he had spoken personally to the presidents of ASU and the UA.

"UA does not have a priority list, ASU does. I have no reason to believe there are any improprieties," Goddard said, "but it's enough of a problem nationally that we have to look into it."

It's refreshing to know that Goddard's staff is scrutinizing Arizona's universities. In view of what has happened elsewhere, students and their families must be reassured that Arizona's universities are acting as honest brokers on their behalf.