Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | i

STRATEGIC 

PLAN 

FY 2015–19 

® 
 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 40

® 
 

 

Federal Student Aid 

Strategic Plan 

Fiscal Years 2015–19 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | i
 

U.S. Department of Education 

Arne Duncan 

Secretary 

Federal Student Aid 

James W. Runcie 

Chief Operating Officer 

This publication is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part 

is granted. While permission to reprint is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. 

Department of Education, Federal Student Aid, Federal Student Aid: Strategic Plan, Fiscal 

Years 2015–19, Washington, D.C., 20202. 

This publication is available at Federal Student Aid’s website at 

StudentAid.gov/strategic-planning-and-reporting. 

Printed: November 2015 

Updated: November 2016 

Photos: U.S. Department of Education 

ii Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
 

Dear Federal Student Aid Colleagues, Partners, and Customers: 

The need for a postsecondary degree or credential continues to be essential in today’s competitive workforce 

and global economy. By 2020, an estimated 35 percent of job openings will require at least a bachelor’s 

degree and 30 percent will require some college or an associate’s degree. Further, the employment rate for 

young adults with at least a bachelor’s degree is almost 30 percent higher than high school graduates. To 

help students access a postsecondary education, Federal Student Aid delivers more than $150 billion in 

federal financial aid annually. These funds assist nearly 13 million students in completing their education and 

equipping them with skills and training for jobs in a challenging economy. 

While federal assistance is available, many families experiencing the financial aid process for the first time 

find it complex. Costs in higher education continue to steadily rise for students and the total student loan 

debt has grown at an average of 13 percent per year for the past decade. In fact, the amount of outstanding 

federal student loan debt now exceeds $1 trillion. 

Federal Student Aid spent the last year examining these challenges among others, while reviewing trends in 

postsecondary education and identifying the changing needs of our customers. Additionally, we evaluated our 

organization, operations, and the Title IV federal financial aid programs. This self-assessment combined with 

robust data and enhanced analytics were used to inform the development of the Five-Year Strategic Plan for 

fiscal years (FY) 2015–2019. 

The FY 2015–2019 Five-Year Strategic Plan provides the framework for Federal Student Aid to address the 

financial aid needs of students and families by utilizing quality data to identify trends and forecast projections 

which inform policy and operational decisions. By strengthening our processes and systems for data collection 

and analysis, we will improve our ability to provide relevant information to the public while supporting our 

strong commitment to transparency. This furthers our vision–to be the most trusted and reliable source of 

student financial aid, information, and services in the nation. 

Federal Student Aid’s plan is composed of five strategic goals: (A) Improve the quality of service for 

customers across the entire student aid life cycle, (B) Proactively manage the student aid portfolio to mitigate 

risk, (C) Improve operational efficiency and flexibility, (D) Foster trust and collaboration among stakeholders, 

and (E) Invest in expanded workforce capability. 

As part of the Five-Year Strategic Plan, we have also developed meaningful metrics to gauge our performance 

on an annual basis. This will allow us to review tangible results, readily adapt to external changes, and correct 

areas for improvement. Measuring our progress is crucial to ensuring accountability and safeguarding taxpayer 

dollars while protecting our programs from fraud, waste, and abuse. 

Federal Student Aid intentionally set high targets in this plan and we are dedicated to achieving these goals 

and standards. We understand the stakes in helping to educate and train the American workforce not only 

to compete, but also to lead the world with advances in fields such as technology, industry, education, and 

medicine. Public service is a privilege and we are proud to contribute to this great nation by helping its 

citizens pursue a postsecondary education. 

James W. Runcie 

Chief Operating Officer 

Federal Student Aid 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | iii
 A Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 

Message from the Chief Operating Officer.......................................................... iii
 

List of Exhibits....................................................................................................v
 

1. Overview of Federal Student Aid ..................................................................... 1 


2. Emerging Trends In The Higher Education Ecosystem ...................................... 8
 

3. Strategic Goals and Objectives..................................................................... 19
 

Strategic Goal A: Improve quality of service for customers across
 

the entire student aid life cycle. ........................................................ 21
 

Strategic Goal B: Proactively manage the student aid portfolio 


to mitigate risk.................................................................................. 24
 

Strategic Goal C: Improve operational efficiency and flexibility. .......... 26
 

Strategic Goal D: Foster trust and collaboration among stakeholders.. 28
 

Strategic Goal E: Invest in expanded workforce capability. ................. 30
 

4. Performance Measures................................................................................ 32
 

5. Relationship to the Department of Education’s Strategic Plan ........................ 35
 

6. Evaluating Progress..................................................................................... 36
 

7. Moving Forward ........................................................................................... 37
 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | iv
 

 

EXHIBITS 

Exhibit 1: FSA’s Mission and Core Values................................................................3
 

Exhibit 2: Summary of Federal Aid Disbursed 


to Students, by Program.........................................................................................4
 

Exhibit 3: Federal Student Aid Regional Map...........................................................5
 

Exhibit 4: Role of FSA and Other Participants in the Federal Student 


Aid System............................................................................................................6 


Exhibit 5: Federal Student Aid Functional Organizational Structure ..........................7
 

Exhibit 6: Public Four-Year Institutions, Annual Tuition and Fee 


Price Increases (inflation adjusted) 1984–85 to 2013–14.......................................9
 

Exhibit 7: Nonprofit Four-Year and Two-Year Tuition and Fees, 


1983–84 to 2013–14 ..........................................................................................10
 

Exhibit 8: Outstanding Principal and Interest Balance of Federal 


Education Loans (in billions), 2006–07 to 2013–14..............................................11
 

Exhibit 9: Reasons for Not Applying for Federal Student Aid by 


Household Income as Percentage of Poverty Level, 2011–12.................................13
 

Exhibit 10: Percentage of Students Taking at Least One Course
 

Online, 2002–2011..............................................................................................16
 

Exhibit 11: Performance Metrics.......................................................................... 34
 

Exhibit 12: Evaluating Progress ............................................................................36 


v Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

 

OVERVIEW OF FEDERAL 

STUDENT AID 

1. 

Federal Student Aid (FSA) plays a central 

and essential role in the United States’ 

system of postsecondary education. As 

a principal office of the United States 

Department of Education (the Department), 

FSA ensures that all eligible Americans can 

benefit from federal financial assistance 

for education or training beyond high 

school. FSA champions the promise of 

postsecondary education to all citizens and 

promotes its value to society (Exhibit 1). 

Under the Higher Education Act (HEA) 

Amendments of 1998, FSA was 

transformed into the federal government’s 

first Performance-Based Organization (PBO) 

to enhance its services through increased 

flexibility and performance incentives in 

exchange for greater accountability and 

results. The PBO legislation directed FSA to 

integrate disparate systems, improve service 

to its customers (defined as students, their 

families, and borrowers), reduce operating 

costs, and restore integrity to the systems 

and processes that deliver the Federal 

Student Aid programs. FSA emphasizes 

tangible results and efficient performance, 

as well as the continuous improvement of 

the processes and systems that support its 

mission. This plan fulfills Section 141(c)(1) 

of the HEA, which requires a performance 

plan for the PBO for the succeeding five 

years that establishes goals and objectives 

for the organization be made available to the 

public. This plan was informed by and shared 

with those interested parties and identified 

entities included in section 141(c)(1)(B) 

prior to its release. 

FSA’s mission is student-focused, which 

drives a vision to be a reliable provider 

in student financial aid services and 

postsecondary education information to 

students. The core values reflect a culture of 

integrity, excellence, and collaboration: key 

components in building a high-performing 

organization. 

During FY2014, FSA processed more than 

20.7 million copies of the Free Application 

for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), resulting 

in the delivery of $133.8 billion in HEA Title 

IV aid to nearly 12.9 million postsecondary 

students and their families (Exhibit 2). These 

students collectively attended more than 

6,100 active institutions of postsecondary 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 1
 

 

 

education that participate in student aid 

programs and are accredited by dozens 

of agencies. 

In order to administer the Title IV programs, 

FSA is responsible for a range of functions 

across the student aid life cycle: educating 

students and families about the process of 

obtaining aid, processing millions of student 

financial aid applications, disbursing billions 

of dollars in student aid, enforcing financial 

aid rules and regulations, servicing millions 

of student loans, securing repayment from 

borrowers who have defaulted on their 

loans, and partnering with schools, financial 

institutions, and guaranty agencies to 

prevent program fraud, waste, and abuse. 

To complete these functions, FSA’s FY2014 

administrative budget was approximately $1.4 

billion. FSA is staffed by more than 1,200 

full-time employees based in Washington, D.C., 

and ten regional offices located across the 

country (Exhibit 3). FSA staff is augmented by 

contractors, who provide outsourced business 

operations such as customer service, loan 

servicing, and collections. In addition, there 

are other federal agencies, State entities, 

and secondary markets that support the 

FSA community (Exhibit 4). This complex, 

multifaceted mission requires a range of staff 

skills and demands coordination by all levels 

of management in order to meet the needs 

of the various federal student aid participants 

(Exhibit 5). 

2 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

Exhibit 1: FSA’s Mission and Core Values
 

Our Mission 

Funding America’s Future, 

One Student at a Time 

Our Vision 

To be the most trusted and reliable 

source of student financial aid, 

information, and services in the nation 

Our Core Values 

Integrity: Do the right thing above other interests 

and hold everyone accountable 

Customer Service: Know what our customers want 

and ensure we meet their expectations 

Excellence: Strive to be the very best in all 

we do by embracing a culture of continuous 

improvement 

Respect: Value individuals by acknowledging the 

diversity of their contributions, ideas, and beliefs 

Stewardship: Uphold the sacred trust of taxpayers 

as we work to support the goals of Congress and 

the Administration 

Teamwork: Work in collaboration with our 

colleagues and partners to produce the best 

possible results 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 3

 

 

Exhibit 2: Summary of Federal Aid Disbursed to Students, by Program (Dollars in Millions)
 

Programs 

FY2014 Aid 

Disbursed to 

Students 

FY2013 Aid 

Disbursed to 

Students 

Difference Percent Increase/ 

Decrease 

Loan Programs
 

William D. Ford Federal Direct $ 99,355 $ 102,497 $ (3,142) (3)% Loan Program 

Federal Perkins Loan Program $ 1,167 $ 1,008 $ 159 16% 

Subtotal Loan Programs $ 100,522 $ 103,505 $ (2,983) (3)% 

Grant Programs 

Federal Pell Grant Program $ 31,554 $ 32,338 $ (784) (2)% 

Federal Supplemental Educational 

Opportunity Grant Program $ 694 $ 739 $ (45) (6)% 

Teacher Education Assistance for 

College and Higher Education Grant $ 97 $ 106 $ (9) (8)% 

Program 

Other Grant Programs/Rounding $ 0 $ 1 $ (1) (100)% 

Subtotal Grant Programs $ 32,345 $ 33,184 $ (838) (3)% 

Work-Study Programs
 

Federal Work-Study Program $ 928 $ 959 $ (31) (3)% 

Rounding $ 1 $ 0 $ 0 N/A 

Grand Total $ 133,796 $ 137,648 $ (3,852) (3)% 

4 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

Exhibit 3: Federal Student Aid Regional Map 


SEATTLE BOSTON DENVER CHICAGO 

(13) (84) (11) KANSAS CITY (84) WASHINGTON DC 

SAN FRANCISCO 

(63) 

DALLAS 

ATLANTA 

(76) 

(33) (840) 

NEW YORK 

(39) 

PHILADELPHIA 

(29) 

(45) 

During Fiscal Year (FY)2014, the organization operated on an annual administrative 

budget of approximately $1.4 billion.1 FSA is staffed by 1,247 full-time employees and is 

augmented by contractors who provide outsourced business operations. The headquarters 

office is based in Washington, D.C., with a workforce of employees dispersed there and in 

ten other regional offices located throughout the country as reflected in the above graphic. 

The number of full-time employees at each location is shown in parentheses immediately 

following the location name. 

1

 The FY2014 appropriated administrative budget for FSA per the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, (Pub. L. 113-76). 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 5
 

 

 

 

’

Exhibit 4: Role of FSA and Other Participants in the Federal Student Aid System
 

GUARANTY 

AGENCIES 

Insure FFELP loans and 

service their defaulted loan 

portfolio. 

FSA engages with them by: 

• monitoring 

compliance, 

• assisting them in 

meeting requirements, 

• educating them 

regarding policy, and 

• paying default claims. 

THE PRESIDENT, 

ED, & OTHERS 

IN EXECUTIVE 

BRANCH 

Set regulatory standards and policy 

on student aid funding. 

FSA engages with them by: 

• providing data and 

information for decision 

making, and 

• providing recommendations 

for implementation. 

FFEL LENDERS 

Hold and service outstanding 

FFELP loans to students. 

FSA engages with them by: 

• monitoring compliance, 

• assisting them in meeting 

requirements, 

• paying interest and Special 

Allowance Payment, and 

• educating them regarding 

policy. 

STUDENTS 

Receive and repay student aid to 

finance postsecondary education. 

FSA engages with them by: 

• increasing awareness of 

federal student aid, 

• providing products, 

services and tools to 

ensure consistent, accurate 

messaging about the 

importance of pursuing 

postsecondary education, 

• identifying students for 

whom financial assistance 

can make a difference, and 

• protecting them from unfair, 

deceptive, or fraudulent 

practices in the student aid 

marketplace. 

CONGRESS 

Sets statutory standards 

on student aid funding and 

appropriate budgets. 

FSA engages with them by: 

• providing data and 

information for decision 

making, and 

• providing updates on 

operational performance. 

FSA-CONTRACTED 

LOAN SERVICERS 

1) Service Direct Loan portfolio 

and portions of FFELP portfolio, 

2) Provide systems and services to 

support FSA s core operations (e.g., 

applications, disbursements), and 

3) Recover funds from 

defaulted loans. 

FSA engages with them by: 

• acquiring the service, 

• setting performance 

standards, and 

• overseeing operations. 

POSTSECONDARY 

INSTITUTIONS 

Determine students’ aid packages 

and disburse funds. 

FSA engages with them by: 

• monitoring compliance, 

• educating them regarding 

policy, and 

• assisting them in meeting 

requirements. 

6 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 

 

 

 

Exhibit 5: Federal Student Aid Functional Organizational Structure 


Chief Operating Officer 

Policy Liaison 

& Implementation Staff 

Communications 

& Outreach Staff 

Strategic Planning 

& Reporting Staff 

Business 

Intelligence Staff 

Technology Business 

Operations Finance Performance Management 

Customer 

Experience 

Administrative 

Services 

Risk 

Management 

Program 

Compliance 

FSA 

Acquisitions 

FSA currently operates under a functional organizational structure that aligns the 

organization closely with its strategic drivers, business objectives, and mission goals. A Chief 

Operating Officer (COO), who is appointed to a five-year term by the Secretary of Education 

(Secretary), leads FSA. The graphic illustrates the current functional organizational structure 

of FSA. 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 7
 

EMERGING TRENDS IN THE HIGHER 

EDUCATION ECOSYSTEM 

2. 

TREND 1: 

Increasing demand for 

Federal Student Aid 

The demand for federal grants and loans 

to help finance postsecondary education 

will increase over the next five years. Rising 

prices at higher education institutions, driven 

in part by per student levels of state and 

local education funding, will exert continuing 

pressures on the federal financial aid system 

to meet the needs of students. 

As Exhibit 6 reveals, the pattern of tuition 

increases in the public sector of higher 

education is cyclical, with a few years of 

very large increases followed by a few years 

of relatively small increases. The average 

inflation-adjusted increase in public fouryear tuition and fees over the 30 years from 

1984–85 through 2013–14 was 4.1%. Of 

note, tuition growth over the two most recent 

years, from 2011–12 to 2013–14, have been 

quite small by historical standards–following 

three years of very rapid increases. It is 

reasonable to expect a few more years of 

moderate growth in tuition and fees. 

While state and local funding of higher 

education is cyclical, there has been a 

long-term downward trend in funding 

per student. After rising by 6% between 

FY1993 and FY2003, over the decade 

from FY2003 to FY2013, total educational 

appropriations per full-time equivalent (FTE) 

student declined by 22% in real terms, 

from $7,838 in 2013 dollars to $6,105.2 

This decline was the result of a combination 

of rapid enrollment growth and a decline 

in total appropriations. Although the slow 

recovery in funding that has just begun is 

likely to continue for a few years, there is no 

reason to believe that the long-term trend 

will be reversed, with funding returning to 

previous high levels. 

The decline in state and local funding per 

FTE student corresponds to an increase in 

the share of total institutional expenditures 

covered by net tuition revenues. In FY2013, 

2

 The College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2013, Table 2. 

8 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

 

 

 

Exhibit 6: Public Four-Year Institutions, Annual Tuition and Fee Price Increases (inflation 

adjusted) 1984–85 to 2013–14 

12% 

11% 

10% 

9% 

8% 

7% 

6% 

5% 

4% 

3% 

2% 

1% 

0% 

84-8585-8686-8787-8888-8989-9090-9191-9292-9393-9494-9595-9696-9797-9898-9999-0000-0101-0202-0303-0404-0505-0606-0707-0808-0909-1010-1111-1212-1313-14 

Source: The College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2013
 

net tuition revenue and state and local 

appropriations contributed about equally 

to the revenues of public institutions. This 

occurred despite the fact that average 

education and related expenditures per 

student at public institutions have not risen 

rapidly in recent years. Two-year public 

colleges spent 11% less per student on 

educational expenditures in 2010–11 than 

a decade earlier. Public doctoral institutions 

spent 4% more in 2010–11 than in 

2000–01. 

The 15% of undergraduate students 

enrolled in private nonprofit institutions3 

will also experience continuing increases 

in tuition and fee prices. In only one year 

out of the last 30 years (2000–01) has the 

average price increased by less than the 

Consumer Price Index.4 That said, the rate 

of increase of published prices in this sector 

has been declining slightly over time and 

continuing public and political pressure is 

likely to prevent escalation in the next 

five years. 

Beyond the cost of attendance, the two 

most critical components to predicting 

student need are total enrollment and 

student demographics. The National Center 

for Education Statistics (NCES) projects 

a slowdown in postsecondary enrollment 

growth over the coming five years—but still 

growth in total enrollment from 21 million in 

2014 to 22.5 million in 2019.5 

3 Digest of Education Statistics 2013, Table 303.70.
 4

 The College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2013, Table 2.
 5

 Because part-time enrollment is predicted to grow more rapidly than full-time enrollment, this would be a 7% increase in total enrollment, but a 6% 


increase in FTE enrollment over five years.
 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 9
 

Exhibit 7: Nonprofit Four-Year and Two-Year Tuition and Fees, 1983–84 to 2013–14 

(inflation adjusted) 1984–85 to 2013–14 

$35,000 

$30,000 

$25,000 

$20,000 

$15,000 

$10,000 

$5,000 

$0 

Private Nonprofit Four-Year Public Four-Year Public Two-Year 

Source: The College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2013 83–84 84–85 85–86 86–87 87–88 88–89 89–90 90–91 91–92 92–93 93–94 94–95 95–96 96–97 97–98

98–9999–0000–0101–0202–0303–0404–0505–0606–0707–0808–0909–1010–1111–1212–1313–14 

The demographics of future students and 

the resources available to them to pay for 

education will influence their financial need 

and the extent to which they will rely on 

federal student aid. From 2014–2019 only 

19% of the new enrollments are expected 

to be traditional-age college students ages 

24 or younger,6 while 29% will be 35 years 

of age or older. In addition, while these two 

groups constitute less than one-third of 

postsecondary enrollment in 2014, about 

two-thirds of the enrollment growth in the 

next five years is expected to come from 

black and Hispanic students. 

Both older adult students and underrepresented minorities have greater financial 

need, on average, than others. Accordingly, 

the reality that increasing percentages of 

postsecondary students are likely to be 

from these groups means that the demand 

for federal student aid will grow faster 

than total enrollment. Therefore, in an 

environment of continually rising college 

prices, the pressure on student aid to 

mitigate the financial strains of college 

students can only increase. 

6

 About 81% of undergraduates ages 18 to 21 are enrolled full-time. The majority of undergraduates ages 25 or older are enrolled part-time (58%). See 

NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2013 Table 303.45. 

10 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

Exhibit 8: Outstanding Principal and Interest Balance of Federal Education Loans (in billions), 

2006–07 to 2013–14 

$1,200 

*Percentage figures represent one-year growth $1,087.0 $998.6 $1,000 $948.2 9% 9%

5%

12% $848.2

$749.8

$657.0

$800 

13%

$577.0 14% $600 $516.0 14% 12%

$400
 

$200
 

$0
 

2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 

Source: Federal Student Aid Data Center 

TREND 2: 

Continued growth of 

student debt and focus on 

delinquency and default 

The outstanding student debt held and 

managed by the Department of Education 

will continue to grow and the problems 

facing both borrowers and the federal 

budget as a result of repayment difficulties 

will require increased attention. 

The Federal Student Aid loan portfolio grew 

from $516 billion in the fourth quarter of 

2007 (2007Q4) to $848 billion in 2011Q4 

and to $1,087 billion in 2014Q2.7 Looking 

to the next five years, predictions of future 

federal borrowing should not be based on 

the dramatic increases in 2008 and 2009, 

when federal loan limits were increased 

and widespread credit market disruptions 

diminished the availability of private student 

loans. At the same time, they should also 

not be based on the declines in 2011 and 

2012, which were driven by declines in 

total enrollment following the surge during 

the recession. Like enrollments, student 

borrowing is likely to continue rising, but at 

a slower pace than in recent years. On one 

hand, students are likely to have greater 

financial need (see Trend #1). On the other 

hand, the rapid rise in enrollments in the 

for-profit sector, which has particularly high 

7 https://studentaid.ed.gov/about/data-center/student/portfolio. 

 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 11
 

 

borrowing rates, has been reversed.8 Taking 

into account the challenges facing some forprofit institutions and the increased scrutiny 

on the industry, there is no reason to predict 

that the sector will regain its market share in 

the next five years. 

The percentage of students at each level of 

study borrowing large amounts relative to 

their expected earnings has increased over 

time. For example, while only 1% of students 

who completed associate degrees in 2003– 

04 had accumulated as much as $30,000 

of debt (in 2012 dollars), that percentage 

had increased to 8% by 2011–12. The 

percentage of graduate students who 

borrowed as much as $100,000 to finance 

their degrees increased from 3% in 2003– 

04 to 16% in 2011–12.9 The projected 

trends in enrollment and prices support a 

continuation of this trend in student debt. 

Student loan default is expected to be an 

ongoing focus for FSA despite signs of 

economic recovery. Students who do not 

complete their degrees are of particular 

concern. While improvements in the 

economy that involve reduced unemployment 

rates and higher wages may offset upward 

pressure on default rates to some extent, 

evidence suggests that it is not the level of 

debt, but whether or not students complete 

their degrees and how required payments 

relate to income levels that predict whether 

or not borrowers will default.10 

In part as a response to high debt levels, 

an increasing share of federal student 

loan borrowers are likely to be repaying 

under plans that make their payments 

8 Digest of Education Statistics 2013, Table 303.10. 

a function of their incomes. Between 

2013Q3 and 2014Q2, the percentage of 

dollars in income-related plans increased 

from 20% to 25% and the percentage 

of borrowers participating in these plans 

increased from 10% to 13%. This trend is 

likely to continue, particularly if bipartisan 

efforts in Congress to strengthen these 

plans and possibly place students in them 

automatically if they do not actively make 

other choices are successful. Automatic 

enrollment in income-related repayment 

would be a fundamental change with 

significant impacts on FSA’s role and 

approach in managing the loan portfolio. 

As more borrowers enter income-sensitive 

repayment programs that allow for loan 

forgiveness, the cost of this form of nonpayment could become a major issue for 

the federal government. The timing and 

potential magnitude of loan forgiveness 

options, especially with graduate students 

who can borrow the entire cost of 

attendance, create uncertain repayment 

terms that could pose significant challenges 

for FSA in managing the federal student 

loan portfolio. 

The issue of student debt is unlikely to fade 

from public attention in the foreseeable 

future, and the very real problems faced 

by individual borrowers will continue. As a 

result, FSA will need to balance distributing 

funds to meet growing student needs and 

managing the scrutiny that comes with 

continuing growth in the federal 

loan portfolio. 

9 Includes students with no debt. Debt levels include both federal and non-federal loans. National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 2004, 2008, 2012. 10 See Jacob P. K. Gross, Osman Cekic, Don Hossler, and Nick Hillman (2009), “What Matters in Student Loan Default: A Review of the Research Literature,” 

Journal of Student Financial Aid, 39(1) for a review of the literature on factors related to student loan default. 

12 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

 

Exhibit 9: Reasons for Not Applying for Federal Student Aid by Household Income as 

Percentage of Poverty Level, 2011–12 

100% 

90% 

ants 

80% 

g 

plic

lyin

Ap

pp

23% 33%

70%

onot AN

16% did not apply did not apply 45%

N

did not apply for federal for federal did not apply 

ed

for

60% for federal student aid student aid for federal 

ey

n

student aid student aid 

50%

urv

40%

Citing Reaso

ercent of S

30% 

20% P

10% 

0% 

Thought they were ineligible No information about how to apply Too much work 

Note: Students are undergraduate students.
 

Source: 2011–12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS)
 

10%

44%

16%

<100% 


(29% of students)
 

46%

9%

15%

100% - 199% 

(22% of students) 

46%

10%

13%

200% - 299% 

(15% of students) 

12%

9%

44%

300% or higher 

(34% of students) 

TREND 3: 

Increasing pressure 

to improve student 

interaction with the 

aid system 

Pressure to simplify both the application 

system for federal student aid and the array 

of available programs is likely to lead to 

policy changes that affect FSA’s processes. 

Tolerance for issues that hinder efforts to 

address the needs of borrowers will continue 

to diminish at the same time that legislative 

changes to federal grant and loan programs 

require increased flexibility in the aid 

delivery system. 

11 2011-12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. 

A frequently cited challenge of the 

current federal aid process is the real 

and perceived complexity of the process. 

As shown in Exhibit 9, many eligible and 

qualified students are not aware of or do 

not complete the aid application process.11 

Simplification efforts designed to address 

this problem may well lead to increased 

reliance on data from the IRS, requiring 

changes to FSA program governance and 

technologies. Support for moving in this 

direction is mounting and is reflected in 

several of the Congressional proposals that 

are emerging in advance of Reauthorization. 

Potential modifications to the Pell Grant 

program could also affect FSA’s operations 

in significant ways. Spending on Pell Grants 

increased from $12.8 billion in 2006–07 to 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 13
 

 

 

 

$32.4 billion in 2012–13 and is projected 

to reach $38.4 billion by 2019–20. At 

the same time, the number of recipients 

increased from 5.2 million in 2006–07, to 

8.9 million in 2012–13, and is projected to 

reach 9.7 million in 2019–20.12 

Recent proposals from the House 

Committee on Education and the Workforce 

include a “Flex Pell Grant” that would allow 

students to be notified in advance of the 

amount of Pell funds they are eligible to 

receive over a six year period and then be 

able to draw funds as needed until they 

either complete their academic programs 

or exhaust the allotted funds. This type 

of structure, which has been supported 

by several advocacy and policy analysis 

groups, would require considerable change 

and flexibility in the award allocation 

mechanisms. Which changes, if any, are 

enacted will be a function of political forces 

and are impossible to predict precisely, so 

flexible systems that can accommodate a 

variety of changes are particularly critical. 

With the push for simplification comes 

the need to communicate with potential 

students and their families to more 

effectively build financial literacy. Beyond 

simply providing relatively detailed 

information, however, there is increased 

emphasis on delivering this information 

to prospective students and borrowers in 

a manner that enables “good” decisionmaking regarding choosing and financing 

higher education. The evidence is growing 

that the way information is delivered 

significantly affects its impact, with 

strategies like text messaging proving 

more effective than simply making 

information available.13 

Across all potential student groups, 

including students who do not enroll in 

postsecondary education immediately 

after high school and those with limited 

familiarity with or access to online tools, 

information needs to be shared more 

effectively.14 This includes responding to 

student demands for more tailored and 

personalized, or personalizable, information. 

The complexity of the information required 

to make good choices, the options for types 

of messaging, as well as a large number 

of potential students who are outside the 

traditional linear path from high school to 

college, create an increasing challenge for 

traditional communications. There is also 

increasing pressure to provide aid estimates 

well in advance of enrollment, to give 

current and potential students the incentive 

and the opportunity to prepare academically 

for higher education. 

Once students are enrolled, multiple 

stakeholders will increasingly have to 

take responsibility for encouraging and 

supporting students in ways that will 

reduce the probability that they leave 

school without having earned credentials. 

Reaching potential students of all ages 

and socioeconomic groups will be an 

ongoing concern. 

12 Congressional Budget Office. The Federal Pell Grant Program: Recent Growth and Policy Options. September 2013. 


http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/44448_PellGrants_9-5-13.pdf. 
 13 See, for example, Castleman, B.L. & Page, L.C. (2014). Freshman Year Financial Aid Nudges: An Experiment to Increase FAFSA Renewal and College 


Persistence. Center for Education Policy and Workforce Competitiveness Working Paper No. 28. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia; Castleman, B.L., 


Page, L.C., & Schooley, K. (2014). The Forgotten Summer: Does the Offer of College Counseling After High School Mitigate Summer Melt Among College-Intending, Low-Income High School Graduates? Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 32(2): 320-344.
 14 Castleman, B.L. (2013). Prompts, Personalization, and Pay-offs: Strategies to Improve the Design and Delivery of College and Financial Aid Information. 


Center for Education Policy and Workforce Competitiveness Working Paper No. 14. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia.
 

14 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

 

 

In addition to the financial implications of 

student debt repayment problems, FSA 

is likely to face growing concerns over 

delinquency, default, and customer service. 

A combination of regulatory constraints and 

external factors have led to questions about 

the proper balance of collection efforts with 

appropriate support for borrowers facing 

difficult circumstances. As a result, FSA will 

continue to come under pressure to ensure 

that appropriate methods are used 

to maintain constructive relationships 

with borrowers. 

While FSA has produced a wide range 

of tools and resources, numerous other 

players, frequently operating with fewer 

regulatory constraints than the federal 

government, actively provide potential 

students and borrowers with related 

support. Particularly given the likelihood 

that FSA will continue to face resource 

constraints and strains on operational 

capabilities, there may be greater 

opportunity to collaborate with some of 

these potential partners. 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 15
 

Exhibit 10: Percentage of Students Taking at Least One Course Online, 2002–2011
 

35% 

30% 

25% 

20% 

15% 

10% 

5% 

0% 

9.6% 

11.7% 

13.5% 

18.2% 

19.6% 

21.6% 

24.1% 

27.3% 

29.2% 

32.0% 

Fall 2002Fall 2003Fall 2004Fall 2005Fall 2006Fall 2007Fall 2008Fall 2009Fall 2010Fall 2011 

Source: Sloan / Babson / College Board survey of institutions 

TREND 4: 

Increasing demand for 

accountability in the use 

of federal funds 

More public and Congressional attention 

will be focused on holding FSA, in 

addition to students, institutions, and 

other entities involved in the financial aid 

system, accountable for how well they use 

federal funds. Restrictions on institutional 

eligibility for Title IV funds and conditions 

for continuing eligibility among students 

making limited academic progress are 

likely to be strengthened. 

Public focus has shifted from merely 

seeking increased access to higher 

education to demanding greater 

accountability for student outcomes and 

a more clearly and consistently defined 

return on investment for education. As 

prices continue to rise and concern around 

student debt levels grows, the pressure on 

institutions and the government to define, 

track, measure, and report on educational 

performance, progress and outcomes is 

increasing (as evidenced by the proposed 

federal rating system). These issues will 

become increasingly challenging as the 

methods for delivering education and 

training evolve and student enrollment 

patterns become more irregular. 

16 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

Online learning has emerged rapidly in 

the past two decades, and while precise 

patterns are difficult to measure,15 data 

suggest that the percentage of students 

taking at least one course online tripled 

from 9.6% to 32.0% between 2002 

and 2011. Data from the Integrated 

Postsecondary Education Data System 

(IPEDS) indicate that in fall 2012, 13% 

of postsecondary students were enrolled 

exclusively online and another 13% were 

taking some of their courses online.16 

Students are increasingly taking nonlinear paths, including hybrid, online, and 

enrollment at multiple institutions. They 

transfer, take breaks and return to their 

studies, and switch between part-time and 

full-time enrollment. As students continue 

to seek alternatives, education delivery 

will continue to evolve to support students 

who choose a “swirling”17 path through 

higher education. 

While efforts to hold institutions more 

accountable for student outcomes will 

surely continue, it is likely that provisions 

requiring students to make academic 

progress in order to continue receiving 

federal aid will also be strengthened. 

For example, it is possible that the 

Department of Education will be expected 

to follow students who do not meet the 

requirements for continuing eligibility for 

federal aid at one school so they do not 

receive the aid at another school without 

meeting some requirements 

for reinstatement. 

Much of the focus on accountability revolves 

around a push to enroll more students 

in programs that will provide “valuable” 

credentials and profitable employment, 

while highlighting institutions, programs, 

or courses of study that either do not have 

satisfactory completion rates or whose 

graduates are not successful in the job 

market. There is also a need to evaluate 

the viability of a competency-based 

learning framework within which credit, 

and potentially degrees, could be awarded 

based on placement tests and assessments 

of student portfolios that consist of credits 

and experiences from various programs, 

experiences, and learning channels. If this 

model becomes more widespread, the 

challenges of determining eligibility for 

federal student aid will increase. 

15 Some sources ask about “distance” learning and others ask about “online” learning. This makes it difficult to measure trends in online learning because in 


the past, much distance education used different technology.
 

16 U.S. Department of Education, Enrollment in Distance Education Courses, by State, Fall 2012. Web Tables, NCES 2014-023.
 

17 The National Student Clearinghouse Research Centre found that one-third of students transfer from one college to another before earning a degree. 


More than a quarter of such transfers cross state lines. The term “swirling” is commonly used to indicate students with multi-institutional attendance and 


discontinuous enrollment. Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely than economically advantaged students to swirl.
 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 17
 

 

 

 

TREND 5: 

Increased attention to 

availability and uses 

of data 

FSA has built a rich database of Title 

IV-related information on students and 

borrowers. Policy makers, researchers, 

and others are increasingly aware of the 

potential of this information and analyses 

based on the data to inform discussion. This 

may place increasing strain on operational 

systems and also require clarification with 

regard to data privacy concerns and legal 

restrictions on how the data can be used. 

The increasing interest in using data 

to further increase transparency in the 

application of federal funds applies 

to student borrowing and other areas 

including accountability, competency-based 

education, student and teacher evaluations, 

institutional ratings and scorecards and the 

potential linking of performance to aid. 

As students become increasingly mobile 

over the course of their postsecondary 

education, government and institutional 

data systems will come under pressure 

to build stronger capabilities to track 

students through their paths at multiple 

institutions within and across states. 

This will likely require closer partnerships 

between institutions and states for data 

collection and sharing.18 Almost one quarter 

of students who earn credentials earn 

them at an institution other than the one 

at which they began their studies.19 This 

reality increases both the complexity and 

the benefits of tracking students over time 

in order for FSA to accurately determine 

continued aid eligibility and effectively 

collect outstanding debts. Despite support 

from the higher education community and 

from some members of Congress, the 

Congressionally-imposed restriction on the 

creation of a federal unit-record system that 

would facilitate the tracking of individual 

students is not likely to be lifted in the 

next few years. FSA will be faced with the 

challenge of addressing this problem. 

Improved data collection methods and 

definitions for non-traditional students 

could also contribute to a more consistent 

understanding of the student population. 

This understanding could then enable 

better designed and defined strategies 

for improving degree completion rates.20 

In addition to using data to evaluate 

institutional performance, there may be 

increasing interest in using it to help 

students make good decisions when 

deciding where to go to school, which 

degrees to pursue, and how much 

to borrow. 

Tracking students and student outcomes 

in any fashion will continue to present 

challenges for FSA given the prevailing 

public sentiment about sharing personal 

data and the legal restrictions on unit 

record data. 

18 Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance. Pathways to Success, Integrating Learning with Life and Work to Increase National College 


Completion. A Report to the U.S. Congress and Secretary of Education. February 2012.
 19 National Student Clearinghouse, Completing College: A National View of Student Attainment Rate—Fall 2007 Cohort, 2013.
 

20 Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance. Pathways to Success, Integrating Learning with Life and Work to Increase National College 


Completion. A Report to the U.S. Congress and Secretary of Education. February 2012.
 

18 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

STRATEGIC GOALS 

AND OBJECTIVES 

3. 

FSA’s five strategic goals have been 

modified in FY2015 to enable the 

organization to best meet the needs 

of its customers. Each strategic goal 

encompasses several objectives which 

provide further guidance on how FSA 

will achieve the goals. In developing this 

Five-Year Strategic Plan, FSA adapted 

the strategic goals defined previously 

and clarified objectives that align with 

the Mission Statement, Vision, and Core 

Values defined in FY2011. FSA’s mission 

will continue to be the same; however, the 

means to success and the measurements 

that will be used will change based on 

lessons learned. 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 19
 

STRATEGIC GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
 

Strategic Goal A: 

Improve quality of service for customers across the 

entire student aid life cycle. 

• A.1: Improve outreach and awareness efforts 

to support aid recipients and their families in 

making sound financial decisions. 

• A.2: Optimize the borrower service model to 

improve the customer experience. 

• A.3: Predict, identify, and understand existing 

and emerging customer trends and patterns. 

• A.4: Enhance outreach, training, and tools 


to improve institutional performance and
 

help postsecondary institutions understand
 

responsibilities and requirements under the 


Higher Education Act.
 

Strategic Goal B: 

Proactively manage the student aid portfolio to 

mitigate risk. 

• B.1: Enhance analytical and research 

capabilities to proactively identify operational 

and reputational risk. 

• B.2: Develop robust, data-driven processes to 

manage identified risks. 

• B.3: Provide access to resources to protect 

students and families from unfair, deceptive, 

or fraudulent practices in the student aid 

marketplace. 

Strategic Goal C: 

Improve operational efficiency and flexibility. 

• C.1: Link disparate data sources to improve 

cross-organizational information exchange. 

• C.2: Refine acquisition management to ensure 

that services and products are consistent with 

business objectives. 

• C.3: Enhance governance processes to support 

enterprise decision-making. 

• C.4: Strengthen FSA’s information technology 

(IT) systems’ security. 

Strategic Goal D: 

Foster trust and collaboration among stakeholders. 

• D.1: Engage with stakeholders to be the most 

trusted and reliable source of information on 

federal student aid. 

• D.2: Provide timely and proactive 

communications to promote accurate, consistent 

messaging on federal funding of postsecondary 

education. 

• D.3: Promote transparency and accountability 

within FSA and across the higher education 

environment. 

Strategic Goal E: 

Invest in expanded workforce capability. 

• E.1: Create an enterprise-wide workforce plan to 

attract, develop, and retain employees with the 

skills required to meet evolving business needs. 

• E.2: Develop a succession planning strategy 

to identify and create opportunities for future 

leadership talent. 

20 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

 

STRATEGIC GOAL A:
 

Improve quality of 

service for customers 

across the entire student 

aid life cycle. 

Objective A.1 

Improve outreach and awareness 

efforts to support aid recipients 

and their families in making sound 

financial decisions. 

FSA remains committed to improving overall 

awareness of federal student aid programs 

and helping aid recipients understand their 

obligations. Over the next five years, FSA 

will focus heavily on its ability to provide 

prospective and current aid recipients and 

their families with the information they need 

to make sound education finance decisions 

at each stage of the student aid life cycle, 

and will adapt its outreach strategies in 

order to address changing demographics of 

the student population. 

FSA continues to expand its outreach and 

awareness efforts. In recent years, FSA has 

launched a financial aid toolkit designed to 

augment the day-to-day communications 

provided by guidance counselors, college 

access professionals, and non-profit 

mentors, developed the FAFSA Completion 

Tool, which provides data to eligible schools 

on FAFSA completion rates, and partnered 

with external organizations in government, 

the non-profit sector, and private industry to 

develop high-profile borrower engagement 

campaigns. FSA has also expanded its 

financial literacy outreach efforts and 

supports a continuous drive to promote 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 21
 

 

 

 

awareness of federal loan repayment options 

such as the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Plan 

and Income-Based Repayment (IBR). 

However, opportunities remain for FSA to 

further develop its capabilities. As student 

and borrower demographics become more 

diverse, there will be a growing need to use 

tailored approaches to communicate with 

customers, particularly with those pursuing 

non-traditional education paths. This will be 

reflected in how FSA shapes future outreach 

and awareness strategies. 

Over the next five years, FSA will design 

and implement more sophisticated targeted 

strategies for different audiences in order 

to engage prospective and current aid 

recipients and their families at key points in 

the student aid life cycle. FSA will leverage 

new communication channels and publish 

refined toolkits to ensure that current 

and prospective aid recipients have the 

information they need. FSA’s campaigns 

will aim to raise general awareness of 

federal student aid and reduce borrower 

delinquency and default. Recognizing that 

direct contact with the customer often lies 

outside FSA, FSA will also engage with 

other key partners, such as high school 

guidance counselors, community groups, 

and non-profit groups, to further increase its 

efficiency and expand the reach of 

its communications. 

Objective A.2 

Optimize the borrower service model 

to improve the customer experience. 

Students and their families are faced with 

difficult and often complex postsecondary 

financing choices. Recognizing that 

customers need reliable information as well 

as assurance in making sound decisions, 

FSA will focus on supporting students as 

they navigate the financial aid process. 

Optimizing the customer service model 

by adopting more service-oriented 

approaches will increase FSA’s ability to 

adapt to changing customer needs and 

ensure that all qualified students can easily 

understand the available options and make 

informed choices. 

FSA has recently redesigned its loan 

counselling tools to incorporate principles 

of financial literacy, sound budgeting 

techniques, and a clear overview of 

federal loans and repayment options, 

and has consolidated multiple websites 

into a single customer-friendly portal at 

StudentAid.gov. FSA has also worked 

to improve its technical processes, 

implementing, for example, the ability 

to pre-populate borrower income taken 

directly from the Internal Revenue Service 

(IRS), and developing tools to recommend 

particular options for borrowers considering 

income-driven repayment plans. These 

improvements to the current service model, 

which is used by tens of millions of 

students per year, serve as a platform for 

further enhancements. 

In the future, FSA will further optimize its 

service model across the entire federal 

student aid life cycle, from initial outreach 

to final repayment. By simplifying customer 

facing processes, employing innovative 

communication strategies, and adding selfservice options, FSA will be able to respond 

quickly to better serve the evolving needs 

of aid recipients and ensure that borrowers 

receive accurate, timely, and high-quality 

service on their federal aid. 

22 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

Objective A.3 

Predict, identify, and understand 

existing and emerging customer 

trends and patterns. 

As aid recipient behavior and models of 

higher education continue to evolve, a datadriven analytical approach will enable FSA 

to better understand changing customer 

needs and rapidly identify emerging 

patterns. FSA will use predictive analytical 

capabilities to develop improved insight 

into customer expectations, behavior, 

and satisfaction with federal financial aid 

services and products. Understanding and 

predicting customer trends will inform FSA 

strategies for enhanced engagement with 

existing customers as well as expand the 

scope of possibilities for targeting new and 

underserved populations. 

FSA has already made considerable 

progress in moving towards this objective. 

FSA’s in-house customer analytics team 

provides sophisticated analytical support 

to enterprise business units, helping to 

optimize the content and layout of borrower 

engagement communications to maximize 

positive response rates. FSA is also 

working to develop more sophisticated 

models for customer segmentation analysis, 

which aims to identify target groups for 

outreach purposes. 

Building on these successes, FSA will 

develop improved analytical capabilities 

focused on predicting, identifying, 

understanding, and rapidly addressing 

changing customer trends and patterns. In 

doing so, FSA will identify new opportunities 

to improve customer experience across the 

student aid life cycle. This expertise will 

better position FSA to identify potential 

issues impacting customers and ensure that 

customer needs and expectations are met. 

Objective A.4 

Enhance outreach, training, and tools 

to improve institutional performance 

and help postsecondary institutions 

understand responsibilities and 

requirements under the Higher 

Education Act. 

The responsibilities and requirements of 

postsecondary institutions under the Higher 

Education Act are designed to promote 

the best outcomes for students and their 

families and address the education needs 

of the nation. Supporting postsecondary 

institutions’ awareness of and ability to meet 

these responsibilities and requirements 

through outreach, training and provision of 

tools improves compliance. 

FSA has provided significant publications, 

training, and assessment tools to support 

institutions’ Title IV program compliance 

and to help institutions meet their 

commitment to supporting students at all 

stages of the postsecondary education 

experience. Providing tailored technical 

help and, when necessary, working directly 

with schools based on their institutional 

performance has been a major focus for 

FSA, with an emphasis on providing the 

resources to support schools in making the 

right decisions when it comes to factors 

that impact their ability to meet Title IV 

compliance and improve college access and 

student outcomes. 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 23
 

 

 

FSA will continue to build on this progress 

and look to further support schools in 

providing access to aid and managing 

Title IV requirements across the 

disbursement and aid management process. 

FSA will increase its efforts to provide 

postsecondary institutions with guidance to 

ensure that they act in the best interest of 

students and are operating in compliance 

with evolving laws, regulations, and policies 

governed by the Higher Education Act, such 

as Cohort Default Rate (CDR) provisions as 

well as upcoming requirements related to 

Gainful Employment. FSA will also provide 

resources to support new non-traditional 

education providers, as well as traditional 

schools looking to develop new course 

offerings, in understanding and complying 

with Title IV requirements for programs that 

do not fit easily into existing requirement 

frameworks. This focus will strengthen FSA’s 

ability to help schools provide information 

to students, drive institutional quality, and 

improve completion rates. 

STRATEGIC GOAL B: 

Proactively manage the 

student aid portfolio to 

mitigate risk. 

Objective B.1 

Enhance analytical and research 

capabilities to proactively identify 

operational and reputational risk. 

The student loan portfolio has grown 

exponentially in size in recent years, rising 

to more than $1 trillion in 2014, and is 

expected to continue to grow over the 

next five years. As a result, the continued 

development of sophisticated analytical 

and research capabilities to proactively 

identify risk will be increasingly critical to 

maintaining proper governance over FSA 

operations. 

Over the years, FSA’s role in collecting, 

analyzing, and providing access to student 

aid data within a complex student aid 

ecosystem has expanded. The volume of 

data available across multiple systems 

represents a challenge in its collection and 

analysis. Moreover, given the proliferation of 

new education models, increase in vendors, 

data sources, and channels, this data 

complexity is expected to increase in scope 

over the next five years. 

Robust analysis depends on high-quality 

data input; recognizing this, FSA will work 

to strengthen its methods of collecting 

and storing data. FSA will develop systems 

that proactively collect and filter data 

from an expanded number of data sources 

and at a level of granularity sufficient for 

sound and reliable analysis; the Enterprise 

Data Warehouse and Analytics (EDW&A) 

system, initiated in 2014, is a significant 

first step in achieving this. FSA will also 

engage in efforts to provide more data 

to external stakeholders by establishing 

systematic, user-friendly, and efficient 

methods for data reporting based on an 

understanding of users’ information needs. 

Lastly, FSA will improve the coordination of 

its data workforce to ensure that analysis 

is strategically directed, reviewed, and 

disseminated to appropriate stakeholders. 

24 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

 

 

Objective B.2 

Develop robust, data-driven processes 

to manage identified risks. 

FSA is responsible for the management 

and oversight of an outstanding federal 

student aid portfolio in excess of $1 trillion 

in Title IV loans, representing over 40 

million borrowers. Proactive management 

of financial, operational, market and 

reputational risk helps FSA concentrate on 

the areas of highest return regarding the 

successful administration of the student aid 

portfolio. FSA’s risk management processes 

must be robust and data-driven in order to 

protect borrower and taxpayer interests. 

Over the last year, FSA has improved several 

aspects of its program compliance process 

to ensure the proper administration of funds, 

and has improved training of its compliance 

staff, demonstrating its firm commitment 

to compliance and enforcement. FSA 

has also tailored its servicing contracts 

to incentivize proper governance of its 

financial portfolio. Such activities represent 

a significant first step in ensuring that risk 

is managed proactively and appropriately 

within the organization. 

FSA will continue to ensure that an effective 

internal control framework is in place across 

the organization and will monitor the 

Title IV loan and grant portfolio performance 

through further data gathering and analysis, 

taking action where appropriate. FSA will 

develop more integrated approaches to 

risk management that include managing 

potential vendor related risk across the 

student aid life cycle and systemic risks 

that may impact the federal student 

lending portfolio. Particular emphasis will 

be placed on the proactive identification 

of risks, through enhanced analytics and 

monitoring of customer feedback, before 

they materialize. 

Objective B.3 

Provide access to resources to protect 

students and families from unfair, 

deceptive, or fraudulent practices in 

the student aid marketplace. 

Student complaints, deceptive lending 

practices, and borrower protection issues 

remain a significant area of concern for 

FSA. With the rapid evolution of the 

educational and federal student aid 

environment, including rising tuition costs, 

new education offerings, and the existence 

of private companies charging fees for 

free actions such as loan consolidation or 

income-driven repayment plan enrollment, 

borrower protection issues have become 

an increasingly significant potential risk 

for FSA. Providing students with the best 

information about aid products, options, 

and requirements, as well as information 

regarding what students should expect from 

institutions, will help protect borrowers from 

unfair treatment. 

While FSA has an Ombudsman’s office 

in place to assist borrowers in resolving 

student loan issues after they occur, it 

does not function as a mechanism to 

prevent potential behavior that is not 

in the best interests of students and 

borrowers. In recognition of this, FSA has 

moved forward with a number of initiatives 

focused on ensuring borrowers have the 

best information available to inform their 

school selection and associated borrowing 

decisions. The introduction of Gainful 

Employment measures, which will enable 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 25
 

 

 

students to evaluate the impact of particular 

schools and courses on their ability to 

improve future employment prospects, 

will also facilitate sound education finance 

decisions and limit the risk that they 

enroll or borrow based on potentially 

misleading information, as well as provide 

the opportunity to leverage sanctions 

against schools with consistent and 

extraordinary negative performance. FSA 

is also working to develop an Enterprise 

Complaint System and consumer portal 

that will drastically improve the ease of use 

for customers seeking to submit comments 

or complaints about their federal student 

aid experience. This effort will improve 

the customer experience and provide 

analytical insight to further drive operational 

enhancements. These developments are 

further supported by the Department of 

Education’s recently implemented College 

Scorecard effort, designed to support 

students in better understanding college 

quality and affordability, and limit the risk 

that their decisions are based on unreliable 

information. 

Moving forward, FSA will look to provide 

prospective students, borrowers, and 

other customers of federal student aid 

programs with information to navigate the 

complexities of student aid. FSA will take 

steps to ensure that students have the 

information necessary to recognize when 

they are not being treated fairly. This will 

include the implementation of processes, 

tools, and methods that serve to protect 

the interests of students, and support FSA 

in making service providers accountable. 

FSA will also ensure that its processes 

for resolving student issues are simple for 

customers to use and sophisticated enough 

to capture insights that can be used to 

refine student aid operations. 

STRATEGIC GOAL C:
 

Improve operational 

efficiency and flexibility. 

Objective C.1 

Link disparate data sources to 

improve cross-organizational 

information exchange. 

FSA seeks to expand the use of efficient, 

enterprise-level data systems through the 

development of a common platform that 

reduces costs and improves information 

sharing. Linking and consolidating existing 

data throughout FSA enables improved 

data-sharing, allows the organization 

to provide a holistic view of the data to 

better serve its customers, and reduces 

operational pressure on legacy systems. 

FSA has implemented a number 

of initiatives focused on developing 

mechanisms to facilitate collaboration 

and information sharing across the 

organization. Most notably, the Enterprise 

Data Warehouse and Analytics (EDW&A) 

system will provide a centralized repository 

for student aid data and will help the 

organization to accurately and effectively 

analyze its data. From an organizational 

perspective, under the auspices of the 

Data Governance Board, FSA is working to 

develop standardized policies and processes 

related to the management, storage, 

analysis, and protection of organizational 

data. 

Over the next five years, FSA will seek 

additional opportunities to link data across 

the organization and with external entities, 

26 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

 

 

foster internal collaboration and decision 

making, and identify ways to leverage data 

to further serve students and borrowers. 

Objective C.2 

Refine acquisition management to 

ensure that services and products are 

consistent with business objectives. 

Given that vendors support a significant 

segment of FSA’s core activities, it is critical 

that FSA look for opportunities to refine its 

acquisition strategy. Ensuring the efficient 

and economic acquisition of products and 

services and managing vendor relationships 

helps FSA to strengthen its ability to meet 

business objectives and to hold vendors to 

the highest levels of service. 

FSA is in the process of re-competing 

several of its major contracts and is placing 

the highest priority on selecting the vendors 

that most effectively meet FSA’s business 

objectives with the lowest risk. FSA is also 

expanding and improving its acquisition 

team, ensuring that the organization retains 

highly technically proficient individuals, to 

best support both the selection of vendors 

and the oversight of their performance. 

Doing so will improve quality control, 

help mitigate risks, and ensure that the 

acquisition process aligns with the long 

term vision and operating model of FSA. 

Technological advancement has enhanced 

the ability of available products and 

services to meet organizational needs, and 

as the marketplace continues to evolve, 

FSA will need to develop acquisition 

processes that allow for the ready adoption 

of new capabilities. This will require the 

development of more flexible procurement 

approaches that enable business functions 

to identify, adopt, and refine value-providing 

products and services. To this end, FSA will 

continue to revise its acquisition approach 

to proactively identify opportunities to 

better align contract performance with 

FSA’s mission. 

Objective C.3 

Enhance governance processes to 

support enterprise decision-making. 

As a result of increasing pressure across 

the federal government to migrate to more 

cost-effective operating models, many 

agencies are looking to adopt enterprise 

methods of governance that are agile, 

standardized, and facilitate improved 

decision-making. For FSA, the development 

of efficient governance processes will 

enable the organization to more readily 

adapt to changing policies and needs, while 

continuing to effectively manage and deliver 

student aid programs. 

While FSA’s current model does enable 

the effective delivery of business and 

technology services, existing governance 

processes should be enhanced to further 

clarify roles and standardize processes 

and structure for enterprise-wide decision 

making. FSA continues to explore innovative 

ways to deliver services that are consistently 

aligned with strategy and deliver intended 

value. Although FSA’s existing structure, 

centered on an executive-level Investment 

Review Board supported by various 

governance processes to track and prioritize 

capital and IT investments, opportunities 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 27
 

exist to further enhance and mature 

this approach. 

FSA will refine its governance disciplines 

to provide effective oversight, delivery, 

and management of large-scale projects 

and programs. Enhancing and prioritizing 

governance processes will help optimize 

resource utilization, support investment 

and allocation decisions, allow for proactive 

planning, and help increase the success rate 

for large-scale programs and initiatives. 

Objective C.4 

Strengthen FSA’s information 

technology (IT) systems’ security. 

Recent technological improvements in 

processing and analyzing data, including 

loan information from millions of borrowers, 

have greatly increased FSA’s ability to 

better serve its customers. However, the 

rising sophistication of external network 

threats, as well as the increasing social, 

reputational, and financial risk of loss of 

data or personally identifiable information 

(PII), necessitates a proactive approach to 

identify and prevent unauthorized access 

and accidental or deliberate data loss. 

FSA places a high priority on strengthening 

its IT systems’ security in order to ensure 

that potential threats are appropriately 

identified and managed. FSA has robust 

and structured processes to help ensure 

that data is properly managed, stored, 

analyzed, and protected. FSA also operates 

a continuous Security Operations Center 

(SOC) that operates with the Department 

of Education’s Security Operations Center, 

which allows real-time threat detection 

and tracking, comprehensive reporting of 

security events and incidents, vulnerability 

identification and trending, and incident and 

remediation tracking. Simultaneously, FSA 

is working to improve several of its network 

access systems to strengthen authentication 

security and reduce potential network 

access fraud. 

Over the next five years, FSA will continue 

to enhance its systems’ security and employ 

a proactive security approach based on an 

enterprise-level view of network protection. 

FSA will govern the development of FSA 

IT systems in a systematic way, evaluate 

and address threats to existing systems, 

and develop safeguards to ensure proper 

controls when handling the collection and 

disbursement of data. 

STRATEGIC GOAL D: 

Foster trust and 

collaboration among 

stakeholders. 

Objective D.1 

Engage with stakeholders to be the 

most trusted and reliable source of 

information on federal student aid. 

The education environment includes a 

significant number of stakeholders with a 

variety of needs, objectives, and priorities. 

This presents opportunities for FSA to 

strengthen effective partnerships with 

internal partners in the federal government 

28 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

 

and external stakeholders in the field of 

higher education to address priorities that 

serve in the best interest of students. 

Currently, FSA engages with numerous 

stakeholders; understanding their 

missions, roles and needs allows FSA to 

appropriately advise and collaborate with 

them. Developing this engagement will help 

FSA and its partners collectively respond 

to the needs of borrowers and students as 

customers of federal student aid programs. 

As the education landscape continues to 

evolve, FSA will work to better understand 

new and existing stakeholders so that it 

can determine the appropriate type and 

level of engagement (e.g., advise, inform, 

observe, or collaborate) and further its vision 

to be the most trusted and reliable source 

of student financial aid information and 

service in the nation. Employing appropriate 

partnership and engagement strategies will 

allow FSA to achieve this vision by informing 

stakeholders of its operational realities, 

responding to anticipated needs, and 

providing better guidance. 

Objective D.2 

Provide timely and proactive 

communications to promote accurate, 

consistent messaging on federal 

funding of postsecondary education. 

Clear, consistent, and timely information 

about FSA’s mission, objectives, role, 

policies, products, and services to 

stakeholders—including Congress, 

postsecondary institutions, and regulatory 

agencies—enables FSA to be the most 

trusted source of information on federal 

funding of postsecondary education. 

FSA understands that different 

stakeholders have different 

communication needs, interests, and 

familiarity with federal financial aid 

programs. FSA has launched efforts to 

help explain policy and build awareness 

about its mission and business 

objectives. Through the dissemination 

of useful information through general 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 29
 

channels meant to support transparency 

initiatives, such as the FSA Data 

Center, as well as through structured 

reports, such as upcoming reporting on 

customer complaints, FSA will provide 

significant value to stakeholders seeking 

a consistent and accurate understanding 

of the contours of the higher education 

environment. 

Recognizing that stakeholders rely on 

federal funding information to make 

critical education decisions, FSA will 

employ appropriate communication 

strategies to disseminate information that 

is accurate, relevant and timely. FSA will 

focus in particular on ensuring that the 

insight that results from FSA’s unique 

position is effectively communicated. 

These efforts will enable clear messaging 

about FSA’s strategies, policy, and current 

and planned initiatives. 

Objective D.3 

Promote transparency and 

accountability within FSA and across 

the higher education environment. 

FSA and its partners within the field of 

higher education can more easily develop 

mutual trust when stakeholders commit 

to transparency in their priorities, actions, 

and results. Similarly, FSA recognizes 

that collaboration is most effective when 

stakeholders hold themselves accountable 

for results. 

Recently, FSA has taken tangible steps 

to ensure that its actions, and the 

actions of its partners, are accomplished 

with transparency and accountability 

in mind. For example, in 2014, FSA 

and the Department of Education 

convened a Servicing Summit as part 

of its Annual Fall Training Conference, 

inviting consumer and student advocates 

to discuss the current state of federal 

loan servicing, share opinions and 

research, and offer suggestions for 

shaping the future of Federal Student 

Aid. FSA is also working to ensure that 

data and information from partners both 

internal and external to government is 

appropriately distributed. 

Over the next five years, FSA will work 

to ensure that these values continue 

to be held, both within the enterprise 

and among partners in the various 

communities that comprise the system 

of higher education financing. Where 

appropriate, FSA will seek to provide 

insight into the federal student loan 

system to engaged stakeholders, and will 

improve mechanisms that ensure that 

all stakeholders are held accountable to 

the mission of improving outcomes for 

students, borrowers, and their families. 

STRATEGIC GOAL E: 

Invest in expanded
 

workforce capability.
 

Objective E.1 

Create an enterprise-wide workforce 

plan to attract, develop, and retain 

employees with the skills required to 

meet evolving business needs. 

As the environment of postsecondary 

education and student aid continues to 

evolve, FSA must ensure that its workforce 

has the capabilities to adapt to changing 

business needs and priorities, which reflect 

30 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

 

the needs of FSA’s customers. Acquiring 

talent and maintaining a skilled workforce 

remain priority areas for FSA. As FSA’s 

business priorities change, it must attract, 

develop, and retain a diverse workforce 

with the specialized knowledge, skills, and 

capabilities to help execute mission critical 

work functions. 

FSA has launched a number of initiatives 

to increase the capability of its workforce. 

These improvements have ranged from a 

streamlined hiring process to coaching and 

competency based training programs. 

To expand the capabilities of its workforce, 

FSA will work to improve its acquisition 

of new employees, its training programs, 

performance management practices, 

and retention strategies. Developing an 

enterprise-wide workforce plan will enable 

FSA to determine, for example, the 

appropriate balance of contractors and 

federal employees, and to design initiatives 

to develop a diverse workforce well-versed 

in the specialty skill sets necessary to 

address evolving models of higher education 

delivery. Additionally, FSA will attract, 

retain, and develop a workforce capable 

of driving and implementing organizational 

change including strategies and 

mechanisms that can accelerate externally 

and internally driven changes, whether 

policy, process, or systems related. 

Objective E.2 

Develop a succession planning strategy 

to identify and create opportunities for 

future leadership talent. 

As with many other federal agencies, a 

significant number of FSA’s leaders and 

senior managers are currently eligible for 

retirement, or will become eligible within the 

next five years. A well-designed succession 

planning strategy will help address this issue 

by strengthening FSA’s talent pipeline through 

proactive identification, cultivation, and 

preparation of emerging leaders in 

the organization. 

Upcoming retirements may cause FSA to 

lose experienced leadership as well as critical 

organizational and operational knowledge, 

potentially impacting FSA’s ability to achieve 

mission priorities. While the organization has 

taken on initiatives directed at expanding 

and improving executive leadership 

capabilities, such as offering a ‘Foundations 

of Leadership Program’, as well as targeted 

development programs for rising supervisors 

and managers, opportunities exist to pursue 

targeted efforts that further strengthen 

leadership identification and promote overall 

development. 

A more fully developed succession planning 

strategy will enable FSA to retain institutional 

knowledge and give leadership more longterm visibility into how managers are 

progressing along the leadership path, 

identify when they are ready for the executive 

level, and enable the organization to keep upto-date on overall leadership bench strength. 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 31
 

 

 

PERFORMANCE MEASURES 

4. 

FSA’s strategic goals, objectives and 

initiatives will significantly improve the 

organization’s future performance 

and achievement of its mission. 

FSA will measure the success of its 

strategic goals against the following 

performance measures. 

For Strategic Goal A, “Improve quality of 

service for customers across the entire 

student aid life cycle,” FSA will assess 

its progress on five related metrics. First, 

FSA will measure the percent of first-time 

FAFSA filers among high school seniors, as 

measured by applicant data received from 

the Central Processing System (CPS) and 

demographic data provided by the National 

Center for Education Statistics (NCES). 

This performance indicator measures the 

largest and most visible outcome of FSA’s 

customer engagement efforts: the percent 

of high school seniors who successfully file 

a FAFSA as a first step in furthering their 

education beyond the secondary level. 

Second, FSA will measure the persistence 

rate among first-time filing aid recipients. 

This metric helps track performance on one 

of the desired outcomes of federal student 

aid and its impact on program completion, 

with data collected from FSA’s Common 

Origination and Disbursement (COD) 

system. By following first-time filing aid 

recipients, such as college freshmen or firsttime adult learners, into their second year, 

it is possible to see whether FSA is making 

improvements in how applicants translate 

received aid into educational success. This 

metric provides FSA with a key contribution 

to the President’s 2020 Goal attainment 

progress and calculation methodology. 

FSA will also measure customer visits to 

StudentAid.gov, FSA’s premiere information 

interface for prospective, current, and 

past customers. By focusing on overall 

customer visits to its flagship website, this 

performance metric will help gauge the 

success of FSA’s efforts to increasingly 

become the trusted source for accurate 

and accessible student aid information for 

Americans nationwide. 

To assess FSA’s outreach capabilities 

to target populations using new media, 

FSA will assess its performance on social 

media channel subscribership, calculated 

as the aggregate sum of ‘likes’, followers, 

and subscribers on Facebook, Twitter, and 

YouTube, respectively. This metric gauges 

32 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

the performance of enterprise efforts to 

increasingly become the trusted source 

for accurate and accessible student aid 

information across the organization’s digitally 

engaged customer base. 

Lastly, to measure overall customer 

satisfaction level throughout the student aid 

life cycle, FSA also will calculate a weighted 

score for the American Customer Satisfaction 

Index (ACSI) surveys for applicants, students 

in school, and borrowers in repayment. This 

metric will gauge how FSA is improving 

in terms of streamlined processes for 

customer interaction and the accessibility of 

information FSA provides to its customers on 

websites and in other materials. 

For Strategic Goal B, “Proactively manage 

the student aid portfolio to mitigate risk,” 

FSA will determine progress according to two 

measures. First, FSA will determine progress 

made on reducing the aggregate improper 

payment rate on programs determined to be 

risk-susceptible to improper payments. Doing 

so enables FSA to holistically understand the 

integrity of its programs and identify areas 

of improvement. 

Second, FSA will measure the percent of 

borrowers who are greater than 90 days 

delinquent, as measured by invoice data 

collected from Title IV Additional Servicers 

(TIVAS) and Not for Profit Servicers (NFPs). 

A focus on reducing the number of borrowers 

more than 90 days delinquent provides 

FSA with insight on how to communicate 

information about repayment options in a 

targeted and timely manner, and supports 

FSA’s ability to analyze and respond to trends 

in the student aid portfolio. 

For Strategic Goal C, “Improve operational 

efficiency and flexibility,” FSA will measure 

aid delivery costs per application, which 

tracks the direct cost to process FAFSAs 

and originate aid, divided by the number of 

original FAFSAs processed, and percentage 

of outstanding Direct Loan Program dollars 

in a current repayment status, which uses 

a four-quarter moving average for loans in 

active repayment. Active repayment includes 

all current and delinquent borrowers whose 

accounts are currently serviced by federal 

servicers. Borrowers with loans in grace, 

in school, in deferment, in forbearance, or 

in bankruptcy or disability status are not 

expected to make payments and are not 

included in this calculation. Together, these 

measures provide a comprehensive evaluation 

of efficiencies from the beginning of the 

student aid life cycle (application) until the 

end (repayment). When reporting annual 

results for these two measures, FSA will note, 

where applicable, where service improvements 

or operational enhancements influenced each 

measure. 

For Strategic Goal D, “Foster trust and 

collaboration among stakeholders,” FSA will 

assess its performance on the Ease of Doing 

Business survey, conducted quarterly with 

postsecondary institutions and partners. 

Successfully delivering aid through a complex 

system depends on FSA’s ability to work 

well with its institutional, financial, and state 

partners by supporting them with technical 

assistance that will help them improve their 

performance, and by providing adequate 

oversight to ensure that participants are 

complying with program requirements. 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 33
 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 11: Performance Metrics
 

Performance Metrics FY2014 Baseline FY2015 Targets FY2016 

Targets 

FY2017 

Targets 

FY2018 

Targets 

FY2019 

Targets 

GOALS 

Percent Of First-Time FAFSA 

A1	 Filers Among High School 60.1% 59.1% - 61.1% +/- 1% of Prior Year Result 

Seniors 

Persistence Among First-Time A2	 79.6% 78.6% - 80.6% +/- 1% of Prior Year Result Filing Aid Recipients 

Customer Visits To StudentAid. A3	 32.7M >=32.7M Based on Prior Year Performance 

gov 

Social Media Channel A4	 368,042 >368,000 Based on Prior Year Performance Subscribership 

A5 ACSI Aid Life Cycle Surveys 78.4 77.4-79.4 Based on Prior Year Performance 

B1 Improper Payment Rate 1.54% 1.65% Based on Prior Year Performance 

Percent Of Borrowers >90 B2	 9.9% 10.4% Based on Prior Year Performance Days Delinquent 

Aid Delivery Costs Per C1	 $11.43 $12.28 Based on Prior Year Performance Application 

Percentage of Outstanding 

C2	 Direct Loan Portfolio Dollars in N/A N/A Baseline Set in FY2016 

a Current Repayment Status 

Ease of Doing Business D1	 76.9 75.9 - 77.9 +/- 1% of Prior Year Result with FSA 

Percentage of Contract Dollars D2	 88.7% 87.7% - 89.7% +/- 1% of Prior Year Result Competed by FSA 

D3 Collection Rate	 35.90 36.56 Based on Prior Year Performance 

E1 Employee Engagement Index 67.7% 66.7 - 68.7% +/- 1% of Prior Year Result 

FSA will also measure the percentage of 

contract dollars competed by FSA, using 

data generated by the Federal Procurement 

Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG). 

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget 

encourages federal agencies to compete 

contracts where possible, believing that 

contracts which are competed are more 

likely to be cost-effective and of 

high quality. 

Lastly, FSA will measure the collection rate, 

as determined by the amount of dollars 

collected from borrowers per dollar spent 

to collect. Measuring this rate helps FSA to 

gauge the efficiency of its back-end systems 

and processes. 

For Strategic Goal E, “Invest in expanded 

workforce capability,” FSA will assess its 

progress on the Employee Engagement 

Index, a government-wide standard subset 

of questions developed by the U.S. Office of 

Personnel Management and the Partnership 

for Public Service, which jointly administer 

and analyze the annual Federal Employee 

Viewpoint Survey. 

A table of the performance metrics 

described is presented above (Exhibit 11). 

These metrics will allow FSA stakeholders 

to monitor progress against each objective 

and strategic goal. FSA will report on 

progress and provide analysis in its annual 

performance report. 

34 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

 

 

 

RELATIONSHIP TO THE 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S 

STRATEGIC PLAN 

5. 

FSA’s goals are drawn from the Department 

of Education’s overall strategic goals 

and direction, as defined in the 

Department’s Strategic Plan for Fiscal 

years 2014–2018. 

FSA supports Goal 1: Postsecondary 

Education, Career and Technical Education, 

and Adult Education, which commits the 

Department to increasing college access, 

affordability, quality, and completion by 

improving postsecondary education and 

lifelong learning opportunities for youth 

and adults, as well as Goal 6: U.S. 

Department of Education Capacity, which 

commits the Department to improving the 

organizational capacities of the Department 

to implement the Strategic Plan. 

During each cycle of FSA’s annual 

performance planning process, FSA 

will provide information on specific 

initiatives and measures that support the 

goals established in the Department of 

Education’s Strategic Plan. 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 35
 

 

 

EVALUATING PROGRESS 

6. 

FSA uses a variety of methods and tools day-to-day administration of the business. 

to evaluate its progress. FSA continues The following chart lists some of the 

to build and improve on the collection significant evaluations, a description of 

of data, research, and analysis to inform these evaluations, and the timeframe for 

management decisions. Information from completion (Exhibit 12). 

across the organization is used to improve 

Exhibit 12: Evaluating Progress 

EVALUATION DESCRIPTION COMPLETED 

Provides an assessment of organizational performance across Organizational enterprise core processes, people and organizational development, Annually Performance Review and administrative management functions. 

Provides a quarterly assessment of organizational performance on Quarterly Performance Review Quarterly major initiatives. 

Provides a monthly assessment of the organization’s FSA Enterprise Dashboard Monthly priority investments. 

Provides a comprehensive assessment of employee satisfaction and Best Places to Work Annually commitment across federal agencies. 

Reports on the performance of the PBO, including an evaluation of 

the extent to which the PBO met the goals and objectives contained 

in the five-year strategic plan for the preceding year. Also includes Annual Report to Congress Annually FSA’s financial statements, which are prepared in accordance with 

established federal accounting standards and are subject to an 

annual independent audit. 

36 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 
 

MOVING FORWARD 

7. 

This five-year strategic plan is designed 

to help FSA achieve its mission to assist 

students through postsecondary education 

and be a provider of the most trusted 

and reliable postsecondary financial aid 

information and services in the nation. 

FSA will use this plan as the foundation 

for discussion and decision-making at 

every level of the organization. In addition, 

FSA will align its resources to achieve the 

defined goals and priorities over the next 

five years. 

Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19 | 37
 38 Federal Student Aid | Strategic Plan FY 2015-19