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Diving overview:
- U.S. Department of Education conduct a full review The federal student aid office is up and running after the confusing rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
- On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona told the Department of Education:It examines all of FSA's operations, as well as its management and staffing procedures. As part of that process, the agency will work to “hold suppliers accountable for performance issues” through evaluations of the office's contracting procedures.
- Independent consulting firms also perform workflows. Cardona said he is responsible for auditing the organizational structure.
Dive Insights:
In general, the FSA's main focus has been to oversee the affairs of the federal government. student loan portfolio. But the relatively small office added much more in 2020 when Congress ordered the department to make it easier for students and their families to fill out the infamous FAFSA.
The Department of Education has released the simplified FAFSA as follows: Late December — About three months later than usual. The form continued to struggle with technical glitches and submission errors for months, which had a ripple effect across the higher education sector.
teaThe FAFSA serves as a gateway to federal student aid, and colleges and states often use data from the FAFSA when creating their own aid packages. In response to the delays, many agencies appointment deadlineSome states have waived the FAFSA completion requirement for students.
However, his form this year has not fully recovered from a rocky debut. The submission rate is We're inching towards where we were last year. But higher education experts say yes. Full rebound unlikely To the level of 2023.
FSA now faces pressure to balance leadership changes while ensuring the next college admissions season doesn't repeat the same mistakes.
Rich Cordray, the office's chief operating officer. Announced last month he said that step down Late June. As the Department of Education searches for a permanent replacement for Cordray, it will also restructure the office's senior leader reporting protocols as a means to increase accountability and transparency, Cardona said.
The FSA's review comes as the scope of what the office is expected to do has changed dramatically over time, the Education Secretary said.
“FSA has worked to accommodate these changes over several years, including implementing congressional directives and addressing ongoing management and operational challenges under stringent budget constraints.” Cardona said in a letter to colleagues on Thursday: The agency did not provide a timeline for the review process.
The Department of Education will also seek input from the Office of the Inspector General and Congress.
Federal Congress was a source of additional pressure not only on the FSA but also on the department as a whole. Dear members of the National Assembly, especially republicansAn April subcommittee hearing criticized the Department of Education's handling of FAFSA enforcement.
“We welcome the opportunity to collaborate on a bipartisan basis with key congressional leaders,” Cardona wrote Thursday. “Continued engagement on planned improvements with our congressional partners is critical to ensuring the initiative can better meet the needs of the millions of constituents served by FSA.”