Department of Education

SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Request

CONTENTS

Page

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................1

FY 2023 Budget Request..............................................................................................................2

Participation in Governmentwide E-Government Initiatives..........................................................9

Budget Authority by Account, Salaries and Expenses................................................................10

Budget Authority by Account, Supplemental, CARES Act (P.L. 116-136)..................................11

Budget Authority by Account, Supplemental, CRRSA Act (P.L. 116-260)..................................12

Budget Authority by Account, Supplemental, ARP Act (P.L. 117-02).........................................13

Budget Authority by Object Classification, Salaries and Expenses ............................................14

Budget Authority by Object Classification, Supplemental, CARES Act (P.L. 116-136)...............15

Budget Authority by Object Classification, Supplemental, CRRSA Act (P.L. 116-260) ..............16

Budget Authority by Object Classification, Supplemental, ARP Act (P.L. 117-02)......................17

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Employment (Staff Years) by Account ............................................18

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Employment by Office, Salaries and Expense................................19

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Employment by Office, Including Supplementals............................20

Detail of Full-time Equivalent (FTE) Employment .......................................................................21

Organization Chart......................................................................................................................22

Locations of Major Administrative Contracts and Current Contractors .......................................23

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business...........................................24

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations .......................................................................34
1

Introduction

The Salaries and Expenses Overview summarizes the administrative costs and staffing for all 

Department of Education accounts. The fiscal year 2023 budget request draws support for 

Departmental administrative costs and fulltime equivalent (FTE) employment from funding in the 

following accounts:

• Program Administration (PA),

• Student Aid Administration (SAA), 

• Office for Civil Rights (OCR), 

• Office of Inspector General (OIG), 

• College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans Program (CHAFL), 

• Historically Black College and University Capital Financing Program (HBCUCF), and

• Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Greater detail on the funds supporting administrative costs and staffing is provided separately in 

each account’s justification materials.

Department of Education’s Key Programs

Administrative funds support Department programs. Key fiscal year 2023 programs include:

• Title I programs, for which $36.5 billion would help approximately 25 million students in 

schools with high rates of poverty make progress toward State academic standards;

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B Grants to States, for which 

$16.3 billion would help States and school districts meet the special education needs of 

7 million students with disabilities;

• Federal Pell Grants, for which $38.7 billion would be made available in need-based 

grants to nearly 6.7 million students enrolled in postsecondary institutions; and 

• Postsecondary education student loan programs, which would help provide roughly 

$115 billion for new and consolidated Direct Loans to help students and families pay for 

college.

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act

On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 

Security (CARES) Act (Public Law 116-136). CARES Act Supplemental funding was provided to 

the Department of Education to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically 

or internationally. As part of the $237.0 million the Department received for assisting in meeting 

the educational needs of individuals affected by a coronavirus, $55.0 million is for administrative 

funding, including $40.0 million for Student Aid Administration, $7.0 million for the Office of 

Inspector General for oversight of activities supported with the funds appropriated, and $8.0 

million for Program Administration. Funds appropriated for Student Aid Administration and 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

2

Program Administration expired at the end of FY 2021, while funds appropriated for the Office of 

Inspector General are available through FY 2022.

Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA)

On December 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2021 (Public Law 116-260), which included the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental 

Appropriations (CRRSAA) Act. The CRRSAA Act Supplemental funding was provided to the 

Department of Education to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically or 

internationally. As part of the $82.0 billion the Department received for assisting in meeting the 

educational needs of individuals affected by a coronavirus, $50.0 million is for administrative 

funding, including $30.0 million for Student Aid Administration (available through FY 2022), $5.0

million for the Office of Inspector General (available until expended) for oversight of activities 

supported with the funds appropriated, and $15.0 million for Program Administration (available 

through FY 2023).

American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act

On March 11, 2021, the President signed into law the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act, 2021

(Public Law 117-02). The ARP Act funding was provided the Department of Education to 

provide emergency relief fund to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus, domestically 

or internationally, and for salaries and expenses necessary to implement this part. As part of 

the $122.0 billion the Department received for assisting in meeting the educational needs of 

individuals affected by coronavirus, $111.1 million is for administrative funding, including

$91.1 million for Student Aid Administration (available through FY 2023), $5.0 million for the 

Office of Inspector General (available until expended) for oversight of activities support with the 

funds appropriated, and $15.0 million for Program Administration (available through FY 2024). 

Hurricane Education Recovery Act

On February 9, 2018, the President signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public 

Law 115-123). The Act provided recovery funding in response to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and 

Maria, as well as the 2017 wildfires. The Department received $2.7 billion to meet the 

educational needs of individuals affected by a covered disaster or emergency. Of that total, $7.0 

million is for administrative funding, including $4.0 million for the Office of Inspector General 

(available until expended) for oversight of activities supported with the recovery activities and 

funds appropriated, and up to $3.0 million for Program Administration (available through FY 

2022). 

FY 2023 Budget Request

The Administration’s fiscal year 2023 President’s request for discretionary Salaries and 

Expenses totals $3.5 billion, $906.8 million more than a fiscal year 2022 annualized CR level

based on the fiscal year 2021 Appropriation level.

The requested fiscal year 2023 increase focuses on key departmental policy and management 

priorities. The fiscal year 2023 Program Administration Request totals $548.0 million, an 

increase of $118.0 million above a fiscal year 2022 annualized CR level based on the fiscal year 

2021 appropriation, which will support critical administrative efforts for the Departments’ 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

3

programs and offices. An increase of $30.3 million more than a fiscal year 2022 annualized CR 

level based on the fiscal year 2021 appropriation is requested for the Office for Civil Rights to 

advance equity in educational opportunity and delivery through an increased investment in civil 

rights enforcement. An increase of $13.5 million more than a fiscal year 2022 annualized CR 

level based on the fiscal year 2021 appropriation is requested for the Office of Inspector 

General to ensure it is able to identify fraud, waste, abuse, and criminal activity involving ED 

funds, programs, and operations. An increase of $800 million is requested for Student Aid 

Administration to implement customer service and accountability improvements to student loan 

servicing and ensure the successful transition from the current short-term loan servicing 

contracts to a more stable long-term contract and servicing environment. The increase in 

Student Aid Administration is also critical to ensure full implementation of the FAFSA® 

Simplification Act for the 2024–25 award year. The Administration’s fiscal year 2023 request 

also includes increased funding for continued IT security improvements to ensure the integrity of 

the Department of Education systems and prevent potential breaches, as well as building 

modernization and renovation activities which will reduce the Department’s overall footprint and 

save on future rent costs by vacating existing space.

The fiscal year 2023 Salaries and Expenses Costs by Category chart below provides detail on 

the total Salaries and Expenses request of $3.5 billion.

Summary of Staffing and Non-Personnel Costs

Staffing

Over the past decade, staffing levels have fluctuated at the Department of Education. Staffing 

levels have gone up, then down, and more recently back up at this fiscal year 2023 request, as 

seen in the chart below. In the meantime, the discretionary budget for the Department’s 

programs have increased by 23 percent, and greater demands have been placed on the 

Department to secure sensitive data, increase transparency through increased data reporting, 

provide enhanced oversight and enforcement of programs and laws, and award and manage 

massive new grant programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal Student Aid has 

been tasked with modernizing and improving the entire student aid process to better help 

Personnel, 

Compensation & 

Benefits

24.05%, $831.3

Other Non-Personnel

2.74%, $94.8

Overhead

(Rent) 1.77%, $61.2

Non-SAA Contracts

5.6%, $193.5

Student Aid 

Administration 

(SAA) Contracts

65.84%, $2,275.5

FY 2023 Salaries & Expenses Costs by Category

($ in millions)
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

4

students and families, as well as implementing major legislation, including the FAFSA® 

Simplification Act and FUTURE Act. In order to adequately address these demands, the 

Department is requesting a significant increase in FTE in fiscal year 2023 to address 

longstanding staffing shortfalls, as well as sufficient funding to cover requested increases in pay

and benefits. Without these critical resources, staffing levels will continue to decrease and 

imperil the effective execution of Administration and Congressional priorities.

The Administration’s Budget request for fiscal year 2023 supports 4,306 Full-Time Equivalents 

(FTE) employees, a net increase of 402 FTE above a fiscal year 2022 annualized CR base. The 

request reflects an increase of 206 FTE for Program Administration; 26 FTE for the Office of 

Inspector General (OIG); and 101 FTE for the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

A 10-year history of the Department’s staffing is shown in the following chart:

Department Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Employment Usage

(FY 2014 – FY 2023)

FY 

2014

FY 

2015

FY 

2016

FY 

2017 

FY 

2018

FY 

2019

FY 

2020

FY 

2021

FY 

2022 

Est.

FY 

2023 

Est.

4,027 4,081 4,150 4,107 3,795 3,582 3,733 4,003 3,904 4,306

Department employees are divided between Washington, D.C., headquarters, 11 regional 

offices, and 13 field offices. Most regional and field office staff are in FSA, OIG, and OCR. The 

FSA regional staff offices’ workload is dedicated to oversight of schools participating in the HEA

Title IV programs and performing program reviews of Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL)

participants including lenders, lender servicers, guaranty agencies, and guaranty agency 

servicers. Additionally, FSA staff conduct program reviews of loan servicers and private 

collection agencies under contract with the Department. OIG staff conducts audits and

investigations of Department programs and operations. OCR staff investigates civil rights 

complaints and conduct civil rights compliance reviews.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

5

A map of the Department’s staff location of Regional and Field Offices is shown below:

Boston

New York City

Philadelphia

Washington, D.C.

Regional Offices

Field Offices

Location of the Department of Education 

Regional and Field Offices

Seattle

San

Francisco Denver

Kansas

City

Chicago

Atlanta

Dallas

Cleveland Sacramento

Long Beach

Puerto Rico Pembroke 

Pines

Pittsburgh

St. Paul

Austin

Phoenix

Nashville

Ann Arbor

Personnel Compensation and Benefits (PC&B)

The fiscal year 2023 Budget includes $831.3 million for the Department personnel 

compensation and benefits (PC&B) costs, $108.3 million more than a fiscal year 2022

appropriation level. PC&B funds include salaries, overtime, awards, consultants, benefits for 

current and former personnel, student loan repayments, and transit subsidy benefits. In addition 

to the requested increase of 402 FTE, the Budget also covers a 2.7 percent pay raise in 2022, 

and a proposed 4.6 percent pay raise in 2023.

Non-Personnel Costs

Non-personnel costs cover such items as travel, rent, mail, telephones, utilities, printing, IT, 

contractual services, equipment, supplies, and other departmental services. The total budget for 

non-personnel activities in fiscal year 2023 is $2.6 billion, $798.5 million more than a fiscal year 

2022 annualized CR level. The majority of this increase is primarily attributable to the FAFSA® 

Simplification Act and FUTURE Act, increased student loan servicing costs, and Enterprise 

Cybersecurity investments to better secure sensitive Department data. The Office of the Chief 

Information Officer and FSA are aligning technologies and services common to operating 

environments managed by each respective office.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

6

Departmental Centralized Services

Centralized Services cover common support administrative and IT services for all program and 

staff offices. The funds are managed by the Office of Finance and Operations and the Office of 

the Chief Information Officer.

Office of Finance and Operations - Central Support Expenses

The Administration is requesting a total of $177.6 million for fiscal year 2023, an increase of 

$25.7 million compared to the fiscal year 2022 annualized CR level, to cover the central support 

services that include: rent to the U.S. General Services Administration, building alterations and 

repairs, lease renewal, training, supplies, mail, and physical security for buildings and 

personnel. Major increases include building modernization to reduce future rent costs by 

consolidating office space, reducing square footage, and moving staff from leased buildings to 

Federal buildings; EDCAPS grants management system technology refresh implementation 

(i.e., G5 Modernization, which will upgrade the grants platform allowing the Department to easily 

incorporate future technology advancements and increasing responsiveness to legislative 

changes, and to implement an updated user interface); and security rent-guard services.

Office of the Chief Information Officer – Central Information Technology

The Administration is requesting a total of $114.4 million for fiscal year 2023, an increase of 

$21.2 million above the fiscal year 2022 annualized CR level. Central IT funds cover activities 

including computer operations, maintenance, and improvements; local area network operations, 

initiatives designed to link Department business needs with the best available technology; and 

other commonly shared IT and office automation activities. Major increases include Enterprise 

Cybersecurity program to provide enhanced security protection, network monitoring, and 

improved situational awareness of the Portfolio of Integrated Value-Oriented Technologies 

(PIVOT) network infrastructure and to ensure other systems hosted both internally at ED and 

externally at contractor-managed sites across the country are fully compliant with Federal and 

Department cybersecurity and privacy policies and guidelines; in CIO Innovations to enhance 

the protection of IT resources and efficiency; and increases for PIVOT network, printing, and 

oversight services.

Getting Payments Right

The Department continues to focus on the integrity of payments made, which includes 

assessing risks associated with improper payments and establishing effective internal controls 

designed to prevent, detect, reduce, and recover improper payments that could otherwise result 

in a monetary loss to the government. 

The 2023 Budget supports ongoing efforts and builds on recent legislative success to identify 

and prevent improper payments. The FUTURE Act, enacted in December 2019, helps ensure 

the accuracy of income information used for determining Pell Grant eligibility. One of the primary 

causes of improper payments in the Pell Grant program is failure to accurately verify financial 

data. The FUTURE Act provides an exception to the Department of Education from restrictions 

of Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (IRC) to allow the Department to receive 

income tax data more easily from the IRS, thereby simplifying and improving the accuracy of 

Free Application for Federal Student Aid filing by prepopulating certain fields. This exception will 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

7

also allow borrowers to more easily recertify their income to stay enrolled in Income Driven 

Repayment (IDR) plans. On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 

Security (CARES) Act was signed into law and further amended section 6103 of the IRC. The 

Department continues to work diligently and collaboratively with the IRS to implement and 

operationalize changes to its programs, such as new data-sharing agreements, technologies, 

and protocols, as a result of the FUTURE Act and amendments to section 6103 of the IRC. The 

fiscal year 2023 request for Student Aid Administration includes critical funding that is needed to 

deliver on these improvements. 

The Department of Education will also continue to use sophisticated statistical techniques to 

identify student aid recipients more efficiently and effectively for verification of eligibility for aid 

as well as target program compliance reviews of schools with the greatest risks of improper 

payments. Data collected by the Department show that improper payments are primarily the 

result of administrative errors by schools and include distribution of funds to ineligible students 

or in incorrect amounts based on a students’ eligibility.

As part of its ongoing oversight activities, FSA conducts periodic recertification of all schools’ 

eligibility and loss of school eligibility activities, assesses millions of dollars in fines through final 

program review and audit determinations, and places schools with serious violations on 

heightened cash monitoring for disbursements. In addition, FSA’s Office of Partner Participation 

and Oversight debars individuals from receiving assistance or benefits from any Federal Agency 

as a result of financial aid fraud or other criminal convictions.

As part of its efforts to address risks related to the integrity of payments, the Department began 

monitoring the outlays of six grant programs receiving funding for disaster relief beginning in 

fiscal year 2019. According to Implementation of Internal Controls and Grant Expenditures for 

the Disaster-Related Appropriations, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum 

M-18-14, any disaster-related program with $10 million or more in outlays in a given fiscal year 

is deemed susceptible to significant improper payments. Programs susceptible to significant 

improper payments shall produce and report an improper payment estimate. In fiscal year 2022,

the Department identified three programs: the Immediate Aid to Restart School Operations 

Program, the Temporary Emergency Impact Aid for Displaced Students Program, and the 

Emergency Assistance to Institutions of Higher Education Program, which exceeded the $10 

million threshold in fiscal year 2020 disbursements.

It is anticipated that there will be additional disaster-related programs that will exceed the 

thresholds set by OMB M-18-14 and require the Department to develop a statistically valid 

improper payment estimation methodology. The Department will continue to select and analyze 

statistical payment samples to estimate the percentage and dollar value of improper payments 

for each program’s disbursements associated with supplemental disaster relief funding. 

Additionally, in fiscal year 2022, the Department deemed the Title I program as being 

susceptible to significant improper payments, requiring the development of a statically valid 

improper payment estimation methodology. The Department will continue to assess the 

improper payment risk of all of its programs and activities to determine whether any should be 

designated as high-risk and susceptible to significant improper payments.

The 2023 request also includes $862,000, an increase of $462,000, to enhance the 

Department’s Payment Integrity Monitoring Application (PIMA), which enables the detection of 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

8

anomalies in grant payment data. PIMA integrates payment analysis, case management, and 

reporting functions to automate and streamline the detection, recovery, and prevention of 

improper payments. Case management files for payment anomalies are established within the 

application for follow-up investigation by the Department’s grants program officials to validate 

improper payments and determine root causes. PIMA has been a very effective tool for 

detecting and substantiating improper payments associated with grant refunds. The requested 

increase will continue to fund development of additional integrity checks and to initiate a Robotic 

Process Automation (RPA) functionality pilot program to help achieve reliable data for use in 

artificial intelligence integration into processes. 

Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation

The Department has increased its focus on cybersecurity through a variety of investments, 

including the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) Program. CDM is a 

Governmentwide program centrally managed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 

intended to create a common baseline of cybersecurity capability and protection across the 

Federal Government. The funding, and the program provides Federal Departments and 

Agencies with CDM-certified capabilities and tools that identify and prioritize cybersecurity risks 

on an ongoing basis and enable cybersecurity personnel to mitigate the most significant 

problems first. The CDM tools also allow Departments and Agencies to better manage their IT 

assets, helping to reduce their overall attack surface. Once the CDM Phase I and II is fully 

deployed with the Education’s Asset Management and Identity and Access Management Master 

User Recodes (MUR), the CDM Program will shorten this timeframe to hours and minutes. The 

CDM Phase I and II has made significate progress in Asset Management integration and 

dashboard planning, and MUR deployments. The anticipated completion date of Asset 

Management is end of 2021 and Identify and Access Management MUR is mid-year in 2022.

The CDM tools provide near real time awareness of the Department’s networks and 

environments. Data from the tools are automatically ingested into an individual dashboard at 

the Department. The Agency Dashboard provides visibility into the Department’s overall security 

posture based on a 72-hour data currency. With the full implementation of CDM, summary data 

from the individual Agency dashboards across the Federal Government will be aggregated into 

one Federal-level dashboard with planned synchronization every 8 hours. The Federal 

Dashboard is maintained by the DHS CDM Program and allows DHS to monitor and respond to 

Federal cybersecurity threats and incidents quickly and efficiently.

ACCOUNT LINE-ITEM AMOUNT

Program Administration Enterprise Cybersecurity Program $3,809,000

FSA – Student Aid Administration FSA Cybersecurity Program 2,044,000

Institute of Education Sciences 

(IES)

IES Support, EDFacts, Sample Survey, 

Educational Assessment 0

Total 5,853,000
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

9

Advertising Contracts and Expenditures

The Department is providing actual expenditures for fiscal year 2021 and expected combined 

total expenditures for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, (shown on the table below) for (1) all 

contracts for advertising services; and (2) contracts for the advertising services of (a) socially 

and economically disadvantaged small business concerns (as defined in section 8(a)(4) of the 

Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(4)); and (b) women- and minority owned businesses.

Participation in Governmentwide E-Government Initiatives

The Department is actively participating in several Governmentwide e-Government initiatives 

and lines of business designed to make it easy for citizens and businesses to interact with the 

Government, save taxpayer dollars, and streamline citizen-to-Government communications. The 

Department budgeted a total of $4.2 million in fiscal year 2022 and requests $4.5 million in fiscal 

year 2023 for these initiatives.

The Budget includes support for the following initiatives/lines of business noted in the chart 

below:

(in whole dollars)

Governmentwide E-Government

Initiative/Line of Business 

FY 2022

Estimate

FY 2023 

Request

Budget Line of Business $120,000 $120,000

E-Rulemaking 170,000 256,000

Financial Management Line of Business 231,000 261,000

Geospatial Line of Business 25,000 25,000

GovBenefits.gov* 248,000 233,000

Grants.gov 436,000 590,000

Human Resource Management Line of Business 70,000 74,000

Integrated Awards Environment* 2,732,000 2,732,000

Performance Management Line of Business 80,000 80,000

USAJOBS 31,000 35,000

Hiring Assessment Line of Business 66,000 66,000

Total 4,209,000 4,472,000

NOTE: Funding for initiatives marked with an asterisk * is from the Student Aid Administration account; funding for all 

other initiatives/lines of business is from the Program Administration account.

Fiscal Year Amount

FY 2021 $1,209,511

FY 2022 1,257,891

FY 2023 1,308,207
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

10

Department of Education

Budget Authority by Account, Salaries and Expenses

(dollars in thousands)

ACTIVITY

2021 

Appropriation

2022 

Estimate

2023 

Request

Change 

from 2022 

to 2023

Program Administration:

Salaries and Expenses $430,000 $430,000 $530,500 $100,500 

Building Modernization 0 0 17,500 17,500 

Office for Civil Rights 131,000 131,000 161,300 30,300

Office of Inspector General 63,000 63,000 76,452 13,452

Subtotal, Departmental Management 624,000 624,000 785,752 161,752 

Student Aid Administration:

Salaries and Expenses 951,727 980,296 1,187,788 207,492

Servicing Activities 894,331 873,647 1,466,246 592,599

Subtotal, Student Aid Administration account 1,846,058 1,853,943 2,654,034 800,091

Administrative costs from program accounts:

College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans 435 435 298 -136

Historically Black College and University Capital 

Financing 334 334 528 194 

Institute of Education Sciences:

National Assessment Governing Board 7,745 7,745 7,799 54

National Board for Education Sciences 155 155 173 18

Subtotal, Program accounts 8,669 8,669 8,798 129

Total, Salaries and Expenses 2,478,727 2,486,611 3,448,584 961,973
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

11

Department of Education

Budget Authority by Account, Supplemental, CARES Act (P.L. 116-136)

(dollars in thousands)

ACTIVITY

2021 

Appropriation

2022 

Estimate

2023 

Request

Change 

from 2022 

to 2023

Program Administration:

Salaries and Expenses $8,000 $0 $0 $0

Building Modernization 0 0 0 0 

Office for Civil Rights 0 0 0 0 

Office of Inspector General 7,000 0 0 -0

Subtotal, Departmental Management 15,000 0 0 -0

Student Aid Administration:

Salaries and Expenses 40,000 0 0 0 

Servicing Activities 0 0 0 0 

Subtotal, Student Aid Administration account 40,000 0 0 0 

Administrative costs from program accounts:

College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans 0 0 0 0 

Historically Black College and University Capital 

Financing 0 0 0 0 

Institute of Education Sciences:

National Assessment Governing Board 0 0 0 0

National Board for Education Sciences 0 0 0 0 

Subtotal, Program accounts 0 0 0 0 

Total, Salaries and Expenses 55,000 0 0 0
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

12

Department of Education

Budget Authority by Account, Supplemental, CRRSA Act (P.L. 116-260)

(dollars in thousands)

ACTIVITY

2021 

Appropriation

2022

Estimate

Change 

from 2022 

to 2023

2023 

Request

Program Administration:

Salaries and Expenses $15,000 $0 $0 $0

Building Modernization 0 0 0 0

Office for Civil Rights 0 0 0 0

Office of Inspector General 5,000 0 0 0 

Subtotal, Departmental Management 20,000 0 0 0 

Student Aid Administration:

Salaries and Expenses 30,000 0 0 0 

Servicing Activities 0 0 0 0 

Subtotal, Student Aid Administration account 30,000 0 0 0 

Administrative costs from program accounts:

College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans 0 0 0 0 

Historically Black College and University Capital 

Financing 0 0 0 0 

Institute of Education Sciences:

National Assessment Governing Board 0 0 0 0

National Board for Education Sciences 0 0 0 0 

Subtotal, Program accounts 0 0 0 0 

Total, Salaries and Expenses 50,000 0 0 0 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

13

Department of Education

Budget Authority by Account, Supplemental, ARP Act (P.L. 117-02)

(dollars in thousands)

ACTIVITY

2021 

Appropriation

2022

Estimate

Change 

from 2022 

to 2023

2023 

Request

Program Administration:

Salaries and Expenses $15,000 $0 $0 $0

Building Modernization 0 0 0 0

Office for Civil Rights 0 0 0 0

Office of Inspector General 5,000 0 0 0 

Subtotal, Departmental Management 20,000 0 0 0

Student Aid Administration:

Salaries and Expenses 91,130 0 0 0 

Servicing Activities 0 0 0 0 

Subtotal, Student Aid Administration account 91,130 0 0 0 

Administrative costs from program accounts:

College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans 0 0 0 0 

Historically Black College and University Capital 

Financing 0 0 0 0 

Institute of Education Sciences:

National Assessment Governing Board 0 0 0 0

National Board for Education Sciences 0 0 0 0 

Subtotal, Program accounts 0 0 0 0 

Total, Salaries and Expenses 111,130 0 0 0
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

14

Department of Education

Budget Authority by Object Classification, Salaries and Expenses

(dollars in thousands)

Object 

class no. Object Class

2021

Appropriation

2022 

Estimate

2023 

Request 

Change from 

2022 to 2023 

11.10 Full-time permanent $500,130 $511,797 $580,581 $68,784 

11.31 Full-time temporary 10,687 6,822 12,559 5,737

11.32 Part-time 1,327 1,211 1,214 3

11.33 Consultants 287 303 317 14

11.51 Overtime 926 1,371 799 -572

11.52 Awards 9,159 10,002 11,281 1,279

11.8 Other Compensation 0 0 0 0

subtotal row Subtotal, Personnel Comp. 522,516 531,506 606,751 75,245

12.00 Benefits 181,078 190,848 223,890

 

33,042

12.13 Other Benefits 0 0 60 60

12.15 Student Loan Repayment 22 22 22 0

13.01 Benefits for former personnel 574 574 574 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, Benefits 181,674 191,444 224,546 33,102

21.00 Travel 4,389 4,255 9,831 5,576

23.10 Rental Payments to GSA 66,621 62,649 62,108 -541

23.31 Communications 1,229 1,226 1,378 152

23.32 Postage/fees 199 176 240 64 

subtotal row Subtotal, 23 68,049 64,051 63,726 -325

24.00 Printing & Reproduction 1,032 1,033 1,018 -15

25.10 Advisory and Assistance Svcs 8,474 7,353 7,681 328

25.21 Other Services 961,392 974,028 1,599,640 625,612

25.22 Training/Tuition/Contracts 4,856 4,508 6,803 2,295

25.23 Field Readers 34 34 0 -34 

25.30 Goods/Services from Gov't 67,337 69,834 72,702 2,868

25.40 Operations/Maint of Facilities 0 0 0 0 

25.71 Operations/Maint of Equipment 1,355 1,148 1,104 -44

25.72 IT Services/Contracts 667,821 696,002 839,372 143,370

subtotal row Subtotal, 25 1,711,269 1,752,907 2,527,302 774,395

26.00 Supplies 901 876 1,150 274

31.01 IT Equipment/Software 4,112 2,942 2,750 -192

31.03 Other Equipment 370 375 9,070 8,695 

subtotal row Subtotal, 31 4,482 3,317 11,820 8,503

32.00 Building Alterations 696 23 10,095 10,072

total row Total, Budget Authority 2,495,008 2,549,412 3,456,242 906,830

total row Total, Pers. Comp. & Ben. 704,190 722,950 831,297 108,347

total row Total, Non-Personnel 1,790,918 1,826,462 2,624,945 798,483
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

15

Department of Education

Budget Authority by Object Classification, Supplemental, CARES Act (P.L. 116-136)

(dollars in thousands)

Object class 

no. Object Class

2021 

Appropriation 

2022 

Estimate

2023 

Request 

Change from 

2022 to 2023 

11.10 Full-time permanent $8,417 $0 $0 $0

11.31 Full-time temporary 2,509 0 0 0

11.32 Part-time 0 0 0 0

11.33 Consultants 0 0 0 0

11.51 Overtime 317 0 0 0

11.52 Awards 3 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, Personnel Comp. 11,246 0 0 0

12.00 Benefits 3,022 0 0 0

12.15 Student Loan Repayment 0 0 0 0

13.01 Benefits for former personnel 0 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, Benefits 3,022 0 0 0

21.00 Travel 146 0 0 0

22.00 Transportation of things 0 0 0 0

23.10 Rental Payments to GSA 0 0 0 0

23.31 Communications 0 0 0 0

23.32 Postage/fees 0 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, 23 146 0 0 0

24.00 Printing & Reproduction 8 0 0 0

25.10 Advisory and Assistance Svcs 0 0 0 0

25.21 Other Services 39,372 0 0 0

25.22 Training/Tuition/Contracts 31 0 0 0

25.23 Field Readers 0 0 0 0

25.30 Goods/Services from Gov't 646 0 0 0

25.40 Operations/Maint of Facilities 0 0 0 0

25.71 Operations/Maint of Equipment 0 0 0 0

25.72 IT Services/Contracts 324 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, 25 40,373 0 0 0

26.00 Supplies 199 0 0 0

31.01 IT Equipment/Software 0 0 0 0

31.03 Other Equipment 5 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, 31 5 0 0 0

32.00 Building Alterations 0 0 0 0

43.01 Interest and Dividends 0 0 0 0 

total row Total, Budget Authority 55,000 0 0 0

total row Total, Pers. Comp. & Ben. 14,268 0 0 0

total row Total, Non-Personnel 40,732 0 0 0
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

16

Department of Education

Budget Authority by Object Classification, Supplemental, CRRSA Act (P.L. 116-260)

(dollars in thousands)

Object class 

no. Object Class

2021 

Appropriation

2022 

Estimate

Change from

2021 to 2023 

2023 

Request 

11.10 Full-time permanent $4,222 $0 $0 $0 

11.31 Full-time temporary 16,424 0 0 0

11.32 Part-time 0 0 0 0

11.33 Consultants 0 0 0 0

11.51 Overtime 210 0 0 0

11.52 Awards 0 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, Personnel Comp. 20,856 0 0 0

12.00 Benefits 3,180 0 0 0

12.15 Student Loan Repayment 0 0 0 0

13.01 Benefits for former personnel 0 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, Benefits 3,180 0 0 0

21.00 Travel 161 0 0 0

22.00 Transportation of things 0 0 0 0

23.10 Rental Payments to GSA 0 0 0 0

23.31 Communications 1 0 0 0

23.32 Postage/fees 0 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, 23 1 0 0 0

24.00 Printing & Reproduction 0 0 0 0

25.10 Advisory and Assistance Svcs 0 0 0 0

25.21 Other Services 25,623 0 0 0

25.22 Training/Tuition/Contracts 112 0 0 0

25.23 Field Readers 0 0 0 0

25.30 Goods/Services from Gov't 60 0 0 0

25.40 Operations/Maint of Facilities 0 0 0 0

25.71 Operations/Maint of Equipment 0 0 0 0

25.72 IT Services/Contracts 0 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, 25 25,795 0 0 0

26.00 Supplies 4 0 0 0

31.01 IT Equipment/Software 0 0 0 0

31.03 Other Equipment 3 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, 31 3 0 0 0

32.00 Building Alterations 0 0 0 0

43.01 Interest and Dividends 0 0 0 0 

total row Total, Budget Authority 50,000 0 0 0

total row Total, Pers. Comp. & Ben. 24,036 0 0 0

total row Total, Non-Personnel 25,964 0 0 0
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

17

Department of Education

Budget Authority by Object Classification, Supplemental, ARP Act (P.L. 117-02)

(dollars in thousands)

Object class 

no. Object Class

2021 

Appropriation

2022 

Estimate

Change from 

2022 to 2023 

2023 

Request

11.10 Full-time permanent $0 $0 $0 $0 

11.31 Full-time temporary 12,389 0 0 0

11.32 Part-time 0 0 0 0

11.33 Consultants 0 0 0 0

11.51 Overtime 160 0 0 0

11.52 Awards 0 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, Personnel Comp. 12,549 0 0 0

12.00 Benefits 1,100 0 0 0

12.15 Student Loan Repayment 0 0 0 0

13.01 Benefits for former personnel 0 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, Benefits 1,100 0 0 0

21.00 Travel 293 0 0 0

22.00 Transportation of things 0 0 0 0

23.10 Rental Payments to GSA 0 0 0 0

23.31 Communications 1 0 0 0

23.32 Postage/fees 0 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, 23 0 0 0 0

24.00 Printing & Reproduction 0 0 0 0

25.10 Advisory and Assistance Svcs 0 0 0 0

25.21 Other Services 91,357 0 0 0

25.22 Training/Tuition/Contracts 110 0 0 0

25.23 Field Readers 0 0 0 0

25.30 Goods/Services from Gov't 210 0 0 0

25.40 Operations/Maint of Facilities 0 0 0 0

25.71 Operations/Maint of Equipment 0 0 0 0

25.72 IT Services/Contracts 5,510 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, 25 97,187 0 0 0

26.00 Supplies 0 0 0 0

31.01 IT Equipment/Software 0 0 0 0

31.03 Other Equipment 0 0 0 0 

subtotal row Subtotal, 31 0 0 0 0

32.00 Building Alterations 0 0 0 0

43.01 Interest and Dividends 0 0 0 0 

total row Total, Budget Authority 111,130 0 0 0

total row Total, Pers. Comp. & Ben. 13,648 0 0 0

total row Total, Non-Personnel 97,482 0 0 0
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

18

Department of Education

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Employment (Staff Years) by Account

ACCOUNT 2021 Actual 2022 Base

2023 

Request

Change from 

2022 to 2023

Program Administration 1,573 1,5561 1,7621 206

Office for Civil Rights 584 575 676 101

Office of Inspector General 221 2272 2532 26

Subtotal, Departmental Management 2,378 2,358 2,691 333

Student Aid Administration 1,525 1,5273 1,5973 70

FTE funded from program accounts:

College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans 2 2 1 -1

Historically Black College and University Capital 

Financing 1 2 2 0

Institute of Education Sciences:

Institute of Education Sciences: National Assessment Governing Board 13 14 14 0

Institute of Education Sciences: National Board for Education Sciences 0 1 1 0

Subtotal, Program Accounts 16 19 18 -1

Total, FTE 3,919 3,904 4,306 402

1 FY 2022 excludes 82 FTE related to and funded by CARES, CRRSA, and ARP Acts. FY 2023 excludes 78 FTE 

related to and funded by CRRSA, and ARP Acts in various offices. 

2 FY 2022 excludes 27 FTE and FY 2023 excludes 27 FTE related to and funded by CARES Act.

3 FY 2022 excludes 36 FTE related to and funded by CARES Act. FY 2023 excludes 46 FTE related to and funded 

by CRRSA Act.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

19

Department of Education

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Employment by Office, Salaries and Expense

OFFICE 2021 Actual 2022 Base 

2023 

Request

Change from 

2022 to 2023

Career, Technical and Adult Education 63 63 74 11

Chief Information Officer 94 93 108 15

Civil Rights 571 562 663 101

Communications and Outreach 90 86 94 8

Elementary and Secondary Education 252 248 273 25

English Language Acquisition, Language 

Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for 

Limited English Proficient Students 16 17 19 2

Federal Student Aid 1,396 1,396 1,453 57

Finance and Operations 448 444 484 40

General Counsel 105 110 133 23

Inspector General 221 227 253 26

Institute of Education Sciences 155 159 172 13

Legislation and Congressional Affairs 15 14 16 2

College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans 2 2 1 -1

Historically Black College and University Capital 

Financing 1 2 2 0

National Assessment Governing Board 13 14 14 0

National Board for Education Sciences 0 1 1 0

Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development 61 59 77 18

Postsecondary Education 147 148 191 43

Secretary 79 75 80 5

Special Education and Rehabilitative Services 179 174 185 11

Under Secretary 11 10 13 3

Total, FTE 3,919 3,904 4,306 402
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

20

Department of Education

Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Employment by Office, Including Supplementals

OFFICE 2021 Actual 2022 Base

2023 

Request

Change from 

2022 to 2023

Career, Technical and Adult Education 63 63 74 11

Chief Information Officer 97 93 108 15

Civil Rights 571 562 663 101

Communications and Outreach 92 86 94 8

Elementary and Secondary Education 265 248 273 25

English Language Acquisition, Language 

Enhancement, and Academic Achievement for 

Limited English Proficient Students 16 17 19 2

Federal Student Aid 1,422 1,434 1,453 19

Finance and Operations 454 444 484 40

General Counsel 111 110 133 23

Inspector General 228 271 303 32

Institute of Education Sciences 159 159 172 13

Legislation and Congressional Affairs 15 14 16 2

College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans 2 2 1 -1

Historically Black College and University Capital 

Financing 1 2 2 0

National Assessment Governing Board 13 14 14 0

National Board for Education Sciences 0 1 1 0

Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development 65 59 77 18

Postsecondary Education 159 148 191 43

Secretary 80 75 80 5

Special Education and Rehabilitative Services 179 174 185 11

Under Secretary 11 10 13 3

Total, FTE 4,003 3,9861 4,3562 370

1 FY 2022 FTE by office includes a total of 44 FTE in Office of Inspector General and 38 FTE in Federal 

Student Aid office.

2 FY 2023 FTE by office includes a total of 50 FTE in Office of Inspector General.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

21

Department of Education

Detail of Full-time Equivalent (FTE) Employment

Detail of Full-time Equivalent (FTE) 2021 Actual 2022 Estimate 2023 Request

Executive level I................................................. 1 1 1

Executive level II................................................ 2 3 3

Executive level III............................................... 1 1 1 

Executive level IV.............................................. 0 7 7 

Executive level V............................................... 0 1 1 

Executive level AD............................................. 1 1 1 

Subtotal...................................................... 5 14 14 

Total - EX Salary................................. $937,400 $2,575,425 $2,589,400

Senior Executive Service............................. 81 86 86 

Subtotal - ES1 ........................................... 81 86 86 

Total - ES Salaries............................. $15,013,507 $16,021,800 $16,107,800

AL..................................................................... 4 3 3

AD..................................................................... 467 453 453 

ED/EI................................................................ 26 25 25

GL.................................................................... 3 2 3

GS/GM-15........................................................ 489 502 512

GS/GM-14......................................................... 948 940 947

GS/GM-13......................................................... 1,108 1,087 1,121

GS-12................................................................ 543 546 557

GS-11................................................................ 183 187 192

GS-10................................................................ 0 0 0 

GS-9.................................................................. 117 119 119

GS-8.................................................................. 25 26 35 

GS-7.................................................................. 31 35 39

GS-6.................................................................. 6 6 7 

GS-5.................................................................. 15 15 15

GS-4.................................................................. 12 12 15

GS-3.................................................................. 0 1 2 

GS-2.................................................................. 2 2 4 

GS-1.................................................................. 1 1 1 

Subtotal...................................................... 3,978 3,982 4,095

Total full-time equivalent employment, 

end of year.......................................... 4,064 4,082 4,151

Full-time equivalent (FTE) 

usage.................................................. 4,023 3,986 4,356

Average ES salary............................................ $185,352 $186,300 $187,300

Average GS/GM grade..................................... 11.3 11.4 11.3 

Average GS/GM salary..................................... $122,784 $129,062 $135,332

1 FY 2021 includes 4 FSA SES positions. FY 2022 and FY 2023 include 10 FSA SES positions.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

22

Organization Chart

Operating Structure for Policy and Reporting Guidance
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

23

Locations of Major Administrative Contracts and Current Contractors

7 Denver

9 Colorado Springs

Department of Education

Locations of Major Administrative Contracts

and Current Contractors

2 Plano

10 El Paso

6,11 San Antonio

5,10 Lawrence

9 Boise

5, 10 Coralville,

10 London, KY

6,10,11 Monticello, KY

10

Montgomery

4,6,9,10,11 Washington, DC

10 

Hattiesburg

2 Bethesda, MD

2, 8 Columbia

3* Madison

11 Milwaukee

3* Lincoln

3* 

Chesterfield

11 Town & Co

10 Rensselaer, NY

6,11 Niagara Falls

5 Venice

3* Salt 

Lake 

City

3* Concord, NH

3* Knoxville

3* Harrisburg, PA

3* Warrendale

3* Oklahoma City

3* Wilmington, DE

Note: An asterisk represents a headquarters location for loan servicing contracts. Additional locations can be found in the Student Aid 

Administration Congressional Justification.

1 Financial Management System (FSA)

2 PIVOT (OCIO) 

3 Loan Servicers (FSA)

4 OCR CRDC Survey (OCR)

5 National Student Loan Data System (FSA)

6 NextGen Digital and Customer Care Center

/ Partner Portal and Oversight Operations (FSA)

7 Payroll/Personnel Processing Center (OFO)

6,11 Piscataway, NJ

1,5,6,11 Arlington, VA

2 Oakton

9 Clarksville

2 Sterling

3*,10 Falls Church

2,9 Herndon

10 Manassas

2 Chantilly

6 Columbus, GA

8 Education Department Central Automated Processing Systems (EDCAPS)(OFO)

9 Next Generation Data Center (FSA)

10 Application and Eligibility Determination System, FSA Customer Contact Center, and 

FSA Feedback and Ombudsman System (FSA)

11 Title IV Origination and Disbursement System (FSA)

11 Bozeman
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

24

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business 

Required by Division D, Section 737(d) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, P.L. 110-

161

The U.S. Department of Education assumed the role as the first Managing Partner for the 

Budget Line of Business (Budget LoB) in the fall of 2006. The focus of the Budget LoB is to 

build a “budget of the future” by promoting information-sharing across Government Agency 

budget offices, as well as building a “community of practice.” Through this collaboration, the 

budget community has been identifying best practices for all aspects of budget formulation and 

execution. The Budget LoB strives to find solutions linking budget formulation, execution, 

planning, performance, and financial management information.

The goals of the Budget LoB are to:

• Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Agency and central processes for formulating 

and executing the Federal Budget;

• Improve capabilities for analyzing and presenting budget, execution, planning, and 

financial information in support of decision making; 

• Enhance the effectiveness of the Federal budgeting workforce.

Budget LoB anticipates 10-year savings of over $200 million Governmentwide due to 

efficiencies gained through collaboration and increased use of technology. Many Agency budget 

offices do not have automated systems to support budget formulation and execution activities. 

Agencies rely on basic office software and manual processes. Budget LoB’s goal is to reduce 

time spent by budget personnel on manual processes and increase time spent on high priority 

analytical activities (via increased use of technology, improved processes, and a better 

equipped workforce).

Budget LoB is a mixed lifecycle investment. Activities and solutions under development by 

Budget LoB workgroups are at different stages within the development lifecycle. Products 

under development are listed in the Objectives and Benefits table below and include 

implementation or projected implementation dates.

The following tables display the objectives and benefits, risks, costs, and Agency contributions 

to Budget LoB.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business

25

Objectives and Benefits: Technology

Capability Objectives and Benefits

Technology

Technology

Collaboration 

Improves the efficiency and effectiveness of Government activities through 

the ready accessibility of information, and the ability to collaborate remotely 

both within an Agency (i.e., collaboration with regional and field staff) and 

across Federal Agencies (i.e., collaboration of each Agency with OMB and 

other Agencies on shared programs).

Current products include MAX Federal Community. 

Current Status: MAX Federal Community, a cross-agency collaboration 

platform, provides increased information sharing, collaboration, and 

knowledge management securely across the Federal Government, as well 

as within each Agency. With over 223,000 registered users, MAX Federal 

Community is reportedly the largest Government operated collaboration site. 

Technology

Data Collection & 

Tracking

Improves OMB and Agency efficiency and effectiveness in carrying out the 

numerous required budget data exercises. Benefits apply to both central 

budget exercises (i.e., those required of Agencies by OMB) and exercises at 

the departmental or Agency level (i.e., those requested by central offices of 

Agency regional and field offices). Agency benefits include increased data 

collection capabilities, reduced errors, and reduced time spent manually 

consolidating and publishing data.

Current products include web--based data collection tools, specifically MAX 

Collect and MAX JIRA, used for central budget exercises and for Agency 

use in the collection of budget briefings, questions for the record, 

performance management, apportionments, allotments, and other budget 

data. MAX Survey is a basic data collection capability also available on 

MAX.gov.

Current Status: Budget LoB data collection tools have demonstrated 

significant value by automating the collection of data for dozens of 

centralized exercises related to the budget community for earmarks, 

continuing resolutions, questions for the record, and across-the-board 

reductions. MAX Collect provides even greater benefit by enabling Agency 

budget offices to automate their own data collection exercises. Agencies are 

now using the tool to facilitate a broad range of data calls and data collection 

exercises, numbering in the hundreds. 

In recent years, the Budget LoB developed MAX JIRA, which provides a 

much simpler and far more powerful user interface for collecting and 

reporting on data. With the de-commission of MAX Collect Forms, the 

Budget LoB has transitioned all Collect Forms exercises to MAX JIRA, which 

provides a more customizable interface and additional capabilities desired by 

Agency budget offices, like customized notifications, view access, and a 

clean user interface. MAX Survey is used to quickly gather and analyze 

information via tokenized surveys.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business

26

Capability Objectives and Benefits

Technology

Technology

Knowledge 

Management

Improves the ability of Agencies to locate and access information, increases 

the availability and comprehensiveness of data, and improves the ability of 

the budgeting community to manage the impending retirement of key 

personnel. Database-driven products such as MAX Federal Community, 

MAX Collect, and MAX JIRA enhance knowledge management capabilities 

by capturing “knowledge” as it is generated, simply as a by-product of these 

tools.

Technology

Agency Budget 

Formulation and 

Execution Tools

Provides a cost-effective strategy for Agencies that do not have budget 

formulation and execution applications, or have outdated applications, to 

quickly improve their effectiveness through automation. This effort 

encourages common and integrated solutions that are reusable

Governmentwide.

Products include the Budget Formulation and Execution Manager system

(BFEM), the first shared budget formulation system by the Department of 

Treasury; the Departmental E-Budgeting System (DEBS), a shared offering 

from the Department of Labor; the Decision Matrix for budget systems 

evaluation (full systems evaluations); the Budget Capability Self-Assessment 

Tool (BC SAT); the MAX A-11 Data Transfer and Rule Validation project; 

and a common Budget Office Solutions catalog.

The Decision Matrix allows Agencies to define their specific budget system 

requirements and evaluates the capability and maturity of six Agency and 

three commercial budget systems against those requirements. The BC SAT 

has provided several Agencies with comprehensive resource listings to 

further help them with strategic planning and resourcing.

Current Status: The MAX A-11 Rule Validation team supports processes, 

methodologies, and standards to enable Agencies to exchange data with 

OMB's MAX A-11 system through the use of multiple ‘services’, greatly 

improving the process, eliminating large amounts of manual data entry, and 

enabling availability of account level information on a real-time basis. The 

Budget LoB continues to support Treasury’s BFEM, Labor’s DEBS and 

EPA’s BFS systems as they provide customer Agencies with enhanced 

connections to OMB’s MAX budget system. 

Technology

Analytical Tools

Enhances Federal capabilities for analyzing budget formulation, execution, 

planning, performance, and financial information. This enables more 

complete, thorough, and timely analysis, which will, in turn, provide policy 

decision-makers with improved understanding of policy option impacts and 

alternatives. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business

27

Capability Objectives and Benefits

Technology

Current products include the MAX Analytics suite, including CTools, 

IdealFed, and BIRT, which create custom charts and graphs for analysis, 

and associated tools built upon the analytics core.

Current Status: MAX Analytics integrates with Budget LoB data collection 

and collaboration tools, enabling charts that update automatically as new 

data is entered or on a timed refresh schedule, depending on the analytics 

tool. Agencies have been using MAX Analytics to dynamically display the 

results of their data collections and to transform how they use analytics to 

manage problems. The Budget LoB continues to work with Agencies to 

include the most relevant and useful capabilities in the tool suite. Several 

Agencies (OMB, DOJ, DOL, etc.) are now utilizing MAX Analytics to drive 

decision making based upon analysis not previously possible.

Technology

Budget Execution 

and Financial 

Management 

Integration

Improves the quality and integrity of information, data flows, and reporting in 

budget formulation and execution, especially in regard to its touch points 

with financial management. Identifying common business processes and 

data standards will form the basis for requirements for use in developing 

budget systems, as well as closer alignment with financial management 

systems. Current products include Governmentwide process maps for 

budget execution and budget formulation and the web-based Budget 

Execution training module, Budget Formulation training module, and 

Appropriations Law training module.

Current Status: The training modules are in use throughout the budget 

community. Over 12,100 individuals have accessed the self-paced online 

training module courses, which have an estimated return on investment to 

date of over 8,495 percent and a savings of over $10.195 million.

Technology

Document 

Production

Enables Agency budgeting personnel to move from clerical to analytical 

functions, increasing Agency analytical resource availability. Many Agency 

budget staff work countless hours to incorporate late-breaking policy data 

changes in high-visibility publications. Often, many changes must be 

simultaneously made in multiple documents for different stakeholders. 

Document production capabilities exist in Treasury and Labor’s shared 

service budget systems, as well as in MAX Collect, and in a recently 

released service allowing budget personnel to develop their own reporting 

templates.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business

28

Objectives and Benefits: Governance

Capability Objectives and Benefits

Governance

Governance

Program 

Management Office 

(PMO)

Serves as a central coordination point for Governmentwide collaboration and 

sharing of technologies and processes. The Program Management Office 

(PMO) allows resources across Government to be leveraged for cost 

savings. In this way, costs are reduced, economies of scale are achieved, 

and risks in developing and buying Agency budget tools are reduced through 

a coordinated combination of approaches that include sharing common 

budget formulation components, purchasing commonly used software that 

has been proven in multiple Agencies, and purchasing services from other 

Agencies.

The PMO will support enhanced efficiency, effectiveness, quality, knowledge 

management, presentation, collaboration, and flexibility within the Budget 

LoB. Currently, the PMO supports monthly Task Force meetings, bi-annual 

conferences, and apportionment, budget formulation, questions for the 

record, and credit subsidy workgroups, which are open to the entire federal 

budget community. These meetings and events are designed to share 

information on budget community solutions, trainings, and best practices.

Governance

Process 

Improvements

Allows for the development of system requirements and guidelines for tools 

that are modular in nature (can be used as part of any system) and available 

for use by multiple Agencies. Accounts for the importance of flexibility in the 

budgeting process and acts as a set of standards that are essential for the

automated exchange of budget data with Treasury and OMB, as well as 

Agency financial management systems.

Current products include numerous updates to the MAX Federal Community, 

MAX Collect, MAX Analytics, and MAX JIRA as well as implementation of 

MAX Authentication services at 16 Agencies with work underway to support

additional Agencies with “single sign-on” capabilities.

Governance

Service Module 

Standardization

Encourages reusability and interoperability of budget systems across 

Agencies to achieve significant cost savings through a "build once, use 

often" philosophy. Service module registration via the PMO will help ensure 

that Agencies are aware of existing services so that duplicative investments 

are not made.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business

29

Objectives and Benefits: Human Capital

Capability Objectives and Benefits

Human Capital

Human Capital

Budget Human 

Capital

Enhances the effectiveness of the existing budgeting workforce and 

encourages participation from other professions within Government, the 

private sector, and universities. The Budget LoB provides a central venue for 

the budget community, OPM, and the Council of Human Capital Officers to 

grow the appeal of Federal Budgeting as a career by combining Agency 

efforts to define budget career paths, core competencies, leadership 

development, certification programs, and sharing of ideas in areas such as 

succession planning, retention, and recruitment.

Products include recommendations on core competencies and proficiency 

levels; the bi-annual Forum devoted to bringing together budget 

professionals from across the Federal Government to broaden their 

understanding of the tools and training opportunities available to their budget 

offices; and training curricula for budget analysts, as well as no-cost training 

courses for budget staff and self-paced training modules. More are planned 

for the coming year 2023.

Current status: Thousands of Government employees have undergone nocost training through in-class, web-based, or facilitated online training 

sessions hosted by the Budget LoB. Regular trainings feature budget 

experts focusing on specific budgeting related topics and have been 

attended by over 5,890 individuals since the Department began hosting. 

Career Development focus on a deeper understanding of the federal budget 

career have been attended by over 2,340 people. An in-depth course 

focusing on Reviewing Budget Formulation Processes began in 2013 and 

has been held 33 times, with waiting lists and strong participation from over 

975 attendees. All of these opportunities are offered to Federal employees 

free of charge.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business

30

Risks

Type of 

Risk 1

Risk Description Mitigation Approach

Other Technology Maintaining ability to develop 

and field highest quality IT 

services in the midst of rapid 

expansion of use without 

accompanying equal 

increase in available 

resources - risk is to sacrifice 

quality for schedule. 

Work with product leads to give us 

ample lead time, encourage continued 

focus on quality and meeting 

requirements, implement updated 

procedures, increase testing rigor. 

Other Technology Difficulty in preventing major 

bugs/issues, though we have 

rapid/quick turnaround 

releases using Agile 

development methodologies

Dedicated resources to QA and testing

Other Cost Uncertainty of full funding 

from partner agencies - risk 

is underfunding or 

cancellation of capabilities 

development/deployment

Continue outreach to agencies not 

already partners of the Budget LoB 

(MCC, CFPB, NRC, etc.). Engage with 

heaviest users, particularly those over 

the support threshold, to request add'l 

funding to continue LOE they 

want/need. Continued marketing of 

MAX tools to non-budget offices who 

will provide additional funding stream 

to augment any adverse impact. 

Increased emphasis on defining value 

and demonstrating measurable 

productivity and value in deliverables.

Other Management 

Oversight

Agency budget offices do not 

make use of the range of 

Budget LoB products and 

services available to them—

risk is unrealized cost 

avoidance/cost savings.

Marketing/outreach strategy and 

dedicated PMO staff to assist agencies 

- build out community pages, exercise 

development, etc. Renewed focus on 

solving agency problems and aligning 

solutions with budget life cycle. Initiate 

conversations with agencies to 

understand WHY tools that could 

assist in budget planning and 

execution activities/workforce 

capabilities are not used. 

Other Dependencies 

and 

Interoperability

We rely on OMB when they 

make changes to MAX tools, 

to include new capabilities 

we require.

Monthly meetings with MAX 

technology team to better integrate 

Budget LoB requirements into coming 

product releases

1 Types of risk are categorized as either significant or other. If significant risks occur, they have substantial impact on 

the ability of the Line of Business to succeed. Other risks, while potentially serious, may not significantly impact the 

Line of Business and its ability to succeed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

31

Line of Business IT Costs (dollars in thousands)

Costs by 

project 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Planning $125 $116 $78 $95 $95 $95 $95 $95 $100 $120 $120 $120

Acquisition 350 375 178 265 265 265 265 265 371 421 421 421

Operations & 

Maint. 700 781 919 1,105 1,055 955 955 955 900 1,080 1,080 1,080

Govt FTE 

Costs 238 244 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

 Total 1,413 1,516 1,275 1,565 1,515 1,415 1,415 1,415 1,471 1,721 1,721 1,721

FTE 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

32

Anticipated Contributions to the Budget LoB by Agency (dollars in thousands)

AGENCY FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023

Department of Agriculture $110 $120 $120

Department of Commerce 110 120 120

Department of Defense--Military 110 120 120

Department of Education (direct funds) 110 120 120

Department of Energy 110 120 120

Department of Health and Human Services 110 120 120

Department of Homeland Security 110 120 120

Housing and Urban Development 110 120 120

Department of the Interior 110 120 120

Department of Justice 110 120 120

Department of Labor 110 120 120

Department of State 110 120 120

Department of Transportation 110 120 120

Department of the Treasury 110 120 120

Department of Veterans Affairs 110 120 120

US Army Corps of Engineers-Civil Works 80 80 80

Environmental Protection Agency 110 120 120

General Services Administration 110 120 120

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 110 120 120

National Science Foundation 110 120 120

USAID 110 120 120

Office of Personnel Management 110 120 120

Small Business Administration 55 60 60

Securities and Exchange Commission 0 60 60

Social Security Administration 55 60 60

Office of National Drug Control Policy 55 60 60
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business

33

This page intentionally left blank.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business

34

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

The following table satisfies the requirements of the Good Accounting Obligation in Government (GAO–IG) Act (P.L. 115-414).
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

35

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-16-

196T

FEDERAL 

STUDENT LOANS: 

Key Weaknesses 

Limit Education’s 

Management of 

Contractors

FSA GAO 11/18/2015 1 Completed To strengthen 

management of the Direct 

Loan Program and ensure 

good customer service for 

borrowers, the Secretary of 

Education should direct the 

Office of Federal Student 

Aid's Chief Operating 

Officer to review its 

methods of providing 

instructions and guidance 

to servicers, identifying 

areas to improve clarity 

and sufficiency, and 

ensure consistent delivery 

of instructions and 

guidance to ensure 

program integrity and 

improve service to 

borrowers. For example, 

the Department could 

consider implementing a 

detailed, common servicing 

manual for the Direct Loan 

program.

Completed GAO reviewed 

the supporting 

documentation, 

the Department is 

gathering 

additional 

supporting 

documentation 

before the 

recommendation 

will be closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

36

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-16-

196T

FEDERAL 

STUDENT LOANS: 

Key Weaknesses 

Limit Education’s 

Management of 

Contractors

FSA GAO 11/18/2015 2 Completed To strengthen 

management of the Direct 

Loan Program and ensure 

good customer service for 

borrowers, the Secretary of 

Education should direct the 

Office of Federal Student 

Aid's Chief Operating 

Officer to implement a 

more rigorous 

methodology for selecting 

recorded calls between 

servicers and borrowers to 

review, including a clearer 

definition of the sample 

servicers should select, a 

sample that targets more 

critical and more frequent 

types of calls, and a 

verification process to 

ensure integrity of the call 

selection process.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

37

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-16-

196T

FEDERAL 

STUDENT LOANS: 

Key Weaknesses 

Limit Education’s 

Management of 

Contractors

FSA GAO 11/18/2015 3 Completed To strengthen 

management of the Direct 

Loan Program and ensure 

good customer service for 

borrowers, the Secretary of 

Education should direct the 

Office of Federal Student 

Aid's Chief Operating 

Officer to better document 

call monitoring results to 

allow analysis of trends 

over time and facilitate the 

sharing of complete and 

consistent information from 

these efforts with FSA 

management.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

GAO-20-

336

PAYMENT 

INTEGRITY: 

Selected Agencies 

Should Improve 

Efforts to Evaluate 

Effectiveness of 

Corrective Actions 

to Reduce Improper 

Payments

FSA GAO 9/4/2020 1 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should revise and 

document Education's 

process for measuring the 

effectiveness of its 

corrective actions based 

on its new statistical 

estimation methodology for 

Direct Loan and Pell Grant 

improper payments. This 

process should clearly 

demonstrate the effect 

Education's corrective 

actions have on reducing 

improper payments.

Completed GAO is currently 

reviewing all 

supporting 

documentation.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

38

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-16-

523

Federal Student 

Loans: Education 

Could Improve 

Direct Loan 

Program Customer 

Service and 

Oversight

FSA GAO 6/22/2016 1 Resolved To help address 

Education's strategic goal 

of providing superior 

customer service to 

borrowers, and to 

strengthen oversight of the 

Direct Loan program, the 

Secretary of Education 

should develop a minimum 

standard that specifies 

core call center operating 

hours to provide 

borrowers, including those 

on the West Coast, with 

improved access to 

servicers.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

39

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-16-

523

Federal Student 

Loans: Education 

Could Improve 

Direct Loan 

Program Customer 

Service and 

Oversight

FSA GAO 6/22/2016 2 Resolved To help address 

Education's strategic goal 

of providing superior 

customer service to 

borrowers, and to 

strengthen oversight of the 

Direct Loan program, the 

Secretary of Education 

should ensure the new 

unified borrower complaint 

tracking system includes 

comprehensive and 

comparable information on 

the nature and status of 

borrower complaints made 

to both Education and 

servicers, to allow 

Education to track trends 

and better manage the 

program to effectively meet 

borrower needs.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

40

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-16-

523

Federal Student 

Loans: Education 

Could Improve 

Direct Loan 

Program Customer 

Service and 

Oversight

FSA GAO 6/22/2016 3 Resolved To help address 

Education's strategic goal 

of providing superior 

customer service to 

borrowers, and to 

strengthen oversight of the 

Direct Loan program, the 

Secretary of Education 

should evaluate and make 

needed adjustments to 

Direct Loan servicer 

performance metrics and 

compensation to improve 

assessment, including 

using baseline data, and 

alignment with Federal 

Student Aid's strategic 

goals aimed at superior 

customer service and 

program integrity, and to 

ensure that the assignment 

of new loans to servicers 

takes program compliance 

into account.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

41

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 1 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA: 

1.1 Ensure that staff 

involved in the contractor 

personnel security 

screening process are 

aware of and comply with 

the Directive requirements, 

to include any subsequent 

updates to the 

requirements, and fulfill 

their responsibilities for 

processing security 

screenings.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

42

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 2 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

1.2 Develop written 

policies and procedures to 

comply with the Directive, 

to include explanations of 

the key duties to be 

performed by specific FSA 

staff, requirements of the 

contract positions and risk 

designation process

including the use of 

Position Designation 

Records, and other internal 

requirements for the FSA 

contractor personnel 

security screening process, 

as well as contractor 

employee departure 

procedures. 

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

43

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 3 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

1.3 Have appropriate FSA 

staff develop and approve 

complete position category 

listings and associated risk 

level designations for all 

contractor positions on 

each contract, through 

FSA justification of position 

responsibilities and 

access, and through 

reconciliation of current 

contract position risk levels 

and any available position 

risk level designation 

records.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 4 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

1.4 Ensure that 

screenings are initiated at 

the appropriate risk level 

based on the contractor 

employee's position risk 

level that was classified 

and approved by FSA.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

44

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 5 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

1.5 Coordinate with OM to 

learn the adjudication 

results of current 

contractor employees 

assigned to FSA contracts to 

ensure that all contractor 

employees either have a 

screening initiated or have 

been appropriately cleared 

to work on Department 

contracts.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 6 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

1.6 Monitor the screening 

status of contractor 

employees until final OM 

adjudication decisions are 

made.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

45

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 7 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

1.7 Maintain all 

information and records 

required by the Directive, 

to include up-to-date 

listings of all contractor 

employees assigned to 

FSA contracts and records 

of OM adjudication 

decisions for all contractor 

employees assigned to 

FSA contracts.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 8 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

1.8 Ensure that all 

contractor employee 

departures are reported to 

OM as required, and 

inform contractor 

companies on a regular 

basis of their responsibility 

to notify FSA of contractor 

employee departures. Also 

ensure that contractors 

provide PIV cards to the 

COR upon contractor 

employee departure, as 

required.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

46

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 1 Resolved (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer 

for FSA:

2.1 Identify and begin 

tracking all active 

contractor employees 

assigned to FSA contracts, 

along with their risk level 

and any 

IT access, to ensure that 

all contractor employees 

have 

undergone security 

screenings at appropriate 

risk levels as 

required by Department 

policy. For those who have 

not, take 

immediate action to 

complete the security 

screenings and/or 

deny further access to 

Department facilities, 

systems, and 

information until 

appropriate security 

screenings are completed 

or required screening 

information is submitted. 

Alert the 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

47

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

Department CISO of the 

condition.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

48

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 2 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

2.2 Determine through 

system security audit logs 

and other appropriate 

validation processes, if 

there were instances of 

unauthorized access to 

Department information 

and systems and report 

appropriately, at a 

minimum to the 

Department's CISO.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 3 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

2.3 Ensure that security 

screenings and 

reinvestigations are 

initiated within the 

timeframes established by 

the Directive.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

49

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 4 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

2.4 Ensure that all 

contractor employees 

complete the appropriate 

screening steps before 

receiving access to IT 

systems or Department 

sensitive or Privacy Actprotected information.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 5 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

2.5 Ensure that contractor 

employees review and sign 

applicable Rules of 

Behavior for IT systems 

they are accessing.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

50

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 6 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

2.6 Ensure that ISSOs 

maintain and exercise 

access approval rights 

over any IT systems that 

contain or can access 

sensitive Department data, 

whether owned by the 

Department or by the 

contractor, and modify 

applicable contracts 

accordingly to reflect the 

FSA ISSO approval rights.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 7 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

2.7 Ensure that any 

contractor employees with 

discontinued or rejected 

investigations have all 

access to sensitive 

Department information, 

including any IT access, 

discontinued until 

appropriate screening 

steps have been 

completed. Alert the 

Department CISO should 

this condition exist.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

51

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 8 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

2.8 Ensure that all nonU.S. citizens, current and 

prospective, are permitted 

to work on Department 

contracts only after 

appropriate steps have 

been taken with regard to 

waiver documentation, as 

required by the Directive. 

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A19-R0003 REVIEW OF FSA 

CONTRACTOR 

SECURITY 

SCREENING 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 4/17/2018 9 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA:

2.9 Ensure that FSA staff 

are aware of and have an 

understanding of their 

responsibilities and 

applicable policies and 

procedures.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

52

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-20-

416

MILITARY AND 

VETERAN 

SUPPORT: 

Performance Goals 

Could Strengthen 

Programs that Help 

Servicemembers 

Obtain Civilian 

Employment

FSA GAO 9/1/2020 1 Resolved The Secretary of Education 

should develop 

performance goals for the 

Iraq and Afghanistan 

Service Grant program.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

GAO-17-45 SOCIAL SECURITY 

OFFSETS: 

Improvements to 

Program Design 

Could Better Assist 

Older Student Loan 

Borrowers with 

Obtaining Permitted 

Relief

FSA GAO 12/20/2016 1 Completed To improve program 

design for Social Security 

offsets and related relief 

options, the Secretary of 

Education should inform 

affected borrowers of the 

suspension of offset and 

potential consequences if 

the borrower does not take 

action to apply for a TPD 

discharge. Such 

information could include 

notification that interest 

continues to accrue and 

that offsets may resume 

once their disability 

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

53

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

benefits are converted to 

retirement benefits.

GAO-17-45 SOCIAL SECURITY 

OFFSETS: 

Improvements to 

Program Design 

Could Better Assist 

Older Student Loan 

Borrowers with 

Obtaining Permitted 

Relief

FSA GAO 12/20/2016 2 Completed To improve program 

design for Social Security 

offsets and related relief 

options, the Secretary of 

Education should revise 

forms sent to borrowers 

already approved for a 

TPD discharge to clearly 

and prominently state that 

failure to provide annual 

income verification 

documentation during the 

3-year monitoring period 

will result in loan 

reinstatement.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

54

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-17-45 SOCIAL SECURITY 

OFFSETS: 

Improvements to 

Program Design 

Could Better Assist 

Older Student Loan 

Borrowers with 

Obtaining Permitted 

Relief

FSA GAO 12/20/2016 3 Completed To improve program 

design for Social Security 

offsets and related relief 

options, the Secretary of 

Education should evaluate 

the feasibility and benefits 

of implementing an 

automated income 

verification process, 

including determining 

whether the agency has 

the necessary legal 

authority to implement 

such a process.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

GAO-17-45 SOCIAL SECURITY 

OFFSETS: 

Improvements to 

Program Design 

Could Better Assist 

Older Student Loan 

Borrowers with 

Obtaining Permitted 

Relief

FSA GAO 12/20/2016 4 Completed To improve program 

design for Social Security 

offsets and related relief 

options, the Secretary of 

Education should inform 

borrowers about the 

financial hardship 

exemption option and 

application process on the 

agency's website, as well 

as the notice of offset sent 

to borrowers.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

55

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-17-45 SOCIAL SECURITY 

OFFSETS: 

Improvements to 

Program Design 

Could Better Assist 

Older Student Loan 

Borrowers with 

Obtaining Permitted 

Relief

FSA GAO 12/20/2016 5 Resolved To improve program 

design for Social Security 

offsets and related relief 

options, the Secretary of 

Education should 

implement an annual 

review process to ensure 

that only eligible borrowers 

are exempted from offset 

for financial hardship on an 

ongoing basis.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A17-R0002 FY 2017 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/13/2017 1 Completed (Significant) 1. We 

recommend the FSA Chief 

Financial Officer support 

the efforts of the Director, 

Budget Service to develop 

and document the 

Department's process, 

policies and procedures for 

the authorization, design, 

development, testing, 

approval and 

implementation of new 

models and model 

enhancements.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

56

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-R0002 FY 2017 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/13/2017 2 Completed (Significant) 2. We 

recommend the FSA Chief 

Financial Officer support 

the efforts of the Director, 

Budget Service to 

document the 

Department's process, 

policies, procedures and 

related controls for 

managing the operation 

and use of approved 

models.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-R0002 FY 2017 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/13/2017 3 Completed (Significant) 3. We 

recommend the FSA Chief 

Financial Officer support 

the efforts of the Director, 

Budget Service to enhance 

the process to capture 

model risks, update the 

assessment of risks related 

to each model, and 

document how that 

assessment impacts the 

Department's prioritization 

of corrective actions, and 

requisite level of controls, 

validation and monitoring 

over each model.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

57

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-R0002 FY 2017 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/13/2017 4 Completed (Significant) 4. We 

recommend the FSA Chief 

Financial Officer support 

the efforts of the Director, 

Budget Service to 

document and enhance the 

Department's processes, 

policies, procedures and 

related controls for the 

periodic review, validation 

and approval of the 

Department's models at 

the assumption, model and 

program level.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-R0002 FY 2017 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/13/2017 5 Completed (Significant) 5. We 

recommend the FSA Chief 

Financial Officer support 

the efforts of the Director, 

Budget Service to 

document the overall 

review and conclusions 

drawn related to the 

evaluation of the results of 

model performance 

reviews and validation 

procedures performed.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

58

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-R0002 FY 2017 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/13/2017 6 Completed (Significant) 6. We 

recommend the FSA Chief 

Financial Officer support 

the efforts of the Director, 

Budget Service to ensure 

modeling risks are 

considered in connection 

with the Department's 

enterprise risk 

management program.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-R0002 FY 2017 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/13/2017 7 Completed (Significant) 7. We 

recommend the FSA Chief 

Financial Officer ensure 

modeling risks are 

considered in connection 

with FSA's enterprise risk 

management program.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations

have been 

complete. 

A17-R0002 FY 2017 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/13/2017 1 Completed (Significant) 1. We 

recommend FSA's Chief 

Administration Officer 

develop and implement a 

monitoring process over 

FSA's personnel security 

activities to ensure 

investigations and 

reinvestigations are 

prioritized for personnel 

with sensitive system 

access within the 

Department.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

59

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-R0002 FY 2017 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/13/2017 2 Completed (Significant) 2. We 

recommend the FSA CISO 

work with the Department 

CISO to strengthen and 

refine the process for 

holding system owners and 

information system security 

officers accountable for 

remediation of control 

deficiencies and ensuring 

that the appropriate 

security posture is 

maintained for Department 

and FSA information 

systems.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-R0002 FY 2017 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/13/2017 1 Resolved (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that the FSA 

Chief Operating Officer 

continue to execute the 

corrective actions as 

outlined in FSA's project 

plan to comply with the 

timing requirement for the 

referral of delinquent nontax debts.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

60

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-17-

555

Higher Education: 

Education Should 

Address Oversight 

and Communication 

Gaps in Its 

Monitoring of the 

Financial Condition 

of Schools

FSA GAO 10/5/2017 1 Resolved To improve oversight of 

school finances and 

provide better information 

to schools and the public 

about its monitoring efforts, 

the Chief Operating Officer 

of the Office of Federal 

Student Aid should update 

the composite score 

formula to better measure 

schools' financial 

conditions and capture 

financial risks.

Resolved GAO reviewed 

the supporting 

documentation, 

the Department is 

gathering 

additional 

supporting 

documentation 

before the 

recommendation 

will be closed.

GAO-17-

555

Higher Education: 

Education Should 

Address Oversight 

and Communication 

Gaps in Its 

Monitoring of the 

Financial Condition 

of Schools

FSA GAO 10/5/2017 2 Completed To improve oversight of 

school finances and 

provide better information 

to schools and the public 

about its monitoring efforts, 

the Chief Operating Officer 

of the Office of Federal 

Student Aid should 

improve guidance to 

schools about how the 

financial composite score 

is calculated, for example, 

by updating current 

guidance to include 

explanations about 

common areas of 

confusion and 

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

61

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

misinterpretation for 

schools.

GAO-17-

555

Higher Education: 

Education Should 

Address Oversight 

and Communication 

Gaps in Its 

Monitoring of the 

Financial Condition 

of Schools

FSA GAO 10/5/2017 3 Completed To improve oversight of 

school finances and 

provide better information 

to schools and the public 

about its monitoring efforts, 

the Chief Operating Officer 

of the Office of Federal 

Student Aid should 

increase the transparency 

of public data on schools' 

financial health by publicly 

listing the final composite

score for each school.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

62

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-18-

518

Cybersecurity: 

Office of Federal 

Student Aid Should 

Take Additional 

Steps to Oversee 

Non-School 

Partners' Protection 

of Borrower 

Information

FSA GAO 9/17/2018 1 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should enroll loan servicers 

in FSA's continuous 

monitoring program and, in 

the interim, require these 

entities to report the results 

of security controls testing 

at an FSA-defined 

frequency.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

GAO-18-

518

Cybersecurity: 

Office of Federal 

Student Aid Should 

Take Additional 

Steps to Oversee 

Non-School 

Partners' Protection 

of Borrower 

Information

FSA GAO 9/17/2018 2 Resolved The Secretary of Education 

should enroll private 

collection agencies in 

FSA's continuous 

monitoring program, and, 

in the interim, require these 

entities to test all controls 

at an FSA-defined 

frequency and regularly 

report the results.

Resolved GAO reviewed 

the supporting 

documentation, 

the Department is 

gathering 

additional 

supporting 

documentation 

before the 

recommendation 

will be closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

63

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-18-

518

Cybersecurity: 

Office of Federal 

Student Aid Should 

Take Additional 

Steps to Oversee 

Non-School 

Partners' Protection 

of Borrower 

Information

FSA GAO 9/17/2018 3 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should modify FSA's 

agreements with guaranty 

agencies to specify a 

required baseline of 

security controls based on 

the impact level of the 

information shared with 

these agencies, as 

determined by FSA.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

GAO-18-

518

Cybersecurity: 

Office of Federal 

Student Aid Should 

Take Additional 

Steps to Oversee 

Non-School 

Partners' Protection 

of Borrower 

Information

FSA GAO 9/17/2018 4 Resolved The Secretary of Education 

should establish a process 

for continuous monitoring 

of guaranty agencies' 

implementation of security 

and privacy requirements 

between on-site 

assessments, to include 

testing all controls at an 

FSA-defined frequency 

and regularly reporting 

results.

Resolved GAO reviewed 

the supporting 

documentation, 

the Department is 

gathering 

additional 

supporting 

documentation 

before the 

recommendation 

will be closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

64

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-18-

518

Cybersecurity: 

Office of Federal 

Student Aid Should 

Take Additional 

Steps to Oversee 

Non-School 

Partners' Protection 

of Borrower 

Information

FSA GAO 9/17/2018 5 Resolved The Secretary of Education 

should include specific 

security and privacy 

requirements in 

agreements with the 

Federal Family Education 

Loan (FFEL) Program 

lenders based on FSA's 

categorization of the 

information shared with the 

lenders.

Resolved GAO reviewed 

the supporting 

documentation, 

the Department is 

gathering 

additional 

supporting 

documentation 

before the 

recommendation 

will be closed.

GAO-18-

518

Cybersecurity: 

Office of Federal 

Student Aid Should 

Take Additional 

Steps to Oversee 

Non-School 

Partners' Protection 

of Borrower 

Information

FSA GAO 9/17/2018 6 Resolved The Secretary of Education 

should develop policies 

and procedures to gain 

assurance that FFEL 

lenders have appropriate 

security and privacy 

controls in place and that 

these controls are being 

regularly tested and 

monitored.

Resolved GAO reviewed 

the supporting 

documentation, 

the Department is 

gathering 

additional 

supporting 

documentation 

before the 

recommendation 

will be closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

65

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-19-

347

Federal Student 

Loans: Education 

Needs to Verify 

Borrowers' 

Information for 

Income-Driven 

Repayment Plans

FSA GAO 7/25/2019 1 Resolved The Chief Operating 

Officer of Federal Student 

Aid should obtain data in 

order to verify income 

information for borrowers 

reporting zero income on 

IDR applications. For 

example, Education could 

pursue access to federal 

data sources or obtain 

access to an appropriate 

private data source.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

GAO-19-

347

Federal Student 

Loans: Education 

Needs to Verify 

Borrowers' 

Information for 

Income-Driven 

Repayment Plans

FSA GAO 7/25/2019 2 Resolved The Chief Operating 

Officer of Federal Student 

Aid should implement data 

analytic practices, such as 

data matching, and followup procedures to review 

and verify that borrowers 

reporting zero income on 

IDR applications do not 

have sources of taxable 

income at the time of their 

application.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

66

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-19-

347

Federal Student 

Loans: Education 

Needs to Verify 

Borrowers' 

Information for 

Income-Driven 

Repayment Plans

FSA GAO 7/25/2019 3 Resolved The Chief Operating 

Officer of Federal Student 

Aid should implement data 

analytic practices, such as 

data mining, and follow-up 

procedures to review and 

verify family size entries in 

IDR borrower applications. 

For example, Education 

could review and verify all 

borrower reports of family 

size or a subset identified 

as being most susceptible 

to fraud or error.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A02-Q0006 AUDIT OF FSA'S 

TPD LOAN 

DISCHARGE 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 6/18/2020 1 Completed (Significant) 2.1 - We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA 

establish objectives in 

specific and measurable 

terms for an effective and 

efficient TPD discharge 

application review process 

as well as compliance with 

Federal program 

requirements.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

67

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A02-Q0006 AUDIT OF FSA'S 

TPD LOAN 

DISCHARGE 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 6/18/2020 2 Completed (Significant) 2.2 - We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA 

determine the appropriate 

parameters for an error 

rate as a threshold and a 

confidence level that aligns 

with management's 

objectives.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A02-Q0006 AUDIT OF FSA'S 

TPD LOAN 

DISCHARGE 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 6/18/2020 3 Resolved 2.3 - We recommend that 

the Chief Operating Officer 

for FSA implement 

the parameters established 

in Recommendation 2.2 to 

determine the 

appropriate sample sizes 

for FSA to review to ensure 

its TPD discharge 

process operates in 

accordance with Federal 

program requirements.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A02-Q0006 AUDIT OF FSA'S 

TPD LOAN 

DISCHARGE 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 6/18/2020 4 Completed 2.4 - We recommend that 

the Chief Operating Officer 

for FSA develop and 

implement ongoing 

monitoring or separate 

evaluations of the design 

and operating 

effectiveness of FSA's 

review process for TPD 

discharge applications.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

68

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A02-Q0006 AUDIT OF FSA'S 

TPD LOAN 

DISCHARGE 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 6/18/2020 1 Completed (Significant) 3.1 - We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA 

update and maintain 

current documentation of 

control activities, such as 

the Database Procedures, 

for the TPD discharge 

application review process 

and the quality control 

review process.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A02-Q0006 AUDIT OF FSA'S 

TPD LOAN 

DISCHARGE 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 6/18/2020 2 Completed (Significant) 3.2 - We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA 

segregate key duties and 

responsibilities, or develop 

alternative procedures, for 

the quality control review 

process.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A02-Q0006 AUDIT OF FSA'S 

TPD LOAN 

DISCHARGE 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 6/18/2020 1 Completed (Significant) 4.1 - We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA 

revise the TPD Monitoring 

Procedures to align with 

the TPD Oversight Plan.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

69

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A02-Q0006 AUDIT OF FSA'S 

TPD LOAN 

DISCHARGE 

PROCESS

FSA OIG 6/18/2020 2 Completed (Significant) 4.2 - We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA 

ensure that the TPD Group 

performs monitoring in 

accordance with the 

frequency, scope, and 

methodologies established 

in FSA's TPD Monitoring 

Procedures.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 1 Completed (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that the 

Department and FSA 

strengthen the risk 

assessment process by 

considering the impact of 

IT control deficiencies on 

internal controls over the 

reliability of information in 

the Department's IT 

systems. Such 

considerations should be 

documented.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 2 Resolved (Significant) 2. We 

recommend that the 

Department and FSA 

design and implement 

additional controls, over 

the completeness and 

accuracy of the underlying 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

70

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

data used to develop the 

re-estimate.

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 1 Completed (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that the 

Department evaluate, 

develop, and implement a 

formal process to track and 

report all new and 

separated contractors.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 2 Completed (Significant) 2. We 

recommend that the 

Department ensure 

separated contractors are 

off-boarded and system 

personnel are notified in a 

timely manner to disable or 

remove access to IT 

resources.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

71

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 3 Completed (Significant) 3. We 

recommend that the 

Department provide 

training and oversight to 

Education personnel with 

on/off-boarding 

responsibilities to help 

ensure new/separated 

contractors are properly 

tracked.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 4 Completed (Significant) 4. We 

recommend that FSA 

validate that financial and 

mixed system security 

plans have identified and 

documented the required 

security controls and 

control enhancements and 

the control implementation 

statuses in the plans as 

required by NIST SP 800-

53. Additionally, implement 

a quality review process of 

the system security plans 

prior to signing the plans to 

ensure compliance with 

NIST 800-53 requirements.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

72

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 5 Resolved (Significant) 5. We 

recommend that FSA 

implement a process to 

evaluate the significance of 

a deficiency by considering 

the magnitude of impact, 

likelihood of occurrence, 

and nature of the 

deficiency and tailor the 

corrective actions to 

remediate the risk and 

address the root cause. 

Further, update guidance 

to ensure that quality 

reviews over the POA&M 

closure documentation are 

conducted to confirm the 

noted deficiencies are fully 

addressed to help prevent 

future reoccurrences.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

73

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 6 Completed (Significant) 6. We 

recommend that FSA 

formally develop and 

implement a quality control 

review process to ensure 

that the application change 

control process is followed 

completely and accurately 

to validate that changes 

were tested and approved 

prior to migration and post 

implementation validation 

was performed, the 

relevant documentation 

and approvals are verified 

prior to closing the change 

ticket, as required by 

policy, and supporting 

documentation is retained.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

74

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 7 Completed (Significant) 7. We 

recommend that FSA 

ensure segregation of 

duties and least privilege 

principles are adhered to 

when granting user access 

to prevent users with the 

ability to develop and/or 

change application code 

from having update access 

to the environment where 

the final tested and 

approved changes are 

staged prior to migration to 

the financial and mixed 

systems' production 

environment; and prevent 

users with access to 

develop code from having 

update access to the 

production environment.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that FSA 

enhance their risk 

assessment to identify 

risks impacting financial 

reporting processes

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

75

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 2 Completed (Significant) 2. We 

recommend that FSA 

identify the controls at the 

service organization for the 

systems that are 

responsive to risks and 

that are relevant to FSA's 

financial statements

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 3 Resolved (Significant) 3. We 

recommend that FSA 

regularly monitor and meet 

with the service 

organization to 

communicate and ensure 

that controls that are 

relevant to FSA for 

financial reporting are 

adequately tested for 

design, implementation, 

and operating 

effectiveness.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 4 Completed (Significant) 4. We 

recommend that FSA 

assess the need to 

implement compensating 

controls for financial 

reporting in the event 

relevant controls at the 

service organization are 

not within the scope of the 

SOC 1 report.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

76

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that 

management implement 

the following to improve 

the effectiveness of entitylevel controls-in the area of 

risk assessment, improve 

risk assessment process at 

the financial statement 

assertion level and at the 

process level to ensure the 

department is appropriately 

defining objectives to 

enable the identification of 

risks and define risk 

tolerances.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 2 Completed (Significant) 2. We 

recommend that 

management implement 

the following to improve 

the effectiveness of entitylevel controls-in the area of 

monitoring activities, 

implement key monitoring 

controls to ensure that 

corrective action plans are 

implemented to timely 

remediate control 

deficiencies identified. In 

addition, increase 

oversight, review, and 

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

77

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

accountability over the 

process among various 

offices and directorates 

within the Department and 

FSA.

A17-U0002 FY 2020 FSA 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

FSA OIG 11/16/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that the FSA 

continue to execute the 

corrective actions as 

outlined in FSA's project 

plan to comply with the 

timing requirement for the 

referral of delinquent nontax debts.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

78

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

I0-6S0001 Federal Student Aid 

Controls Over the 

School Verification 

Process

FSA OIG 5/20/2021 1 Resolved 2.1 We recommend that 

FSA’s Acting Chief 

Operating Officer establish 

and operate monitoring 

activities, including 

ongoing monitoring, 

separate evaluations, or a 

combination of the two to 

obtain reasonable 

assurance of the operating 

effectiveness of FSA’s 

verification control 

activities.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

I0-6S0001 Federal Student Aid 

Controls Over the 

School Verification 

Process

FSA OIG 5/20/2021 2 Resolved 2.2 We recommend that 

FSA’s Acting Chief 

Operating Officer establish 

processes to ensure that 

FSA management 

evaluates and documents 

corrective actions, 

including when corrective 

actions are not taken, for 

verification control 

weaknesses identified by 

monitoring activities.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

79

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

I0-6S0001 Federal Student Aid 

Controls Over the 

School Verification 

Process

FSA OIG 5/20/2021 3 Resolved 2.3 We recommend that 

FSA’s Acting Chief 

Operating Officer, for 

issues identified with its 

verification control 

activities in the 2018 ERM 

Report and other 

monitoring activities, 

ensure that FSA 

management evaluates 

and documents corrective 

actions, or if corrective 

actions are not warranted.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A05U0001 Federal Student 

Aid's Processes for 

Reallocating Funds 

in Accordance with 

the Hurricanes 

Harvey, Irma, and 

Maria Education 

Relief Act of 2017

FSA OIG 5/27/2021 1 Resolved (Significant) 1.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA 

require the nine schools 

that improperly received 

$30,444 in FWS 

reallocations to return the 

funds.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

80

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A05U0001 Federal Student 

Aid's Processes for 

Reallocating Funds 

in Accordance with 

the Hurricanes 

Harvey, Irma, and 

Maria Education 

Relief Act of 2017

FSA OIG 5/27/2021 2 Resolved (Significant) 1.2 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA 

reevaluate the 

reallocations of 

unexpended award year 

2016–2017 FWS funds 

and ensure that all affected 

schools and all schools 

enrolling 20 or more

affected students were 

correctly reallocated the 

funds.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A05U0001 Federal Student 

Aid's Processes for 

Reallocating Funds 

in Accordance with 

the Hurricanes 

Harvey, Irma, and 

Maria Education 

Relief Act of 2017

FSA OIG 5/27/2021 3 Resolved (Significant) 1.3 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA 

Ensure that FSA’s policies 

and procedures for 

disaster response direct 

employees to develop

plans specifically designed 

to adhere to new laws 

authorizing special funding 

for disaster relief. Such 

redesigned procedures 

should include steps for 

employees to ensure the 

accuracy and 

completeness of all lists of 

eligible schools before any 

funds are disbursed.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

81

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

I20NY0010 Federal Student 

Aid’s Suspension of 

Involuntary 

Collection in 

Response to the 

Coronavirus 

Pandemic

FSA OIG 6/15/2021 1 Resolved (Significant) We 

recommend that FSA’s 

Chief Operating Officer 

determine if wage 

withholding has ceased for 

the 1,930 borrowers whose 

employers continued to 

withhold wages as of 

October 23, 2020, despite 

FSA's cancellation of the 

administrative wage 

garnishment orders. If 

wages continued to be 

withheld for these and any 

additional borrowers, 

determine what additional 

actions FSA can take 

regarding employers who 

unlawfully withhold wages 

from borrowers.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

82

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

I20NY0010 Federal Student 

Aid’s Suspension of 

Involuntary 

Collection in 

Response to the 

Coronavirus 

Pandemic

FSA OIG 6/15/2021 1 Resolved (Significant) We 

recommend that FSA’s 

Chief Operating Officer 

adopt the best practice of 

regularly querying its 

database to proactively 

identify payments reposted 

to borrowers’ loans due to 

refunds returned to 

Treasury, broken 

compromise agreements, 

and payments that were 

manually posted in the 

Debt Management and 

Collection System to 

determine whether these 

payments are eligible for 

refund.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

I20NY0010 Federal Student 

Aid’s Suspension of 

Involuntary 

Collection in 

Response to the 

Coronavirus 

Pandemic

FSA OIG 6/15/2021 1 Resolved (Significant) We 

recommend that FSA’s 

Chief Operating Officer 

develop and implement 

procedures to obtain 

information about and track 

Justice’s progress on 

suspending and refunding 

payments involuntarily 

collected during the 

suspension period on 

Department-held loans.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

83

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A20GA0002 Federal Student 

Aid’s FY 2020–2024 

Strategic Planning 

Process

FSA OIG 8/16/2021 1 Resolved We recommend that the 

COO for FSA—Design and 

document processes to 

guide FSA through future 

strategic planning. The 

documented processes 

should consider timespecific milestones for 

completing key activities, 

such as the Department’s 

internal stakeholder 

feedback processes and 

the statutory external 

stakeholder comment 

period. The processes 

should also be designed to 

ensure compliance with the 

HEA.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A20GA0002 Federal Student 

Aid’s FY 2020–2024 

Strategic Planning 

Process

FSA OIG 8/16/2021 1 Completed We recommend that the 

Secretary and the COO for 

FSA—Ensure that they 

timely execute and make 

publicly available an 

annual performance 

agreement for the COO.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

84

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-21-89 HIGHER 

EDUCATION: IRS 

And Education 

Could Better 

Address Risks 

Associated with 

Some For-Profit 

College 

Conversions

FSA OIG 8/19/2021 1 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should develop and 

implement monitoring 

procedures for staff to 

review the audited financial 

statements of all newly 

converted nonprofit 

colleges for the risk of 

improper benefit.

Completed GAO is currently 

reviewing all 

supporting 

documentation.

I05T0010 DREAM CENTER: 

Department's 

Oversight of Dream 

Center Holdings

FSA OIG 6/29/2021 1 Completed (Significant) 1.1. We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA 

ensure that records 

explaining decisions 

regarding changes in 

ownership, changes in 

accreditation status, 

percentage of required 

letters of credit, or 

heightened cash 

monitoring placement that 

deviate from the 

regulations or Department 

policy are created and 

retained.

Unresolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

85

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

I05T0010 DREAM CENTER: 

Department's 

Oversight of Dream 

Center Holdings

FSA OIG 6/29/2021 2 Resolved (Significant) 1.2. We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA 

design and implement 

policies and procedures for 

reviewing and approving 

schools’ applications for 

conversions from for-profit 

to nonprofit status.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

I05T0010 DREAM CENTER: 

Department's 

Oversight of Dream 

Center Holdings

FSA OIG 6/29/2021 1 Unresolved (Significant) 2.1. We 

recommend that the 

Secretary of Education 

clarify the functional 

statements for the Office of 

the Under Secretary and 

FSA to clearly state 

whether and in what 

circumstances the Under 

Secretary may, consistent 

with the provisions of the 

HEA governing FSA as a 

performance-based 

organization, exercise the 

Secretary’s authority to 

direct the operations of 

FSA. Authority areas that 

should be clarified include 

but are not limited to 

determinations regarding 

changes in school 

ownership.

Unresolved OIG has issued a 

decision of 

"Significant 

Disagreement" 

for action item 

listed by program 

office / possible 

mediation will 

have to take 

place 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

86

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

I05T0010 DREAM CENTER: 

Department's 

Oversight of Dream 

Center Holdings

FSA OIG 6/29/2021 2 Completed (Significant) 2.2. We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer for FSA 

ensure that FSA creates 

and retains records 

explaining decisions to 

deviate from prescribed 

policy for letter of credit 

requirements and 

temporary provisional 

program participation 

agreement extensions 

during a change in 

ownership and 

documenting how the 

interests of students and 

taxpayers are adequately 

protected.

Unresolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

87

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

I05T0010 DREAM CENTER: 

Department's 

Oversight of Dream 

Center Holdings

FSA OIG 6/29/2021 1 Unresolved (Significant) 3.1. We 

recommend that the 

Secretary of Education 

clarify the functional 

statements for the Office of 

the Under Secretary and 

FSA to clearly state 

whether and in what 

circumstances the Under 

Secretary may, consistent 

with the provisions of the 

HEA governing FSA as a 

performance-based 

organization, exercise the 

Secretary’s authority to 

direct the operations of 

FSA. Authority areas that 

should be clarified include 

but are not limited to 

dealing with potential 

school closures and the 

Department’s release of 

and approval for the use of 

surety funds.

Unresolved OIG has issued a 

decision of 

"Significant 

Disagreement" 

for action item 

listed by program 

office / possible 

mediation will 

have to take 

place 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

88

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 1 Resolved (Significant) 1 We 

recommend that the 

Department and FSA 

strengthen the risk 

assessment process by 

considering the impact of 

IT control deficiencies on 

internal controls over the 

reliability of information in 

the Department’s IT 

systems. Such 

considerations should be 

documented.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 2 Unresolved (Significant) 2 We 

recommend that the 

Department and FSA 

Design and implement 

additional review controls 

that operate at a sufficient 

level of precision over the 

completeness and 

accuracy of the underlying 

data used to develop the 

re-estimate.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

89

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 3 Unresolved (Significant) 3 We 

recommend that the 

Department and FSA 

ensure proper 

documentation of controls 

identified to evidence the 

review, the conclusion and 

actions to be taken to 

address outstanding 

differences and/or matters 

to be researched.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 1 Unresolved (Significant) 1 We 

recommend that the 

Department evaluate, 

develop, and implement a 

formal process to track and 

report all new and 

separated contractors.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 2 Unresolved (Significant) 2 We 

recommend that the 

Department ensure 

separated contractors are 

off-boarded and system 

personnel are notified in a 

timely manner to disable or 

remove access to IT 

resources.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

90

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 3 Unresolved Significant) 3 We 

recommend that the 

Department provide 

training and oversight to 

Education personnel with 

on/off- boarding 

responsibilities to help 

ensure new/separated 

contractors are properly 

tracked.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 4 Unresolved (Significant) 4 We 

recommend that FSA 

implement a process to 

evaluate the significance of 

a deficiency by considering 

the magnitude of impact, 

likelihood of occurrence, 

and nature of the 

deficiency and tailor the 

corrective actions to 

remediate the risk and 

address the root cause. 

Further, update guidance 

to ensure that quality 

reviews over the POA&M 

closure documentation are 

conducted to confirm the 

noted deficiencies are fully 

addressed to help prevent 

future reoccurrences.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

91

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 5 Unresolved (Significant) 5 We 

recommend that FSA 

formally develop and 

implement a quality control 

review process to ensure 

that logical access control 

processes are followed 

completely and accurately 

to validate logical access 

requests, reviews, and recertifications.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 6 Unresolved (Significant) 6 We 

recommend that FSA 

ensure segregation of 

duties and least privilege 

principles are adhered to 

when granting user access 

to prevent users with the 

ability to develop and/or 

change application code 

from having update access 

to the environment where 

the final tested and 

approved changes are 

staged prior to migration to 

the financial and mixed 

systems’ production 

environment; and prevent 

users with access to 

develop code from having 

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

92

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

update access to the 

production environment.

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 7 Resolved (Significant) 7 We 

recommend that FSA 

ensure a complete and 

accurate population of 

application changes can be 

provided. Formally develop 

and implement a quality 

control review process to 

ensure that the application 

change control process is 

followed and consistently 

and accurately 

documented.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

93

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 1 Resolved Significant) 1 We 

recommend that FSA 

enhance their risk 

assessment to identify 

risks impacting financial 

reporting processes.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 2 Resolved (Significant) 2 We 

recommend that FSA 

identify the controls at the 

service organization for the 

systems that are 

responsive to risks and 

that are relevant to FSA’s 

financial statements.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 3 Resolved (Significant) 3 We 

recommend that FSA 

regularly monitor and meet 

with the service 

organization to 

communicate and ensure 

that controls that are 

relevant to FSA for 

financial reporting are 

adequately tested for 

design, implementation, 

and operating 

effectiveness

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

94

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 4 Resolved (Significant) 4 We 

recommend that FSA 

assess the need to 

implement compensating 

controls for financial 

reporting in the event 

relevant controls at the 

service organization are 

not within the scope of the 

SOC 1 report.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 1 Resolved (Significant) 1 We 

recommend that 

management implement 

the following to improve 

the effectiveness of entitylevel controls—in the area 

of risk assessment, 

improve the risk 

assessment process at the 

financial statement 

assertion level and at the 

process level to ensure the 

department is appropriately 

defining objectives to 

enable the identification of 

risks and define risk 

tolerances.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

95

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0022 FY 2021 FSA 

Financial Statement 

Audit

FSA OIG 11/19/2021 2 Unresolved (Significant) 2 We 

recommend that 

management implement 

the following to improve 

the effectiveness of entitylevel controls—in the area 

of monitoring activities, 

implement key monitoring 

controls to ensure that 

corrective action plans are 

implemented to timely 

remediate control 

deficiencies identified. In 

addition, increase 

oversight, review, and 

accountability over the 

process among various 

offices and directorates 

within the Department and 

FSA.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

GAO-20-81 FEDERAL 

RESEARCH: 

Additional Actions 

Needed to Improve 

Public Access to 

Research Results

IES OIG 3/12/2020 1 Resolved The Secretary of Education 

should take steps to 

ensure appropriate 

agency-funded research 

data are readily findable 

and accessible to the 

public.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

96

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-18-93 The Secretary of 

Education should 

ensure that the 

department's IT 

management 

policies address the 

role of the CIO for 

key responsibilities 

in the five areas we 

identified.

OCIO OIG 8/7/2018 1 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should ensure that the 

department's IT 

management policies 

address the role of the CIO 

for key responsibilities in 

the five areas we identified.

Completed GAO reviewed 

the supporting 

documentation, 

the Department is 

gathering 

additional 

supporting 

documentation 

before the 

recommendation 

will be closed.

GAO-19-58 Cloud Computing: 

Agencies Have 

Increased Usage 

and Realized 

Benefits, but Cost 

and Savings Data 

Need to Be Better 

Tracked

OCIO GAO 5/6/2019 1 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should ensure that the CIO 

of Education establishes 

guidance on assessing 

new and existing IT 

investments for suitability 

for cloud computing 

services, in accordance 

with OMB guidance.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

97

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-19-58 Cloud Computing: 

Agencies Have 

Increased Usage 

and Realized 

Benefits, but Cost 

and Savings Data 

Need to Be Better 

Tracked

OCIO GAO 5/6/2019 2 Resolved The Secretary of Education 

should ensure that the CIO 

of Education completes an 

assessment of all IT 

investments for suitability 

for migration to a cloud 

computing service, in 

accordance with OMB 

guidance.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

GAO-19-58 Cloud Computing: 

Agencies Have 

Increased Usage 

and Realized 

Benefits, but Cost 

and Savings Data 

Need to Be Better 

Tracked

OCIO GAO 5/6/2019 3 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should ensure that the CIO 

of Education establishes a 

consistent and repeatable 

mechanism to track 

savings and cost 

avoidances from the 

migration and deployment 

of cloud services.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 1 Resolved (Significant) 1.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require that OCIO and FSA 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum; achieve Level 4 

Managed and Measurable 

status of the Risk 

Managment program. 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

98

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

(Repeat Recommendation 

from FY 2017)

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 1 Resolved (Significant) 2.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require that OCIO and FSA 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum; achieve Level 3 

Consistently Implemented 

status of the Configuration 

Managment program. 

(Repeat Recommendation 

from FY 2017)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

99

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 1 Resolved (Significant) 3.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum; achieve Level 3 

Consistently Implemented 

status of the Identity and 

Access Management 

program. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2017)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 1 Resolved (Significant) 4.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and the 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum; achieve Level 3 

Consistently Implemented 

status of the Data 

Protection and Privacy 

program.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

100

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 1 Resolved (Significant) 5.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to incorporate 

additional measures to, at 

a minimum, achieve Level 

3 Consistently 

Implemented status of the 

Security Training program. 

(Repeat Recommendation 

from FY 2017)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 1 Resolved (Significant) 6.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and the 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum; achieve Level 3 

Consistently Implemented 

status of the ISCM 

program. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2017)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

101

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 1 Resolved (Significant) 7.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to incorporate 

additional measures to, at 

a minimum; achieve Level 

3 Consistently 

Implemented status of the 

Incident Response 

program. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2017)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 1 Resolved (Significant) 8.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum; achieve Level 4 

Managed and Measurable 

status of the Contingency 

Planning program. 

(Repeat Recommendation 

from 2017)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

102

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 2 Completed (Significant) 1.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require that OCIO and FSA 

ensure the completeness 

of individual corrective 

action plans for elements 

including remediation 

officials assigned, costs 

associated to remediate 

the weakness, and starting 

dates to remediate the 

weakness.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 2 Completed (Significant) 2.2 We 

recommend the Deputy 

Secretary and Chief 

Operating Officer require 

that OCIO and FSA 

migrate to Transport Layer 

Security 1.2 or higher as 

the only connection for all 

Department connections. 

(Repeat Recommendation 

from FY 2015, 2016, and 

2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

103

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 2 Completed (Significant) 3.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

ensure that position risk 

designations are 

documented for 

background investigations.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 2 Completed (Significant) 4.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that the 

Handbook for Protection of 

Sensitive But Unclassified 

Information is updated.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 2 Completed (Significant) 5.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that 

contractor employees fulfill 

mandatory training 

requirements before 

accessing Department 

systems. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

104

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 2 Resolved (Significant) 6.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to automate its 

capabilities for monitoring 

the security controls 

effectiveness and overall 

implementation of teh 

ISCM Roadmap. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2017)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 2 Completed (Significant) 7.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that 

incidents are consistently 

submitted to US-CERT and 

the OIG within the required 

timeframe and all incidents 

are consistently 

categorized. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

105

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 2 Completed (Significant) 8.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

ensure that contingency 

planning documentation 

and results of contingency 

plan testing are 

documented consistently 

and timely. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2012, 2014, and 2015)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 3 Completed (Significant) 1.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and the 

Chief Operating Officer 

require that OCIO and FSA 

ensure that all contracts 

are reviewed and include 

all applicable privacy, 

security, and access 

provisions. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

106

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 3 Resolved (Significant) 2.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that the 

configuration of 40 

websites to be routed 

through a trusted internet 

connection or managed 

trusted internet protocol 

service.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 3 Completed (Significant) 3.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

enforce a two-factor 

authentication 

configuration for all user 

connections to systems 

and applications. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 

2015, 2016 and 2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 3 Completed (Significant) 4.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure the 

Department's Breach 

Response Plan is tested 

annually.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

107

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 3 Completed (Significant) 5.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to define and 

implement a process to 

track contractors' initial 

access to the Department's 

network.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 3 Completed (Significant) 6.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that ISCM 

stakeholders with 

designated roles and 

responsiblities are properly 

educated and engaged. 

(Repeat Recommendation 

from FY 2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 3 Completed (Significant) 7.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to enable incident 

response tools and 

technologies to function on 

an enterprise basis.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

108

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 3 Completed (Significant) 8.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that skills 

are being measured at the 

enterprise level to begin 

full reporting to the Office 

of Personnel Management 

by April 2019. (Repeat 

Recommendation from 

2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 4 Completed (Significant) 2.4 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that all 

existing websites and 

services are accessible 

through a secure 

connection as required by 

OMB M-15-13. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 4 Completed (Significant) 3.4 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to finalize 

Departmental Directive 

OM: 5-101, "Personnel 

Security Screening 

Requirements for 

Contractor Employees."

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

109

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 4 Completed (Significant) 4.4 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that 

Privacy Impact 

Assessments are reviewed 

every two years.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 4 Completed (Significant) 5.4 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that user 

accounts are suspended 

timely when users do not 

complete required training.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 4 Completed (Significant) 7.4 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that data 

loss prevention 

technologies work as 

intended for the blocking of 

sensitive information 

transmission.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

110

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 4 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure all 

information authorizing 

officials, information 

system owners, and 

information system security 

officers establish and use 

accounts within the Cyber 

Security Assessment and 

Management tool, and that 

required points of contacts 

are identified. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 5 Completed (Significant) 2.5 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to discontinue the use 

of unsupported operating 

systems, databases, and 

applications. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2015 and 2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

111

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 5 Resolved (Significant) 3.5 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to fully implement 

the Department's ICAM 

strategy to ensure that the 

Department meets full 

Federal Government 

implementation of ICAM. 

(Repeat Recommendation 

from FY 2017)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 5 Completed (Significant) 5.5 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secreatry require 

OCIO to implement the 

process for identifying 

employees with signifiant 

security responsibilities 

and ensure role-based 

training is provided.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 5 Completed (Significant) 6.5 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure the 

completion of Phases 1 

and 2 of the Continuous 

Diagnostics and Mitigation 

program. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

112

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 6 Completed (Significant) 2.6 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to eliminate the use of 

Social Security numbers as 

an authentication element 

when logging onto FSA 

websites by requiring the 

user to create a unique 

identifier for account 

authentication. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2014 and 2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 6 Completed (Significant) 3.6 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure the 

Network Access Control 

solution is configured to 

disallow users to reconnect 

devices after being 

blocked.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

113

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 6 Completed (Significant) 5.6 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to implement the 

process for formal skill 

assessments of 

employees' educational 

level and experience to 

begin full reporting to the 

Office of Personnel 

Management by April 

2019.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 7 Completed (Significant) 2.7 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to ensure that all 

websites and portals 

hosting personally 

identifiable information are 

configured not to display 

clear text. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2014 and 2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

114

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 7 Completed (Significant) 3.7 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure access 

agreements--in particular 

non-disclosure agreements 

for privileged users with 

access to sensitive 

information, and Rules of 

Behavior 

acknowledgements--are 

documented for users 

accessign Department and 

FSA systems.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 8 Completed (Significant) 2.8 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to immediately correct 

or mitigate the 

vulnerabilites during the 

vulnerability assessment. 

(Repeat Recommendation 

from FY 2015 and 2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 8 Completed (Significant) 3.8 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that 

terminated individual's 

network access is removed 

timely.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

115

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 9 Completed (Significant) 3.9 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to establish a process 

for identifying, managing, 

and tracking activity of 

privileged user accounts. 

(Repeat Recommendation 

from FY 2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 10 Completed (Significant) 3.10 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to configure all 

websites to display 

warning banners when 

users login to 

Departmental resources 

and ensure that banners 

include approved warning 

language. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2017)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 11 Completed (Significant) 3.11 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to create corrective 

action plans to remedy 

database vulnerabilities for 

all database vulnerabilities 

identified. (Repeat 

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

116

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

Recommendation from FY 

2017)

A11-S0001 FY 2018 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2018 12 Completed (Significant) 3.12 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to validate the 

inactivity settings to ensure 

sessions are timing out 

after 30 minutes of 

inactivity. (Repeat 

Recommendation from FY 

2011, 2012, and 2015)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 1 Resolved (Significant) 1.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require that OCIO and FSA 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum, achieve Level 3 

Consistently Implemented 

status of the Risk 

Management program.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

117

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 1 Resolved (Significant) 2.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require that OCIO and FSA 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum, achieve Level 3 

Consistently Implemented 

status of the Configuration 

Management program.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 1 Resolved (Significant) 3.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum, achieve Level 3 

Consistently Implemented 

status of the Identity and 

Access Management 

program.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

118

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 1 Resolved (Significant) 4.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and the 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum, achieve Level 3 

Consistently Implemented 

status of the Data 

Protection and Privacy 

program.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 1 Resolved (Significant) 5.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to incorporate 

additional measures to, at 

a minimum, achieve Level 

3 Consistently 

Implemented status of the 

Security Training program.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 1 Resolved (Significant) 6.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and the 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum, achieve Level 3 

Consistently Implemented 

Resolved The Corrective

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

119

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

status of the ISCM 

program.

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 1 Resolved (Significant) 7.1 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to incorporate 

additional measures to, at 

a minimum, achieve Level 

3 Consistently 

Implemented status of the 

Incident Response 

program.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 1 Resolved (Significant) 8.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to incorporate 

additional measures to, at 

a minimum, achieve Level 

4 Managed and 

Measurable status of the 

Contingency Planning 

program.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

120

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 2 Completed (Significant) 1.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require that OCIO and FSA 

ensure that POA&M 

remediation is performed 

within the required 

timeframe.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 2 Completed (Significant) 2.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require that OCIO and FSA 

migrate to Transport Layer 

Security 1.2 or higher as 

the only connection for all 

Department connections.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 2 Completed (Significant) 3.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

ensure that terminated 

users' network access is 

removed timely.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

121

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 2 Completed (Significant) 4.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that 

Privacy Impact 

Assessments are reviewed 

everyo 2 years.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 2 Completed (Significant) 5.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that all 

new users complete the 

mandatory training 

requirements before they 

receive access to 

Departmental systems.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 2 Resolved (Significant) 6.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to automate its 

capabilities for monitoring 

the security controls 

effectiveness and overall 

implementation of the 

ISCM Roadmap. (Repeat 

Recommendation FY 2018 

& FY 2019)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

122

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 2 Completed (Significant) 7.2 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that 

incidents are consistently 

submitted to the OIG within 

the required timeframe.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 2 Completed (Significant) 8.2 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to ensure that 

contingency plans, and 

other artifacts impacting 

contingency plans, are 

documented and updated 

in a consistent and timely 

manner.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 3 Completed (Significant) 1.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require that OCIO and FSA 

ensure that all POA&Ms 

are assigned with the 

required appropriate 

remediation official.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

123

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 3 Completed (Significant) 2.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require that OCIO and FSA 

review solutions to ensure 

that the default username 

and password has been 

changed.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 3 Completed (Significant) 3.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

ensure that access 

agreements for users 

accessing Department and 

FSA systems are 

documented and 

maintained. (Repeat 

Recommendation FY 2018 

& FY 2019)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 3 Completed (Significant) 5.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

ensure that the process for 

ensuring completion of 

role-based training is fully 

implemented.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

124

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 3 Completed (Significant) 7.3 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that data 

loss prevention 

technologies work as 

intended for the blocking of 

sensitive information 

transmission.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 3 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure the 

completion of Phases 1 

and 2 of the CDM program. 

(Repeat Recommendation 

FY 2018 & FY 2019)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 4 Resolved (Significant) 2.4 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that 51 

websites are routed 

through a trusted internet 

connection or managed 

trusted internet protocol 

service.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

125

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 4 Completed (Significant) 3.4 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary and 

Chief Operating Officer 

require OCIO and FSA to 

consistently document 

position risk designations 

for background 

investigations.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 4 Completed (Significant) We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to implement a 

process that ensures data 

reported on the 

Cybersecurity Framework 

Risk Scorecard is 

accurate.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 5 Completed (Significant) 2.5 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that all 

existing websites and 

services are accessible 

through a secure 

connection as required by 

OMB M-15-13.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

126

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 5 Completed (Significant) 3.5 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to fully implement 

the Department's ICAM 

strategy to ensure that the 

Department meets full 

Federal government 

implementation of ICAM. 

(Repeat Recommendation 

FY 2018 & FY 2019)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 6 Completed (Significant) 2.6 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to discontinue the use 

of unsupported operating 

systems, databases, and 

applications.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 6 Completed (Significant) 3.6 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to ensure that the 

network access control 

solution is fully 

implemented to ensure 

identification and 

authentication of devices 

connected to the network.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

127

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 7 Completed (Significant) 2.7 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to ensure that all 

websites and portals 

hosting personally 

identifiable information are 

configured not to display 

clear text.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 7 Completed (Significant) 3.7 We 

recommend that the 

Deputy Secretary require 

OCIO to validate the 

inactivity settings to ensure 

sessions time out after 30 

minutes of inactivity.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 8 Completed (Significant) 2.8 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA eliminate the use of 

Social Security numbers as 

an authentication element 

when logging into FSA 

websites by requiring the 

user to create a unique 

identifier for account 

authenitication. (Repeat 

Recommendation FY 2018 

& FY 2019).

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

128

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 8 Completed (Significant) 3.8 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to fully implement the 

process for identifying, 

managing, and tracking 

activity of privileged user 

accounts.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 9 Completed (Significant) 2.9 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to immediately correct 

or mitigate the 

vulnerabilities identified 

during the security 

assessment.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 9 Completed (Significant) 3.9 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to enforce a twofactor authentication 

configuration for all user 

connections to systems 

and applications.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

129

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 10 Completed (Significant) 3.10 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to create corrective 

action plans to remedy 

database vulnerabilities for 

all database vulnerabilities 

identified.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-T0002 FY 2019 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/31/2019 11 Completed (Significant) 3.11 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Operating Officer require 

FSA to require system 

owners configure all 

websites to display 

warning banners when 

users login to 

Departmental resources 

and ensure that banners 

include approved warning 

language by October 31, 

2019.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

130

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 1.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to 

establish oversight controls 

to ensure that POA&Ms 

are assigned with the 

required criticality impact 

levels and remediation is 

conducted within the 

required timeframes. 

Incorporates a Repeat 

Recommendation)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 2.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum, achieve Level 4 

Managed and Measurable 

status of the Configuration 

Management program.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 3.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to 

establish oversight controls 

to ensure the Department's 

password, terminations, 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

131

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

and deactivation policies 

are enforced accordingly.

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 4.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Senior Agency Official 

for Privacy to establish 

additional processes, 

procedures, and 

monitoring controls to 

validate, track and enforce 

the completion of PIAs, 

PTAs, and SORNs.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 5.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to 

establish monitoring and 

oversight controls that 

ensure all new users 

satisfy all of the mandatory 

training requirements 

before they receive access 

to Departmental resources. 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

132

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

(Incorporates a Repeat 

Recommendation)

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 6.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to 

establish oversight controls 

to review, monitor and 

verify progress of the ISCM 

strategy, as well as the 

annual reviews of all 

Departmental cyber 

security policies, to reflect 

the current environment. 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 7.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to 

incorporate additional 

measures to, at a 

minimum, achieve Level 4 

Managed and Measurable 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

133

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

status of the Incident 

Response program.

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 8.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to improve 

oversight controls that 

ensures contingency plan 

tests, and other artifacts 

impacting contingency plan 

testing, are documented, 

and updated in a 

consistent and timely 

manner.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

134

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 2 Resolved (Significant) 1.2 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to develop 

and implement a 

Department-wide ICT 

supply chain risk 

management strategy to 

include the supply chain 

risk tolerance, acceptable 

supply chain risk mitigation 

strategies, and 

foundational practices.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 2 Resolved (Significant) 2.2 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to develop 

enhanced oversight 

controls to ensure all 

Department connections 

are migrated to TLS 1.2 or 

higher cryptographic 

protocol. (Incorporates a 

Repeat Recommendation)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

135

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 2 Resolved (Significant) 3.2 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to enforce 

the mandate for all 

websites to display 

warning banners when 

users login to 

Departmental resources, 

and establish additional 

procedures and monitoring 

processes to ensure that 

banners include the 

approved warning 

language. (Incorporates a 

Repeat Recommendation)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 2 Resolved (Significant) 7.2 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to develop 

and implement oversight 

controls to ensure that 

incidents are consistently 

submitted to US-CERT and 

the OIG within the required 

timeframes, are 

consistently categorized, 

and include the correct 

vector elements as 

required.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

136

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 2 Resolved (Significant) 8.2 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to develop 

additional processes and 

controls to confirm the 

proper validation and 

verification of all required 

contingency planning 

controls is documented 

accordingly before 

completing the SSP 

checklists and granting 

authorization to cloud 

service providers.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 3 Resolved (Significant) 1.3 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to develop 

a process to evaluate and 

routinely monitor supply 

chain risks associated with 

the development, 

acquisition, maintenance, 

and disposal of systems 

and products.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

137

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 3 Resolved (Significant) 2.3 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to enhance 

implementation controls to 

prioritize and apply the 

most up-to-date and timely 

software patches and 

security updates to the 

identified systems and 

information technology 

solutions.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 3 Resolved (Significant) 3.3 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to 

establish and enforce a 

corrective action plan to 

monitor and remediate 

identified database 

vulnerabilities.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

138

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 3 Completed (Significant) 7.3 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to 

establish monitoring 

controls to ensure policies 

and procedures are 

updated frequently to 

contain the most updated 

information (i.e., 

contractual obligations) 

and those specifically 

relating to computer 

incident reporting to OIG 

are enforced accordingly.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 3 Resolved (Significant) 8.3 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to 

establish additional 

procedures and controls to 

assure stakeholders are 

properly adhering to 

contingency planning 

guidance.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

139

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 4 Resolved (Significant) 1.4 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to 

establish and automate 

procedures to ensure all 

Department-wide IT 

inventories are accurate, 

complete, and periodically 

tested for accuracy. 

Include steps to establish 

that all IT contracts are 

reviewed and verified for 

applicable privacy, 

security, and access 

provisions. (Incorporates a 

Repeat Recommendation)

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 4 Resolved (Significant) 2.4 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to 

Establish stronger 

monitoring controls to 

enforce the management 

of unsupported system 

components and track and 

discontinue the use of 

unsupported operating 

systems, databases, and 

applications. (Incorporates 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

140

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

a Repeat 

Recommendation)

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 4 Completed (Significant) 7.4 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to develop 

and implement testing 

procedures and enhance 

current policies and 

processes to ensure that 

the DLP solution works as 

intended for the blocking of 

sensitive information 

transmission. (Incorporates 

a Repeat 

Recommendation)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

141

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 5 Resolved (Significant) 1.5 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to verify 

and periodically reconcile 

the accuracy of cloud 

service provider 

inventories in or against 

CSAM.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 5 Completed (Significant) 2.5 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to develop 

verification procedures and 

enforce the inactivity 

settings to ensure virtual 

private network sessions 

time out after 30 minutes of 

inactivity. (Incorporates a 

Repeat Recommendation)

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A11-U0001 FY 2020 FISMA OCIO OIG 10/30/2020 6 Resolved (Significant) 2.6 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the Department to correct 

or mitigate the 

vulnerabilities identified 

during the security 

assessment, in accordance 

with the severity level of 

each vulnerability 

identified. 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

142

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 1 Resolved 3.1 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Take steps to 

assure obsolete solutions 

and encryption protocols 

are either updated, 

removed, or replaced.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 2 Resolved 3.2 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Implement 

additional measures for 

patches to be applied in a 

timely manner based on a 

priority basis.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

143

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 3 Resolved 3.3 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Ensure all 

Department websites are 

configured to mask PII 

when used as an identifier.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 4 Resolved 3.4 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Enforce secure 

connections as required by 

OMB M-15-13 for all 

existing websites and 

services.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

144

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 5 Resolved 3.5 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Require FSA to 

take immediate corrective 

actions to mitigate the 

vulnerabilities identified 

during the vulnerability 

assessment.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 1 Resolved 4.1 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Fully implement 

ICAM Strategy by 

established milestones to 

ensure the Department 

meets full Federal 

government 

implementation of ICAM.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

145

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 2 Resolved 4.2 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Take steps to 

ensure user activity is 

terminated on the FSA 

Next Generation Data 

Center after 30 minutes.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 3 Resolved 4.3 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to—Document and 

maintain position risk 

designation forms for 

background investigations.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

146

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 4 Resolved 4.4 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Enforce a twofactor authentication 

configuration for all user 

connections to systems 

and applications.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 5 Resolved 4.5 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Perform and 

evidence regularly 

scheduled reviews of 

system user accounts 

(both privileged and nonprivileged) to recertify and 

maintain each Department 

system’s validity.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

147

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 6 Resolved 4.6 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Remove 

terminated users’ access 

to Department resources 

timely in accordance with 

Departmental policy.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 7 Resolved 4.7 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Identify and 

enforce all websites to 

display warning banners 

when users login to 

Departmental resources.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

148

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 8 Resolved 4.8 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Take immediate 

corrective actions to 

mitigate the vulnerabilities 

identified during the 

endpoint vulnerability 

assessment.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 9 Resolved 4.9 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Establish and 

enforce a corrective action 

plan to monitor and 

remediate identified 

database vulnerabilities.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

149

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 1 Resolved 5.1 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

the SAOP to— Implement 

monitoring and oversight 

controls that ensure 

employees and contractors 

are adhering to current 

media sanitization policies 

and are correctly 

documenting and 

validating the disposal or 

reuse of used digital 

media. In addition, provide 

adequate evidence 

showing the proper 

documentation and 

validating of clear 

sanitizing for all digital 

media assigned to the 

sampled 10 offboarded 

employees or contractors. 

Lastly, ensure the digital 

media sanitization policies 

and processes are 

completed, as appropriate, 

to capture all requirements 

dictated by Federal 

regulations.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

150

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21IT0023 The U.S. 

Department of 

Education’s Federal 

Information Security 

Modernization Act of 

2014 For Fiscal 

Year 2021

OCIO OIG 10/29/2021 1 Resolved 8.1 (Significant) We 

recommend that the Chief 

Information Officer require 

OCIO to— Develop and 

implement improved 

monitoring procedures, 

and enhance current 

policies and processes, to 

ensure that the DLP 

solution works as intended 

for blocking of sensitive 

information transmission, 

as well as to ensure the 

detection of sensitive 

information with a higher 

degree of accuracy.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

GAO-18-

425

High School Sports: 

Many Schools 

Encouraged Equal 

Opportunities, but 

Education Could 

Further Help 

Athletics 

Administrators 

under Title IX

OCR OIG 6/11/2018 1 Resolved The Department of 

Education's Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights 

should determine the 

extent to which Title IX 

coordinators at the K-12 

level are aware of and 

using the tools 

recommended in OCR's 

existing guidance and any 

barriers preventing their 

use of this guidance, and 

use this information in 

OCR's efforts to encourage 

them to work with athletics 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

151

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

administrators on ensuring 

equal athletic opportunities.

GAO-20-

345

K-12 EDUCATION: 

Education Needs to 

Address Significant 

Quality Issues with 

its Restraint and 

Seclusion Data

OCR GAO 9/4/2020 1 Completed The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office for Civil Rights 

should revise its CRDC 

business rule to require 

that every 

school district reporting 

zeros, regardless of district 

size or numbers of 

students with disabilities, 

affirm the zeros are 

correct during the CRDC 

data submission process.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

152

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-20-

345

K-12 EDUCATION: 

Education Needs to 

Address Significant 

Quality Issues with 

its Restraint and 

Seclusion Data

OCR GAO 9/4/2020 2 Completed The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office for Civil Rights 

should develop and 

implement a CRDC 

business rule that 

targets schools and school 

districts that report very 

low numbers of incidents 

and set data-driven 

thresholds to detect 

such incidents.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.

GAO-20-

345

K-12 EDUCATION: 

Education Needs to 

Address Significant 

Quality Issues with 

its Restraint and 

Seclusion Data

OCR GAO 9/4/2020 3 Completed The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office for Civil Rights 

should develop and 

implement a CRDC 

business rule that 

targets schools and 

schools districts that report 

very high number of 

incidents and set datadriven thresholds to 

detect such incidents.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.

GAO-20-

345

K-12 EDUCATION: 

Education Needs to 

Address Significant 

Quality Issues with 

its Restraint and 

Seclusion Data

OCR GAO 9/4/2020 4 Completed The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office for Civil Rights 

should apply the CRDC 

business rule targeting 

illogical data at 

the school level to all 

schools, regardless of the 

number of incidents 

reported.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

153

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-20-

345

K-12 EDUCATION: 

Education Needs to 

Address Significant 

Quality Issues with 

its Restraint and 

Seclusion Data

OCR GAO 9/4/2020 5 Completed The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office for Civil Rights 

should identify the factors 

that cause underreporting 

and 

misreporting of restraint 

and seclusion and take 

steps to help school 

districts overcome these 

issues.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.

GAO-20-

345

K-12 EDUCATION: 

Education Needs to 

Address Significant 

Quality Issues with 

its Restraint and 

Seclusion Data

OCR GAO 9/4/2020 6 Completed The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office for Civil Rights 

should further refine and 

clarify federal restraint and 

seclusion 

definitions and take steps 

to ensure that this 

information is conveyed to 

school districts. This could 

include providing 

common classroom 

scenarios that highlight the 

differences between a 

restraint and an escort, 

and a time out and a 

seclusion.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

154

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19T0002 The Office for Civil 

Rights’ Complaint 

Dismissal Process

OCR OIG 5/11/2021 1 Completed 1.1 We recommend that 

the Acting Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights 

establish a process that 

clearly links all complaints 

that had been previously 

dismissed under 108(t) to 

directed investigations or 

other related actions.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.

A19T0002 The Office for Civil 

Rights’ Complaint 

Dismissal Process

OCR OIG 5/11/2021 2 Completed 1.2 We recommend that 

the Acting Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights 

ensure all previously 

dismissed complaints 

under 108(t) have been 

reopened as stated or 

otherwise appropriately 

resolved.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.

A19T0002 The Office for Civil 

Rights’ Complaint 

Dismissal Process

OCR OIG 5/11/2021 1 Completed 2.1 We recommend that 

the Acting Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights 

clearly define new policies 

before implementation and 

provide adequate and 

documented training.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

155

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19T0002 The Office for Civil 

Rights’ Complaint 

Dismissal Process

OCR OIG 5/11/2021 2 Completed 2.2 We recommend that 

the Acting Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights 

ensure that updates to 

CPM policy are adequately 

documented and 

communicated, to include 

interim changes that have 

not yet been incorporated 

into an upcoming CPM 

revision.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.

A19T0002 The Office for Civil 

Rights’ Complaint 

Dismissal Process

OCR OIG 5/11/2021 3 Completed 2.3 We recommend that 

the Acting Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights 

maintain all information 

and records as required by 

the Case Management 

System/Document 

Management System 

requirements document, to 

include acknowledgement 

and dismissal letters.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing

review before the 

audit is closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

156

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19T0002 The Office for Civil 

Rights’ Complaint 

Dismissal Process

OCR OIG 5/11/2021 4 Completed 2.4 We recommend that 

the Acting Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights 

clarify policy with regard to 

the circumstances under

which dismissal of 

complaints that fall under 

Sections 302 and 303 of 

the CPM would be deemed 

appropriate, considering 

resources expended and 

willingness of recipients to 

voluntarily resolve issues 

identified by OCR.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.

GAO-19-

551R

K-12 Education: 

Education Should 

Take Immediate 

Action to Address 

Inaccuracies in 

Federal Restraint 

and Seclusion Data 

[Reissued with 

revisions on July 11, 

2019.]

OCR GAO 1/3/2022 1 Completed The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office for Civil Rights 

should immediately remind 

and clarify for all school 

districts that they are to 

only report zero incidents 

of restraint and seclusion 

when there are none and 

that they are to leave cells 

blank to indicate when data 

are not collected or 

incomplete. The Assistant 

Secretary should also 

ensure that instructions for 

when to record zeros and 

when to leave cells blank 

are prominently displayed 

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

157

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

and readily available to 

districts as they complete 

the CRDC.

GAO-19-

551R

K-12 Education: 

Education Should 

Take Immediate 

Action to Address 

Inaccuracies in 

Federal Restraint 

and Seclusion Data 

[Reissued with 

revisions on July 11, 

2019.]

OCR GAO 1/3/2022 2 Completed The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office for Civil Rights 

should, as part of the 

2017-18 CRDC quality 

assurance process, follow 

up with school districts that 

have already submitted 

reports of zero incidents of 

restraint or seclusion to 

obtain assurances that 

zero incidents means no 

incidents or ask the 

districts to submit 

corrected data.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

158

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-19-

551R

K-12 Education: 

Education Should 

Take Immediate 

Action to Address 

Inaccuracies in 

Federal Restraint 

and Seclusion Data 

[Reissued with 

revisions on July 11, 

2019.]

OCR GAO 1/3/2022 3 Completed The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office for Civil Rights 

should monitor compliance 

with its action plan 

requirement, and ensure 

plans are submitted and 

address all missing data.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.

GAO-19-

551R

K-12 Education: 

Education Should 

Take Immediate 

Action to Address 

Inaccuracies in 

Federal Restraint 

and Seclusion Data 

[Reissued with 

revisions on July 11, 

2019.]

OCR GAO 1/3/2022 4 Completed The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office for Civil Rights 

should prominently 

disclose for past 

collections the potential 

problems with using 

restraint and seclusion 

data given the known 

misreporting issues, such 

as those detailed in this 

report involving 9 of the 

nation's large public school 

districts.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

159

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-19-

616

Foster Care: 

Education Could 

Help States Improve 

Educational Stability 

for Youth in Foster 

Care

OESE GAO 11/4/2019 1 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should develop an online 

clearinghouse of sample 

documents from states and 

localities who wish to share 

them, past webinar 

recordings and their 

related documents, and 

links to other relevant 

resources that all SEAs 

can access.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.

GAO-17-

400

K-12 Education: 

Education Needs to 

Improve Oversight 

of Its 21st Century 

Program

OESE GAO 4/26/2017 1 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should direct the Office of 

Academic Improvement to 

expand its performance 

measures for the 21st 

Century program to 

address all program 

objectives. Specifically, 

Education should establish 

performance measures 

related to key behavioral, 

including student 

attendance and disciplinary 

incidents, and socioemotional outcomes.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

160

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-17-

400

K-12 Education: 

Education Needs to 

Improve Oversight 

of Its 21st Century 

Program

OESE GAO 4/26/2017 2 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should direct the Office of 

Academic Improvement to 

conduct federal-level data 

checks on the accuracy of 

21st Century program data 

submitted by states. Such 

checks could test for 

logical relationships 

between fields. Education 

should also publicly 

disclose and address any 

data limitations it identifies, 

as appropriate.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.

GAO-17-

400

K-12 Education: 

Education Needs to 

Improve Oversight 

of Its 21st Century 

Program

OESE GAO 4/26/2017 3 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should direct the Office of 

Academic Improvement to 

provide written, nonregulatory guidance to 

states on developing and 

conducting high-quality 

21st Century state 

evaluations to help 

address the difficulties 

states face in measuring 

program performance and 

effectiveness.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

161

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-17-

400

K-12 Education: 

Education Needs to 

Improve Oversight 

of Its 21st Century 

Program

OESE GAO 4/26/2017 4 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should direct the Office of 

Academic Improvement to 

use the information it 

collects from its monitoring 

visits and ongoing 

interactions with states to 

share effective practices 

across states for sustaining 

their 21st Century 

programs once program 

funding ends. This 

information could be 

shared using existing 

mechanisms such as 

Education's meetings with 

21st Century state 

coordinators.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

162

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-16-

645

Female Genital 

Mutilation/Cutting: 

Existing Federal 

Efforts to Increase 

Awareness Should 

Be Improved

OESE GAO 12/20/2016 1 Completed To make the best use of 

federal resources directed 

toward combating 

FGM/C in the United 

States, the Attorney 

General and the 

Secretaries

of Education, Health and 

Human Services, 

Homeland Security, and 

State should each develop 

a written plan that 

describes the agency's 

approach for conducting 

education and outreach to 

key stakeholders 

in the United States 

regarding FGM/C.

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.

GAO-16-

645

Female Genital 

Mutilation/Cutting: 

Existing Federal 

Efforts to Increase 

Awareness Should 

Be Improved

OESE GAO 12/20/2016 2 Completed To make the best use of 

federal resources directed 

toward combating 

FGM/C in the United 

States, the Attorney 

General and the 

Secretaries of 

Education, Health and 

Human Services, 

Homeland Security, and 

State 

should each communicate 

the plan with other relevant 

Completed Action has been 

taken. The 

documentation is 

undergoing 

review before the 

audit is closed.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

163

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

federal agencies 

and stakeholder groups, as 

appropriate.

A05-S0001 DEPARTMENTS 

INTERNAL 

CONTROL FOR 

STATE PLAN 

REVIEWS

OESE OIG 9/28/2020 1 Resolved We recommend that the 

Assistant Secretary for 

Elementary and Secondary 

Education ensure that 

OESE - 1.1 Strengthens 

its policy for creating and 

retaining records so those 

records demonstrate 

adequate and proper 

documentation of OESE's 

functions, policies, 

decisions, procedures, and 

essential transactions 

relevant to the review and 

approval of the McKinneyVento Act section of State 

plans.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

164

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A05-S0001 DEPARTMENTS 

INTERNAL 

CONTROL FOR 

STATE PLAN 

REVIEWS

OESE OIG 9/28/2020 2 Resolved We recommend that the 

Assistant Secretary for 

Elementary and Secondary 

Education ensure that 

OESE - 1.2 Makes 

publicly available all 

submissions and 

resubmissions of States' 

plans, including individual 

and consolidated plans, to 

promote full transparency.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A05-S0001 DEPARTMENTS 

INTERNAL 

CONTROL FOR 

STATE PLAN 

REVIEWS

OESE OIG 9/28/2020 3 Resolved We recommend that the 

Assistant Secretary for 

Elementary and Secondary 

Education ensure that 

OESE - 1.3 Adheres to its 

policy and considers all 

conflict of interest 

information collected from 

peer reviewers before 

assigning them State plans 

to review.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

165

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-21-96 DRUG MISUSE: 

Agencies Have Not 

Fully Identified How 

Grants That Can 

Support Drug 

Prevention 

Education Programs 

Contribute to 

National Goals

OESE GAO 2/1/2021 1 Resolved The Secretary of Education 

should work with grantees 

to collect and report 

performance information 

for the grants to state 

educational 

agencies component of the 

School Climate program 

that relate to achieving the 

prevention education goal 

of the National Drug 

Control 

Strategy.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

166

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

F19GA0027 Puerto Rico 

Department of 

Education’s 

Unallowable Use of 

Temporary 

Emergency Impact 

Aid for Displaced 

Students Program 

Funds for Payroll 

Activities

OESE OIG 6/24/2021 1 Completed (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that the 

Assistant Secretary for the 

Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education, in 

conjunction with the 

Assistant Secretary/Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Office of Finance and 

Operations require the 

Puerto Rico DOE to 

demonstrate that it has 

implemented sufficient 

controls over its payroll 

system to ensure that 

Department Program funds 

are safeguarded; and, if it 

cannot, impose specific 

conditions on all 

Department grants 

awarded, including disaster 

and pandemic relief grants 

prohibiting the use of grant 

funds for payroll without 

documentation to support 

that payments went to 

active employees.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

167

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

F19GA0027 Puerto Rico 

Department of 

Education’s 

Unallowable Use of 

Temporary 

Emergency Impact 

Aid for Displaced 

Students Program 

Funds for Payroll 

Activities

OESE OIG 6/24/2021 2 Resolved (Significant) 2. We 

recommend that the 

Assistant Secretary for the 

Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education, in 

conjunction with the 

Assistant Secretary/Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Office of Finance and 

Operations closely monitor 

the Puerto Rico DOE’s 

implementation of internal 

controls over payroll 

included in its corrective 

action plan prepared in 

response to the new time 

and attendance controls 

required by the Puerto 

Rico Financial Oversight 

and Management Board.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

168

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

F19GA0027 Puerto Rico 

Department of 

Education’s 

Unallowable Use of 

Temporary 

Emergency Impact 

Aid for Displaced 

Students Program 

Funds for Payroll 

Activities

OESE OIG 6/24/2021 3 Resolved (Significant) 3. We 

recommend that the 

Assistant Secretary for the 

Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education, in 

conjunction with the 

Assistant Secretary/Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Office of Finance and 

Operations require the 

Puerto Rico DOE to 

identify the amount of 

unallowable payroll costs 

charged to the Emergency 

Impact Aid program and 

other Department program 

funds and establish a plan 

to return those funds to the 

Department.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A19DC0004 SSAE: Audit of the 

Department’s 

Oversight of the 

Student Support 

and Academic 

Enrichment 

Program

OESE OIG 8/30/2021 1 Resolved 1.1 We recommend that 

the Acting Assistant 

Secretary of OESE ensure 

that OSSS staff develop, 

finalize, and implement 

adequate plans to monitor 

SSAE grantees’ 

performance toward 

achieving the SSAE 

program’s goals and 

objectives, and that such 

monitoring is used to assist 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

169

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

grantees with making 

progress toward the 

program’s goals and 

objectives.

A19DC0004 SSAE: Audit of the 

Department’s 

Oversight of the 

Student Support 

and Academic 

Enrichment 

Program

OESE OIG 8/30/2021 2 Resolved 1.2 We recommend that 

the Acting Assistant 

Secretary of OESE ensure 

that OSSS staff develop, 

finalize, and implement 

adequate plans to monitor 

OSSS grantees’ use of 

funds to ensure that funds 

are being used for 

allowable activities under 

the SSAE program.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

170

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19DC0004 SSAE: Audit of the 

Department’s 

Oversight of the 

Student Support 

and Academic 

Enrichment 

Program

OESE OIG 8/30/2021 3 Resolved 1.3 We recommend that 

the Acting Assistant 

Secretary of OESE ensure 

that the consolidated 

monitoring process is 

clearly communicated and 

understood, including how 

many consolidated 

monitoring reviews each 

program should expect to 

be involved with, and 

expectations for individual 

program office monitoring 

efforts in addition to 

consolidated monitoring.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A19DC0004 SSAE: Audit of the 

Department’s 

Oversight of the 

Student Support 

and Academic 

Enrichment 

Program

OESE OIG 8/30/2021 4 Resolved 1.4 We recommend that 

the Acting Assistant 

Secretary of OESE 

develop, finalize, and 

implement procedures to 

inform OESE senior 

management of individual 

program office grantee 

monitoring activities.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

171

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19DC0004 SSAE: Audit of the 

Department’s 

Oversight of the 

Student Support 

and Academic 

Enrichment 

Program

OESE OIG 8/30/2021 5 Resolved 1.5 We recommend that 

the Acting Assistant 

Secretary of OESE ensure 

OSSS staff, as part of 

OSSS’ risk assessment 

process for selecting 

grantees for monitoring, 

consider the Entity Risk 

Review internal controls 

score or applicable findings 

in A–133 single audit 

reports.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A19DC0004 SSAE: Audit of the 

Department’s 

Oversight of the 

Student Support 

and Academic 

Enrichment 

Program

OESE OIG 8/30/2021 6 Resolved 1.6 We recommend that 

the Acting Assistant 

Secretary of OESE ensure 

OSSS staff are making 

efforts to assure SEAs are 

meeting public reporting 

requirements, including 

determining whether SEAs 

are collecting the required 

data and verifying whether 

SEAs are reporting 

required data. For those 

SEAs that are not, ensure 

OSSS staff are reminding 

SEAs of the requirement to 

report data and asking 

about their plans for doing 

so.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

172

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A19DC0004 SSAE: Audit of the 

Department’s 

Oversight of the 

Student Support 

and Academic 

Enrichment 

Program

OESE OIG 8/30/2021 7 Resolved 1.7 We recommend that 

the Deputy Secretary 

develop regulations or nonregulatory guidance 

pertaining to SEA public 

reporting requirements for 

SSAE data, to include 

timeframes for reporting 

the required data.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

GAO-22-

105024

CRITICAL 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

PROTECTION: 

Education Should 

Take Additional 

Steps to Help 

Protect K-12 

Schools from Cyber 

Threats

OESE OIG 1/6/2022 1 Unresolved The Secretary of Education

should initiate a meeting 

with the Director of CISA to 

determine how to update 

its sector-specific plan 

(SSP) for the Education 

subsector. The plan should 

assess and prioritize 

federal actions to assist K12 schools in protecting 

themselves from 

cyberattacks.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

173

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-22-

105024

CRITICAL 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

PROTECTION: 

Education Should 

Take Additional 

Steps to Help 

Protect K-12 

Schools from Cyber 

Threats

OESE OIG 1/6/2022 2 Unresolved The Secretary of Education 

should make a 

determination, in 

consultation with the 

Director of CISA and 

based on current 

cybersecurity risks, on 

whether subsector-specific 

guidance is needed for the 

Education subsector.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

GAO-17-22 Federal Student 

Loans: Education 

Needs to Improve 

Its Income-Driven 

Repayment Plan 

Budget Estimates

OCFO GAO 12/1/2016 1 Resolved The Secretary of Education 

should assess and 

improve, as necessary, the 

quality of data and 

methods used to forecast 

borrower incomes, and 

revise the forecasting 

method to account for 

inflation in estimates.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

GAO-17-22 Federal Student 

Loans: Education 

Needs to Improve 

Its Income-Driven 

Repayment Plan 

Budget Estimates

OCFO GAO 12/1/2016 2 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should obtain data needed 

to assess the impact of 

income recertification 

lapses on borrower 

payment amounts, and 

adjust estimated borrower 

repayment patterns as 

necessary.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

174

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-17-22 Federal Student 

Loans: Education 

Needs to Improve 

Its Income-Driven 

Repayment Plan 

Budget Estimates

OCFO GAO 12/1/2016 3 Resolved The Secretary of Education 

should complete efforts to 

incorporate 

repayment plan switching 

into the agency's 

redesigned student loan 

model, and conduct testing 

to help ensure that the 

model produces 

estimates that reasonably 

reflect trends in IncomeDriven Repayment plan 

participation.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

GAO-17-22 Federal Student 

Loans: Education 

Needs to Improve 

Its Income-Driven 

Repayment Plan 

Budget Estimates

OCFO GAO 12/1/2016 4 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should, as a part of the 

agency's ongoing student 

loan model redesign 

efforts, add the capability 

to produce separate cost 

estimates for each IncomeDriven Repayment plan 

and more accurately reflect 

likely repayment patterns 

for each type of loan 

eligible for these plans.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

175

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-17-22 Federal Student 

Loans: Education 

Needs to Improve 

Its Income-Driven 

Repayment Plan 

Budget Estimates

OCFO GAO 12/1/2016 5 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should more thoroughly 

test the agency's approach 

to estimating IncomeDriven Repayment plan 

costs, including by 

conducting more 

comprehensive sensitivity 

analysis on key 

assumptions and adjusting 

those assumptions (such 

as the agency's Public 

Service Loan Forgiveness 

participation assumption) 

to ensure reasonableness.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

GAO-17-22 Federal Student 

Loans: Education 

Needs to Improve 

Its Income-Driven 

Repayment Plan 

Budget Estimates

OCFO GAO 12/1/2016 6 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should publish more 

detailed Income Driven 

Repayment plan cost 

information-- beyond what 

is regularly provided 

through the President's 

budget--including items 

such as total estimated 

costs, sensitivity analysis 

results, key limitations, and 

expected forgiveness 

amounts.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

176

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-17-

675

Small Business 

Contracting: Actions 

Needed to 

Demonstrate and 

Better Review 

Compliance with 

Select 

Requirements for 

Small Business 

Advocates

OCFO GAO 10/5/2017 1 Resolved To address demonstrated 

noncompliance with 

section 15(k) of the Small 

Business Act, as amended, 

the Secretary of Education 

should comply with 

sections 15(k)(3) and 

(k)(11) or report to 

Congress on why the 

agency has not complied, 

including seeking any 

statutory flexibilities or 

exceptions believed 

appropriate.

Resolved GAO reviewed 

the supporting 

documentation, 

the Department is 

gathering 

additional 

supporting 

documentation 

before the 

recommendation 

will be closed.

A17-R0001 FY 2017 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/13/2017 1 Completed (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that the 

Secretary of Education 

work with the Federal 

Student Aid Chief 

Operating Officer to 

continue to execute the 

corrective actions as 

outlined in FSA's project 

plan to comply with the 

timing requirement for the 

referral of delinquent nontax debts.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

177

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-R0001 FY 2017 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/13/2017 1 Completed (Significant) 1. We 

recommend the Director, 

Budget Service develop 

and document the 

Department's process, 

policies and procedures for 

the authorization, design, 

development, testing, 

approval and 

implementation of new 

models and model 

enhancements.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-R0001 FY 2017 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/13/2017 1 Completed (Significant) 1. We 

recommend the Principal 

Deputy Assistant 

Secretary, Office of 

Management implement a 

monitoring process over 

the personnel security 

activities to ensure 

investigations and 

reinvestigations are 

prioritized for personnel 

with sensitive system 

access within the 

Department.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

178

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-R0001 FY 2017 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/13/2017 2 Completed (Significant) 2. We 

recommend the 

Department CISO work 

with the FSA CISO to 

strengthen and refine the 

process for holding system 

owners and information 

system security officers 

accountable for 

remediation of control 

deficiencies and ensuring 

that the appropriate 

security posture is 

maintained for Department 

and FSA information 

systems.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-R0001 FY 2017 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/13/2017 2 Completed (Significant) 2. We 

recommend the Director, 

Budget Service document 

the Department's process, 

policies, procedures and 

related controls for 

managing the operation 

and use of approved 

models.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

179

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-R0001 FY 2017 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/13/2017 3 Completed (Significant) 3. We 

recommend the Director, 

Budget Service enhance 

the process to capture 

model risks, update the 

assessment of risks related 

to each model, and 

document how that 

assessment impacts the 

Department's prioritization 

of corrective actions, and 

requisite level of controls, 

validation and monitoring 

over each model.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-R0001 FY 2017 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/13/2017 4 Completed (Significant) 4. We 

recommend the Director, 

Budget Service document 

and enhance the 

Department's processes, 

policies, procedures and 

related controls for the 

periodic review, validation 

and approval of the 

Department's models at 

the assumption, model and 

program level.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

180

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-R0001 FY 2017 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/13/2017 5 Completed (Significant) 5. We 

recommend the Director, 

Budget Service document 

the overall review and 

conclusions drawn related 

to the evaluation of the 

results of model 

performance reviews and 

validation procedures 

performed.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A17-R0001 FY 2017 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/13/2017 6 Resolved (Significant) 6. We 

recommend the Director,

Budget Service ensure 

modeling risks are 

considered in connection 

with the Department's 

enterprise risk 

management program.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A04-T0004 DEPARTMENT 

COMPLIANCE 

WITH IMPROPER 

PAYMENT 

REPORTING

OCFO OIG 5/29/2019 1 Resolved (Significant) 1.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA-- Develop 

and implement policies and 

procedures to ensure that 

the Accounts Receivable 

and Bank Management 

Group establishes 

accounts receivable for 

schools’ liabilities from 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

181

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

program reviews and 

audits.

A04-T0004 DEPARTMENT 

COMPLIANCE 

WITH IMPROPER 

PAYMENT 

REPORTING

OCFO OIG 5/29/2019 2 Completed (Significant) 1.2 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA—-Revise 

the query the Department 

uses to gather accounts 

receivable data from its 

accounting system so that 

it captures all program 

review and audit liabilities 

that should be used in its 

improper payment 

reporting, and ensure that 

the report generated as a 

result of the query is 

validated for accuracy.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

182

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A04-T0004 DEPARTMENT 

COMPLIANCE 

WITH IMPROPER 

PAYMENT 

REPORTING

OCFO OIG 5/29/2019 3 Completed (Significant) 1.3 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA—--Develop 

and implement policies and 

procedures to require the 

Accounts Receivable and 

Bank Management Group 

to reconcile all program 

review and audit liabilities 

to the accounts receivable 

in the Department’s 

accounting system for FY 

2018, and for future years 

ensure that the 

reconciliation is completed 

before the AFR is 

published.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

183

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A04-T0004 DEPARTMENT 

COMPLIANCE 

WITH IMPROPER 

PAYMENT 

REPORTING

OCFO OIG 5/29/2019 4 Completed (Significant) 1.4 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA—-Develop 

and implement policies and 

procedures to require 

FSA’s School Participation 

Division to confirm that the 

Accounts Receivable and 

Bank Management Group 

received the notices it sent 

to establish accounts 

receivable for program 

review and audit liabilities.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A04-T0004 DEPARTMENT 

COMPLIANCE 

WITH IMPROPER 

PAYMENT 

REPORTING

OCFO OIG 5/29/2019 5 Completed (Significant) 1.5 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA—-Ensure 

that all identified and 

recaptured improper 

payments from grant 

refunds that have been 

confirmed to be improper 

payments are included in 

the AFR’s Payment 

Integrity reporting.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

184

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A04-T0004 DEPARTMENT 

COMPLIANCE 

WITH IMPROPER 

PAYMENT 

REPORTING

OCFO OIG 5/29/2019 6 Completed (Significant) 1.6 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA—Develop 

and implement controls to 

ensure that all improper 

payment root cause data 

and associated amounts 

are reported in the 

improper payment root 

cause section of the AFR, 

as required.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

GAO-20-

129

INFORMATION 

TECHNOLOGY: 

Agencies Need to 

Fully Implement Key 

Workforce Planning 

Activities

OCFO GAO 3/12/2020 1 Resolved The Secretary of Education 

should ensure that the 

agency fully implements 

each of the seven key IT 

workforce planning 

activities it 

did not fully implement.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that FSA 

enhance their risk 

assessment to identify 

risks impacting financial 

reporting processes.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

185

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that 

management implement 

the following to improve 

the effectiveness of entitylevel controls-in the area of 

risk assessment, improve 

risk assessment process at 

the financial statement 

assertion level and at the 

process level to ensure the 

department is appropriately 

defining objectives to 

enable the identification of 

risks and define risk 

tolerances.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that the 

Department and FSA 

strengthen the risk 

assessment process by 

considering the impact of 

IT control deficiencies on 

internal controls over the 

reliability of information in 

the Department's IT 

systems. Such 

considerations should be 

documented.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

186

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that the 

Department continue to 

execute the corrective 

actions as outlined in 

FSA's project plan to 

comply with the timing 

requirement for the referral 

of delinquent non-tax 

debts.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 1 Resolved (Significant) 1. We 

recommend that the 

Department evaluate, 

develop, and implement a 

formal process to track and 

report all new and 

separated contractors.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 2 Resolved (Significant) 2. We 

recommend that FSA 

identify the controls at the 

service organization for the 

systems that are 

responsive to risks and 

that are relevant to FSA's 

financial statements.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

187

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 2 Resolved (Significant) 2. We 

recommend that 

management implement 

the following to improve 

the effectiveness of entitylevel controls-in the area of 

monitoring activities, 

implement key monitoring 

controls to ensure that 

corrective action plans are 

implemented to timely 

remediate control 

deficiencies identified. In 

addition, increase 

oversight, review, and 

accountability over the 

process among various 

offices and directorates 

within the Department and 

FSA.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 2 Resolved (Significant) 2. We 

recommend that the 

Department and FSA 

design and implement 

additional controls, over 

the completeness and 

accuracy of the underlying 

data used to develop the 

re-estimate.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

188

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 2 Resolved (Significant) 2. We 

recommend that the 

Department ensure 

separated contractors are 

off-boarded and system 

personnel are notified in a 

timely manner to disable or 

remove access to IT 

resources.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 3 Resolved (Significant) 3. We 

recommend that FSA 

regularly monitor and meet 

with the service 

organization to 

communicate and ensure 

that controls that are 

relevant to FSA for 

financial reporting are 

adequately tested for 

design, implementation, 

and operating 

effectiveness.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 3 Resolved (Significant) 3. We 

recommend that the 

Department provide 

training and oversight to 

Education personnel with 

on/off-boarding 

responsibilities to help 

ensure new/separated 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

189

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

contractors are properly 

tracked.

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 4 Resolved (Significant) 4. We 

recommend that FSA 

assess the need to 

implement compensating 

controls for financial 

reporting in the event 

relevant controls at the 

service organization are 

not within the scope of the 

SOC 1 report.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 4 Resolved (Significant) 4. We 

recommend that FSA 

validate that financial and 

mixed system security 

plans have identified and 

documented the required 

security controls and 

control enhancements and 

the control implementation 

statuses in the plans as 

required by NIST SP 800-

53. Additionally, implement 

a quality review process of 

the system security plans 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

190

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

prior to signing the plans to 

ensure compliance with 

NIST 800-53 requirements.

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 5 Resolved (Significant) 5. We 

recommend that FSA 

implement a process to 

evaluate the significance of 

a deficiency by considering 

the magnitude of impact, 

likelihood of occurrence, 

and nature of the 

deficiency and tailor the 

corrective actions to 

remediate the risk and 

address the root cause. 

Further, update guidance 

to ensure that quality 

reviews over the POA&M 

closure documentation are 

conducted to confirm the 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

191

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

noted deficiencies are fully 

addressed to help prevent 

future reoccurrences.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

192

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 6 Resolved (Significant) 6. We 

recommend that FSA 

formally develop and 

implement a quality control 

review process to ensure 

that the application change 

control process is followed 

completely and accurately 

to validate that changes 

were tested and approved 

prior to migration and post 

implementation validation 

was performed, the 

relevant documentation 

and approvals are verified 

prior to closing the change 

ticket, as required by 

policy, and supporting 

documentation is retained.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

193

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A17-U0001 FY 2020 ED 

FINANCIAL 

STATEMENT 

AUDIT

OCFO OIG 11/16/2020 7 Resolved (Significant) 7. We 

recommend that FSA 

ensure segregation of 

duties and least privilege 

principles are adhered to 

when granting user access 

to prevent users with the 

ability to develop and/or 

change application code 

from having update access 

to the environment where 

the final tested and 

approved changes are 

staged prior to migration to 

the financial and mixed 

systems' production 

environment; and prevent 

users with access to 

develop code from having 

update access to the 

production environment. 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

194

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A04-U0001 DEPARTMENTS 

COMPLIANCE 

WITH IMPROPER 

PAYMENTS FOR 

FY 2020

OCFO OIG 7/13/2020 1 Unresolved (Significant) 1.1 - We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA, develop 

and implement procedures 

to ensure that the 

Department's sampling 

and estimation plans for 

the Pell and Direct Loan 

programs are accurate, 

complete, and statistically 

valid.

Unresolved OIG has issued a 

decision of 

"Significant 

Disagreement" 

for action item 

listed by program 

office / possible 

mediation will 

have to take 

place between 

OIG and program 

office

A04-U0001 DEPARTMENTS 

COMPLIANCE 

WITH IMPROPER 

PAYMENTS FOR 

FY 2020

OCFO OIG 7/13/2020 1 Completed (Significant) 2.1 - We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department develop and 

implement procedures to 

ensure that the 

Department's improper 

payment estimate for the 

Emergency Impact Aid 

program is based on and 

reflects accurate and 

complete information. 

Specifically, evaluate the 

data used to calculate the 

estimate to determine 

whether the data is 

relevant (obligations 

Unresolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

195

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

versus program outlays) 

and will produce a reliable 

improper payment 

estimate.

A04-U0001 DEPARTMENTS 

COMPLIANCE 

WITH IMPROPER 

PAYMENTS FOR 

FY 2020

OCFO OIG 7/13/2020 2 Completed (Significant) 1.2 - We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA, develop 

and implement quality 

control procedures to 

ensure that the data the 

Department uses to 

calculate the improper 

payment estimate for the 

Pell and Direct Loan 

programs is accurate, 

complete, and reliable.

Unresolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

196

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A04-U0001 DEPARTMENTS 

COMPLIANCE 

WITH IMPROPER 

PAYMENTS FOR 

FY 2020

OCFO OIG 7/13/2020 2 Completed (Significant) 2.2 - We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department develop and 

implement procedures to 

ensure that the 

Department's improper 

payment methodology for 

the Emergency Impact Aid 

program samples and tests 

payments from a complete 

program population.

Unresolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

197

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A04-U0001 DEPARTMENTS 

COMPLIANCE 

WITH IMPROPER 

PAYMENTS FOR 

FY 2020

OCFO OIG 7/13/2020 3 Completed (Significant) 1.3 - We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA, develop 

and implement procedures 

to ensure that the 

Department's improper 

payment estimates for the 

Pell and Direct Loan 

programs are based on, 

and represent, quality 

information. Specifically, 

evaluate the data used to 

determine whether it is 

relevant (for example, 

estimates are based on 

sustained questioned costs 

rather than questioned 

costs identified in 

compliance audits); reliable 

(for example, the quality of 

any supplemental data, if 

used for the estimates, has 

been evaluated); and 

appropriate (for example, 

estimates are based on 

randomly selected studentlevel samples from 

compliance audits).

Unresolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

198

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21GA0014 U.S. Depart. of 

Education's 

Compliance with 

Improper Payment 

Reporting 

Requirements for 

Fiscal Year 2020

OCFO OIG 5/14/2021 1 Completed (Significant) 1.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA submit to 

the appropriate authorizing 

and appropriations 

committees of Congress a 

plan describing actions the 

Department will take to 

bring the Direct Loan, 

Emergency Impact Aid, 

and Restart programs into 

compliance with the PIIA.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A21GA0014 U.S. Depart. of 

Education's 

Compliance with 

Improper Payment 

Reporting 

Requirements for 

Fiscal Year 2020

OCFO OIG 5/14/2021 2 Completed (Significant) 1.2 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA develop a 

plan for compliance that 

specifies the actions the 

Department will take to 

obtain sufficient 

documentation to allow it to 

determine whether the 

payments reviewed for the 

Emergency Impact Aid and 

Restart programs are 

proper or improper.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

199

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21GA0014 U.S. Depart. of 

Education's 

Compliance with 

Improper Payment 

Reporting 

Requirements for 

Fiscal Year 2020

OCFO OIG 5/14/2021 1 Completed (Significant) 2.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department reassess the 

IDEA program’s risk for 

significant improper 

payments in the 

Department’s FY 2021 

annual improper payment 

review

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A21GA0014 U.S. Depart. of 

Education's 

Compliance with 

Improper Payment 

Reporting 

Requirements for 

Fiscal Year 2020

OCFO OIG 5/14/2021 2 Completed 2.2 We recommend that 

the Chief Financial Officer 

for the Department ensure 

that Department officials 

assess the time needed to 

obtain and review the 

necessary documentation 

to conduct the IDEA 

program’s reassessment of 

risk for significant improper 

payments given the unique 

challenges posed by the 

pandemic; and ensure 

adequate time is provided.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

200

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21GA0014 U.S. Depart. of 

Education's 

Compliance with 

Improper Payment 

Reporting 

Requirements for 

Fiscal Year 2020

OCFO OIG 5/14/2021 3 Completed (Significant) 2.3 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department develop and 

implement policies and 

procedures to ensure 

FSA’s contract 

management activity is 

included in the 

Department’s improper 

payment risk assessments 

related to administrative 

activities.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A21GA0014 U.S. Depart. of 

Education's 

Compliance with 

Improper Payment 

Reporting 

Requirements for 

Fiscal Year 2020

OCFO OIG 5/14/2021 1 Completed (Significant) 3.1 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA develop 

and implement procedures 

to ensure that the 

Department’s sampling 

and estimation plans for 

the Pell and Direct Loan 

programs are statistically 

valid and will produce 

statistically valid and 

reliable estimates or use a 

nonstatistical estimate that 

is otherwise appropriate 

using a methodology 

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

201

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

approved by the Director of 

OMB.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

202

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21GA0014 U.S. Depart. of 

Education's 

Compliance with 

Improper Payment 

Reporting 

Requirements for 

Fiscal Year 2020

OCFO OIG 5/14/2021 2 Resolved (Significant) 3.2 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA develop 

and implement procedures 

to ensure that the 

Department’s improper 

payment estimates for the 

Pell and Direct Loan 

programs are based on, 

and represent, quality 

information. Specifically, 

evaluate the data used to 

determine whether it is 

reliable (for example, the 

quality of any supplemental 

data, if used for the 

estimates, has been 

evaluated for accuracy and 

completeness); and 

appropriate (for example, 

estimates are based on 

randomly selected studentlevel samples from 

compliance audits).

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

203

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21GA0014 U.S. Depart. of 

Education's 

Compliance with 

Improper Payment 

Reporting 

Requirements for 

Fiscal Year 2020

OCFO OIG 5/14/2021 3 Completed 3.3 We recommend that 

the Chief Financial Officer 

for the Department, in 

conjunction with the Chief 

Financial Officer for FSA 

develop and implement 

procedures to adequately 

oversee the contractor 

producing the improper 

payment estimates for the 

Emergency Impact Aid, 

Restart, and Emergency 

Assistance to IHE 

programs and to ensure all 

improper payments are 

accurately and completely 

included in the improper 

payment calculations.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

204

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21GA0014 U.S. Depart. of 

Education's 

Compliance with 

Improper Payment 

Reporting 

Requirements for 

Fiscal Year 2020

OCFO OIG 5/14/2021 4 Completed (Significant) 3.4 We 

recommend that the Chief 

Financial Officer for the 

Department, in conjunction 

with the Chief Financial 

Officer for FSA implement 

the Department’s written 

procedures for ensuring 

that the Department’s 

improper payment 

estimates for the 

Emergency Impact Aid, 

Restart, and Emergency 

Assistance to IHE 

programs are based on 

and reflect accurate and 

complete population 

sampling frames that will 

produce a statistically valid 

and reliable estimate.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A21DC0032 The Department's 

Compliance under 

the DATA Act

OCFO OIG 11/8/2021 1 Unresolved 1. We recommend that 

Department management 

implement policies and 

procedures to confirm the 

completeness of the data 

used in their 

reconciliations.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

205

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21DC0032 The Department's 

Compliance under 

the DATA Act

OCFO OIG 11/8/2021 2 Unresolved 2. We recommend that 

Department management 

identify alternative 

methods to conclude on 

the amount of outstanding 

differences in their 

reconciliations if the 

necessary data to 

conclude is unavailable.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21DC0032 The Department's 

Compliance under 

the DATA Act

OCFO OIG 11/8/2021 3 Unresolved 3. We recommend that 

Department management 

identify a tolerable 

threshold in which 

management is 

comfortable concluding on 

the validity of the 

reconciliation.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 1 Unresolved (Significant) 1 We 

recommend that the 

Department and FSA 

strengthen the risk 

assessment process by 

considering the impact of 

IT control deficiencies on 

internal controls over the 

reliability of information in 

the Department’s IT 

systems. Such 

considerations should be 

documented.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

206

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 2 Unresolved (Significant) 2 We 

recommend that the 

Department and FSA 

design and implement 

additional review controls 

that operate at a sufficient 

level of precision over the 

completeness and 

accuracy of the underlying 

data used to develop the 

re-estimate.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 3 Unresolved (Significant) 3 We 

recommend that the 

Department and FSA 

ensure proper 

documentation of controls 

identified to evidence the 

review, the conclusion and 

actions to be taken to 

address outstanding 

differences and/or matters 

to be researched.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 1 Unresolved (Significant) 1 We 

recommend that the 

Department evaluate, 

develop, and implement a 

formal process to track and 

report all new and 

separated contractors.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

207

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 2 Unresolved (Significant) 2 We 

recommend that the 

Department ensure 

separated contractors are 

off-boarded and system 

personnel are notified in a 

timely manner to disable or 

remove access to IT 

resources.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 3 Unresolved (Significant) 3 We 

recommend that the 

Department provide 

training and oversight to 

Education personnel with 

on/off- boarding 

responsibilities to help 

ensure new/separated 

contractors are properly 

tracked.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

208

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 4 Unresolved (Significant) 4 We 

recommend that FSA 

implement a process to 

evaluate the significance of 

a deficiency by considering 

the magnitude of impact, 

likelihood of occurrence, 

and nature of the 

deficiency and tailor the 

corrective actions to 

remediate the risk and 

address the root cause. 

Further, update guidance 

to ensure that quality 

reviews over the POA&M 

closure documentation are 

conducted to confirm the 

noted deficiencies are fully 

addressed to help prevent 

future reoccurrences.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 5 Unresolved (Significant) 5 We 

recommend that FSA 

formally develop and 

implement a quality control 

review process to ensure 

that logical access control 

processes are followed 

completely and accurately 

to validate logical access 

requests, reviews, and recertifications.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

209

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 6 Unresolved (Significant) 6 We 

recommend that FSA 

ensure segregation of 

duties and least privilege 

principles are adhered to 

when granting user access 

to prevent users with the 

ability to develop and/or 

change application code 

from having update access 

to the environment where 

the final tested and 

approved changes are 

staged prior to migration to 

the financial and mixed 

systems’ production 

environment; and prevent 

users with access to 

develop code from having 

update access to the 

production environment.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 7 Unresolved (Significant) 7 We 

recommend that FSA 

ensure a complete and 

accurate population of 

application changes can be 

provided. Formally develop 

and implement a quality 

control review process to 

ensure that the application 

change control process is 

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

210

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

followed and consistently 

and accurately 

documented.

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 1 Unresolved (Significant) 1 We 

recommend that FSA 

enhance their risk 

assessment to identify 

risks impacting financial 

reporting processes.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 2 Unresolved (Significant) 2 We 

recommend that FSA 

identify the controls at the 

service organization for the 

systems that are 

responsive to risks and 

that are relevant to FSA’s 

financial statements.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

211

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 3 Unresolved (Significant) 3 We 

recommend that FSA 

regularly monitor and meet 

with the service 

organization to 

communicate and ensure 

that controls that are 

relevant to FSA for 

financial reporting are 

adequately tested for 

design, implementation, 

and operating 

effectiveness.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 4 Unresolved (Significant) 4 We 

recommend that FSA 

assess the need to 

implement compensating 

controls for financial 

reporting in the event 

relevant controls at the 

service organization are 

not within the scope of the 

SOC 1 report.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

212

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 1 Unresolved (Significant) 1 We 

recommend that 

management implement 

the following to improve 

the effectiveness of entitylevel controls—in the area 

of risk assessment, 

improve the risk 

assessment process at the 

financial statement 

assertion level and at the 

process level to ensure the 

department is appropriately 

defining objectives to 

enable the identification of 

risks and define risk 

tolerances.

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 

A21FS0021 FY 2021 ED 

Financial Statement 

Audit

OCFO OIG 11/19/2021 2 Unresolved (Significant) 2 We 

recommend that 

management implement 

the following to improve 

the effectiveness of entitylevel controls—in the area 

of monitoring activities, 

implement key monitoring 

controls to ensure that 

corrective action plans are 

implemented to timely 

remediate control 

deficiencies identified. In 

addition, increase 

Unresolved The Corrective 

Action Plan is still 

being developed 

by the program 

office 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

213

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

oversight, review, and 

accountability over the 

process among various 

offices and directorates 

within the Department and 

FSA.

GAO-15-

598

Teacher Preparation 

Programs: 

Education Should 

Ensure States 

Identify LowPerforming 

Programs and 

Improve 

Information-Sharing

OPE GAO 7/23/2015 1 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should develop a riskbased, cost-effective 

strategy to verify that 

states are implementing a 

process for assessing 

whether any teacher 

preparation programs are 

low-performing.

Completed GAO is currently 

reviewing all 

supporting 

documentation.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

214

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-15-

598

Teacher Preparation 

Programs: 

Education Should 

Ensure States 

Identify LowPerforming 

Programs and 

Improve 

Information-Sharing

OPE GAO 7/23/2015 2 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should study the 

usefulness of Title II data 

elements for policymakers 

and practitioners, and, if 

warranted, develop a 

proposal for Congress to 

eliminate or revise any 

statutorily-required 

elements that are not 

providing meaningful 

information.

Completed GAO is currently 

reviewing all 

supporting 

documentation.

GAO-15-

598

Teacher Preparation 

Programs: 

Education Should 

Ensure States 

Identify LowPerforming 

Programs and 

Improve 

Information-Sharing

OPE GAO 7/23/2015 3 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should identify potential 

limitations in the Title II 

data and consistently 

disclose these limitations in 

the reports, websites, and 

data tables the agency 

uses to distribute the 

results. This could include 

more detailed information 

about data elements where 

definitions vary 

substantially from state to 

state or teacher 

preparation program to 

teacher preparation 

program.

Completed GAO is currently 

reviewing all 

supporting 

documentation.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

215

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-15-

598

Teacher Preparation 

Programs: 

Education Should 

Ensure States 

Identify LowPerforming 

Programs and 

Improve 

Information-Sharing

OPE GAO 7/23/2015 4 Completed The Secretary of Education 

should develop and 

implement mechanisms to 

systematically share 

information about teacher 

preparation program 

quality with relevant 

Department of Education 

program offices and states 

(including state 

Independent Standards 

Boards).

Completed GAO is currently 

reviewing all 

supporting 

documentation.

GAO-12-

560

Higher Education: 

Improved Tax 

Information Could 

Help Families Pay 

for College

OPE GAO 5/18/2012 1 Completed To help ensure individuals 

who are eligible to claim a 

higher education tax 

expenditure are aware of 

their eligibility and the 

benefit they may receive, 

the Commissioner of 

Internal Revenue and the 

Secretary of Education 

should work together to (1) 

identify characteristics of 

tax filers who are not 

claiming a higher 

education tax expenditure 

when they appear to be 

eligible for one and 

possible reasons for this, 

and (2) use this information 

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

216

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

to identify strategies to 

improve information 

provided to eligible 

students and families.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

217

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-12-

560

Higher Education: 

Improved Tax 

Information Could 

Help Families Pay 

for College

OPE GAO 5/18/2012 2 Resolved To provide federal 

policymakers information 

on the relative 

effectiveness of Title IV 

programs and higher 

education tax 

expenditures, the 

Secretary of Education 

should take advantage of 

opportunities presented by 

recent and anticipated 

substantive program 

changes to sponsor and 

conduct evaluative 

research into the 

effectiveness of Title IV 

programs and higher 

education tax expenditures 

at improving student 

outcomes.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

218

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-15-59 Higher Education: 

Education Should 

Strengthen 

Oversight of 

Schools and 

Accreditors

OPE GAO 12/22/2014 1 Completed To ensure that accreditors 

are reliable authorities on 

educational quality, we 

recommend that the 

Secretary of Education 

consider further evaluating 

existing accreditor 

standards to determine if 

they effectively address 

educational quality in key 

areas, such as student 

achievement. In carrying 

out this evaluation, 

Education could consider 

whether there are 

additional actions it could 

take, within the scope of its 

existing authority, to 

assess accreditor 

standards on an ongoing 

basis, and if appropriate, 

Education could develop a 

legislative proposal to 

expand its authority to 

assess accreditor 

standards.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

219

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-15-59 Higher Education: 

Education Should 

Strengthen 

Oversight of 

Schools and 

Accreditors

OPE GAO 12/22/2014 2 Completed To strengthen Education’s 

oversight of schools, we 

recommend that the 

Secretary of Education 

ensure that Education staff 

consistently review, record, 

and respond to accreditor 

sanction information, and 

clarify its guidance on how 

the agency will respond to 

specific accreditor 

sanctions.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

GAO-15-59 Higher Education: 

Education Should 

Strengthen 

Oversight of 

Schools and 

Accreditors

OPE GAO 12/22/2014 3 Completed To further strengthen 

Education’s oversight of 

schools, we recommend 

that the Secretary of 

Education determine how 

Education can consistently 

leverage available 

accreditor sanction data for 

oversight of schools to 

ensure it can 

systematically prioritize 

sanctioned schools for 

program review.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

220

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-15-59 Higher Education: 

Education Should 

Strengthen 

Oversight of 

Schools and 

Accreditors

OPE GAO 12/22/2014 4 Resolved To strengthen Education’s 

oversight of accreditors 

through the recognition 

review process, we 

recommend that the 

Secretary of Education 

draw upon accreditor data 

to determine whether 

accreditors are consistently 

applying and enforcing 

their standards to ensure 

that the education offered 

by schools is of sufficient 

quality. For example, 

Education could 

systematically use 

available information 

related to the frequency of 

accreditor sanctions or 

could do additional 

analyses, such as 

comparing accreditor 

sanction data with 

Education’s information on 

student outcomes, to 

inform its recognition 

reviews

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

221

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-17-

574

Higher Education: 

Students Need 

More Information to 

Help Reduce 

Challenges in 

Transferring College 

Credits

OPE GAO 10/4/2017 1 Resolved To help improve students' 

access to information so 

that they can make 

well-informed transfer 

decisions, the Secretary of 

Education should 

require schools to (1) 

disclose the list of schools 

with which they have 

articulation agreements 

online if the school has a 

website, and (2) 

clearly inform students, on 

the school's website if it 

has one, when no 

articulation agreements on 

credit transfer are in place. 

If the 

department determines 

that it does not have the 

authority to require 

this, it should nonetheless 

encourage schools to take 

these actions 

(through guidance or other 

means).

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

222

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-17-

574

Higher Education: 

Students Need 

More Information to 

Help Reduce 

Challenges in 

Transferring College 

Credits

OPE GAO 10/4/2017 2 Completed To help improve students' 

access to information so 

that they can make wellinformed transfer 

decisions, the Secretary of 

Education should provide 

students and their families 

with general transfer 

information, for example by 

developing a consumer 

guide and posting it on 

Education's website or 

augmenting transfer 

information already 

provided on the website, to 

help increase awareness 

of key considerations when 

transferring schools.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

223

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-18-

455

HISTORICALLY 

BLACK COLLEGES 

AND 

UNIVERSITIES: 

Action Needed to 

Improve 

Participation in 

Education’s HBCU 

Capital Financing 

Program

OPE GAO 8/17/2018 1 Completed As Education develops the 

required HBCU Capital 

Financing Program 

outreach plan, the 

Executive Director of the 

program should include in 

the plan (1) ways to 

increase outreach to 

individual HBCUs so that 

HBCU officials are 

informed of the program; 

(2) steps to coordinate 

directly with state 

university systems to 

specifically address statelevel challenges to 

participation and share 

potential solutions to 

increase public HBCU 

participation; and (3) ways 

to further leverage the 

designated bonding 

authority in its efforts.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

224

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-18-

455

HISTORICALLY 

BLACK COLLEGES 

AND 

UNIVERSITIES: 

Action Needed to 

Improve 

Participation in 

Education’s HBCU 

Capital Financing 

Program

OPE GAO 8/17/2018 2 Resolved The Executive Director of 

the HBCU Capital 

Financing Program should 

lead an agency effort to 

analyze various Capital 

Financing Program loan 

modifications, including the 

effects of the loan 

deferments authorized in 

the 2018 Consolidated 

Appropriations Act as well 

as other potential 

modifications, to assess 

the potential benefits to 

HBCUs participating in the 

program, the potential cost 

of these options to the 

government, and their 

effect on the program's 

overall financial stability.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

GAO-21-5 Higher Education: 

Department of 

Education Should 

Further Assess 

College Access 

Grant Programs

OPE GAO 8/31/2021 1 Resolved The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office of 

Postsecondary Education 

should take additional 

steps to ensure the 

performance data TRIO 

grantees report are 

reliable.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

225

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-21-5 Higher Education: 

Department of 

Education Should 

Further Assess 

College Access 

Grant Programs

OPE GAO 8/31/2021 2 Resolved The Assistant Secretary for 

the Office of 

Postsecondary Education 

should develop a plan—

with specific actions and 

milestone dates —for 

assessing the 

effectiveness of TRIO 

programs that serve

students using methods 

that are consistent with its 

statutory authority.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A09-R0008 OCPO'S 

CONTROLS OVER 

THE PROCESSING 

OF FERPA 

COMPLAINTS

OPEPD OIG 11/26/2018 1 Completed We recommend that the 

Acting Assistant Secretary 

of the Office of 

Management require the 

Privacy Office to-- 1.1 

Allocate appropriate 

resources to the 

Compliance Office based 

on the stated priority of 

reducing or eliminating the 

investigation backlog so 

that FERPA complaints are 

resolved in a timely 

manner.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

226

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A09-R0008 OCPO'S 

CONTROLS OVER 

THE PROCESSING 

OF FERPA 

COMPLAINTS

OPEPD OIG 11/26/2018 2 Resolved We recommend that the 

Acting Assistant Secretary 

of the Office of 

Management require the 

Privacy Office to-- 1.2 

Work with the Office of 

General Counsel to resolve 

outstanding policy issues 

that impede the 

Compliance Office's ability 

to investigate certain 

FERPA complaints.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

A09-R0008 OCPO'S 

CONTROLS OVER 

THE PROCESSING 

OF FERPA 

COMPLAINTS

OPEPD OIG 11/26/2018 3 Completed We recommend that the 

Acting Assistant Secretary 

of the Office of 

Management require the 

Privacy Office to-- 1.3 

Implement an effective 

FERPA complaint tracking 

system that allows the 

Compliance Office to 

account for and track all 

complaints it receives, 

including the status and 

outcome of each 

complaint, and that 

provides an effective 

mechanism for reliable 

performance measurement 

and reporting.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

227

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A09-R0008 OCPO'S 

CONTROLS OVER 

THE PROCESSING 

OF FERPA 

COMPLAINTS

OPEPD OIG 11/26/2018 4 Completed We recommend that the 

Acting Assistant Secretary 

of the Office of 

Management require the 

Privacy Office to-- 1.4 Use 

reliable performance data 

to design and implement 

appropriate performance 

standards for the 

Compliance Office as a 

whole and for individual 

personnel responsible for 

handling complaints.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A09-R0008 OCPO'S 

CONTROLS OVER 

THE PROCESSING 

OF FERPA 

COMPLAINTS

OPEPD OIG 11/26/2018 5 Completed We recommend that the 

Acting Assistant Secretary 

of the Office of 

Management require the 

Privacy Office to-- 1.5 

Investigate all complaints 

that meet the criteria 

requiring investigation and 

do not place complaints 

into an "inactive" status.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

228

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

A09-R0008 OCPO'S 

CONTROLS OVER 

THE PROCESSING 

OF FERPA 

COMPLAINTS

OPEPD OIG 11/26/2018 6 Completed We recommend that the 

Acting Assistant Secretary 

of the Office of 

Management require the 

Privacy Office to-- 1.6 

Revise processes for 

resolving FERPA 

complaints to ensure 

effective and appropriate 

communication with the 

complainant, to include 

providing dismissal 

notifications, updates, and 

responses to inquiries in a 

timely manner and 

recording all 

communication in the 

tracking system.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

A09-R0008 OCPO'S 

CONTROLS OVER 

THE PROCESSING 

OF FERPA 

COMPLAINTS

OPEPD OIG 11/26/2018 7 Completed We recommend that the 

Acting Assistant Secretary 

of the Office of 

Management require the 

Privacy Office to-- 1.7 

Design and implement a 

risk-based approach to 

processing and resolving 

FERPA complaints, where 

complaints deemed 

highest risk are prioritized. 

Risk can be evaluated 

based on the subject 

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

229

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

matter of the complaint, the 

severity of risk to student 

privacy, the number of 

students affected, or other 

relevant factors.

A09-R0008 OCPO'S 

CONTROLS OVER 

THE PROCESSING 

OF FERPA 

COMPLAINTS

OPEPD OIG 11/26/2018 8 Completed We recommend that the 

Acting Assistant Secretary 

of the Office of 

Management require the 

Privacy Office to-- 1.8 

Review and evaluate its 

current policies and 

procedures for processing 

FERPA complaints to 

ensure they are complete 

and appropriate.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

230

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-18-94 Private School 

Choice: Federal 

Actions Needed to 

Ensure Parents Are 

Notified About 

Changes in Rights 

for Students with 

Disabilities

OSERS GAO 11/30/2017 1 Completed The Assistant Secretary for 

Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services 

should review information 

provided by states related 

to changes in federal 

special education rights 

when a parent places a 

student with a disability in 

a private school and work 

with states to correct 

inaccurate information.

Completed GAO reviewed 

the supporting 

documentation, 

the Department is 

gathering 

additional 

supporting 

documentation 

before the 

recommendation 

will be closed.

GAO-18-

577

Vocational 

Rehabilitation: 

Additional Federal 

Information Could 

Help States Serve 

Employers and Find 

Jobs for People with 

Disabilities

OSERS GAO 1/1/2019 1 Completed The Commissioner of 

Education's Rehabilitation 

Services Administration 

should work with state VR 

agencies to determine 

whether and what 

additional information and 

assistance VR agencies 

may find helpful regarding 

on-demand training, such 

as online videos, to 

employers on disability 

issues.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

231

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-18-

577

Vocational 

Rehabilitation: 

Additional Federal 

Information Could 

Help States Serve 

Employers and Find 

Jobs for People with 

Disabilities

OSERS GAO 1/1/2019 2 Completed The Commissioner of 

Education's Rehabilitation 

Services Administration 

should work with state VR 

agencies to determine how 

to most effectively 

disseminate information 

about the circumstances in 

which individuals who are 

employed may be eligible 

for career advancement 

services.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

GAO-18-

577

Vocational 

Rehabilitation: 

Additional Federal 

Information Could 

Help States Serve 

Employers and Find 

Jobs for People with 

Disabilities

OSERS GAO 1/1/2019 3 Completed The Commissioner of 

Education's Rehabilitation 

Services Administration 

should work with state VR 

agencies to develop more 

complete information on 

when and how VR 

agencies should assess 

employment settings, 

including settings 

supported by the 

AbilityOne program, to 

determine if they meet the 

definition of competitive 

integrated employment.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

232

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-18-

577

Vocational 

Rehabilitation: 

Additional Federal 

Information Could 

Help States Serve 

Employers and Find 

Jobs for People with 

Disabilities

OSERS GAO 1/1/2019 4 Completed The Commissioner of 

Education's Rehabilitation 

Services Administration 

should encourage local 

areas to clarify and 

document the roles and 

responsibilities of partner 

agencies in working with 

employers and provide 

sample language of how 

local areas may document 

roles and responsibilities in 

their MOUs.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 

GAO18-577Vocational 

Rehabilitation: 

Additional Federal 

Information Could 

Help States Serve 

Employers and Find 

Jobs for People with 

Disabilities

OSERS GAO 1/1/2019 5 Resolved The Commissioner of 

Education's Rehabilitation 

Services Administration 

should, in setting the 

employer performance 

measurement approaches 

with DOL after the pilot is 

concluded, take into 

account VR agencies' 

concerns and key 

attributes of successful 

performance measures, 

including clarity in what is 

meant by employer 

services, coverage of the 

VR agencies' core program 

activities, and 

consideration of factors 

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

233

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

outside of VR agencies'

control.

GAO-16-

343

Higher Education: 

Actions Needed to 

Improve Access to 

Federal Financial 

Assistance for 

Homeless and 

Foster Youth

OUS GAO 6/22/2016 1 Completed To help foster and 

unaccompanied homeless 

youth better navigate the 

college admissions and 

federal student aid 

processes, the Secretaries 

of Education and HHS 

should jointly study 

potential options for 

encouraging and enabling 

child welfare caseworkers, 

McKinney-Vento homeless 

youth liaisons, and other 

adults who work with these 

youth to more actively 

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

234

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

assist them with college 

planning.
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

235

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-16-

343

Higher Education: 

Actions Needed to 

Improve Access to 

Federal Financial 

Assistance for 

Homeless and 

Foster Youth

OUS GAO 6/22/2016 2 Completed To help foster and 

unaccompanied homeless 

youth, as well as adults 

who assist these youth, 

better navigate the federal 

student aid process and 

obtain information about 

college resources, the 

Secretary of Education, in 

consultation with the 

Secretary of HHS, should 

create webpages directed 

to homeless and foster 

youth so they can more 

easily find tailored and 

centralized information 

about available federal and 

other resources, such as 

Pell Grants, Chafee 

Education and Training 

Voucher Program (Chafee 

ETV Vouchers), and 

waivers for college 

admission tests.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

236

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

GAO-16-

343

Higher Education: 

Actions Needed to 

Improve Access to 

Federal Financial 

Assistance for 

Homeless and 

Foster Youth

OUS GAO 6/22/2016 3 Resolved To help college financial 

aid administrators more 

effectively implement 

eligibility rules for 

unaccompanied homeless 

youth, the Secretary of 

Education should make 

available an optional 

worksheet or form that 

college financial aid 

administrators can 

voluntarily use to 

document 

unaccompanied homeless 

youth status or encourage 

the use of 

existing forms that are 

available.

Resolved The Corrective 

Action Plan has 

been developed 

and the 

recommendation 

is being 

implemented.

GAO16-343Higher Education: 

Actions Needed to 

Improve Access to 

Federal Financial 

Assistance for 

Homeless and 

Foster Youth

OUS GAO 6/22/2016 4 Completed To help homeless youth 

more easily access federal 

student aid, the Secretary 

of Education should clarify 

its guidance to financial aid 

administrators and 

students about whether 

financial aid administrators 

should accept any 

unaccompanied homeless 

youth determination 

provided by McKinneyVento homeless liaisons or 

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete. 
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

GAO-IG Act – Table of Open Recommendations 

237

ACN Audit Title Office Issuer Final 

Report 

Issue Date

Rec 

1

Rec Status Recommendation Text Audit 

Status

Current Status

other authorized officials 

even if a student is not in 

high school or receiving 

program services.

GAO16-343Higher Education: 

Actions Needed to 

Improve Access to 

Federal Financial 

Assistance for 

Homeless and 

Foster Youth

OUS GAO 6/22/2016 5 Completed To enhance access to 

federal student aid for 

unaccompanied homeless 

youth, the Secretary of 

Education should consider 

developing a legislative 

proposal for congressional 

action to simplify the 

application process so that 

once a student has 

received an initial 

determination as an 

unaccompanied homeless 

youth, the student will not 

be required to have that 

status re-verified in 

subsequent years but 

attest to their current status 

on the Free Application for 

Federal Student Aid, 

unless a financial aid 

administrator has 

conflicting information.

Resolved Action has been 

taken. The 

recommendation 

remains open 

until all other 

recommendations 

have been 

complete.