Department of Education

STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request

CONTENTS

Page

Appropriations Language ........................................................................................................... 1

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes.......................................................................... 2

Amounts Available for Obligation ............................................................................................... 3

Obligations by Object Classification ........................................................................................... 4

Obligations by Object Classification, Supplemental, ARP Act (P.L. 117-02)............................... 5

Summary of Changes ................................................................................................................ 6

Authorizing Legislation............................................................................................................... 7

Appropriations History................................................................................................................ 8

Significant Items in FY 2024 Appropriations Reports.................................................................. 9

Activity: .....................................................................................................................................11

Student Aid Administration....................................................................................................11

Account Summary Table...........................................................................................................62
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

1 

Appropriations Language

For Federal administrative expenses to carry out part D of title I, and subparts 1, 3, 

9, and 10 of part A, and parts B, C, D, and E of title IV of the HEA, and subpart 1 of part 

A of title VII of the Public Health Service Act, $2,659,126,000, to remain available 

through September 30, 2026.1

NOTES

A full-year 2024 appropriation for this account was not enacted at the time the Budget was prepared; therefore, 

the Budget assumes this account is operating under the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 and Other Extensions 

Act (Division A of Public Law 118–15, as amended). The amounts included for 2024 reflect the annualized level 

provided by the continuing resolution.

Each language provision that is followed by a footnote reference is explained in the Analysis of Language 

Provisions and Changes document which follows the appropriation language. 
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

2 

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes

Language Provision Explanation

1 to remain available through 

September 30, 2026. 

This language provides for appropriated funds 

to remain available for 2 years.
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

3 

Amounts Available for Obligation

(dollars in thousands)

1 Includes incoming budget authority transfer of $61,018 thousand.

Appropriation and Adjustments 2023 2024 2025

Discretionary Budget Authority:

Appropriation $2,033,943 $2,033,943 $2,659,126

Transferred from Other Accounts 61,0181 0 0

Subtotal, adjusted discretionary appropriation 2,094,961 2,033,943 2,659,126

Total, appropriation 2,094,961 2,033,943 2,659,126

Unobligated balance, start of year 32,833 16,127 0

Recovery of prior-year obligations 51,962 37,464 0

Appropriation Permanently Reduced ARPA -2 0 0

Unobligated balance expiring -27 0 0

Unobligated balance, end of year -16,127 0 0

Total, direct obligations 2,163,600 2,087,534 2,659,126
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

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Obligations by Object Classification

(dollars in thousands)

Object Class

2023 

Actual

2024

Annualized

CR

2025 

Request

Change

from 2024 

to 2025

11.10 Full-time permanent $209,187 $234,764 $253,056 +$18,292

11.31 Full-time temporary 2,162 266 552 +286

11.32 Part-time 285 0 0 0

11.33 Consultants 66 0 0 0

11.51 Overtime 419 296 644 +348

11.52 Awards 4,786 4,459 5,031 +572

11.80 Other Compensation 113 0 0 0

Subtotal, Personnel Comp. 217,018 239,785 259,283 +19,498

12.00 Benefits 77,184 86,677 93,651 +6,974

13.10 Benefits for former personnel 0 78 78 0

Subtotal, Per. Comp & Ben. 294,202 326,540 353,012 +26,472

21.00 Travel 535 706 550 -156

22.00 Transportation of things 6 8 0 -8

23.10 Rental payments to GSA 18,902 14,000 10,864 -3,136

23.31 Communications 0 0 0 0

23.32 Postage/fees 21 23 28 +5

Subtotal, 23 18,923 14,023 10,892 -3,131

24.00 Printing and reproduction 1 2 7 +5

25.10 Advisory and assistance services 313 862 995 +133

25.21 Other services 834,397 737,573 986,926 +270,789

25.22 Training/tuition/contracts 688 1,437 1,989 +522

25.30 Goods/services from gov’t 35,663 39,257 26,800 -12,457

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 978,507 967,038 1,277,544 +342,661

Subtotal, 25 1,849,568 1,692,576 2,294,064 +601,678

26.00 Supplies 20 33 54 +21

31.10 IT equipment/software 154 55 357 +302

31.30 Other equipment 0 0 0 0

Subtotal, 31 154 55 0 0 

32.00 Building alterations 171 0 0 0

43.10 Prompt payment interest 20 0 0 0

 Total, Obligations 2,163,600 2,087,534 2,659,126 571,592
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

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

(dollars in thousands)

Object 

Class # Object Class

2023 

Actual

2024 

Annualized

CR

2025 

Request

Change 

from 2024 

to 2025

11.10 Full-time permanent 0 0 0 0

11.31 Full-time temporary 0 0 0 0

11.32 Part-time 0 0 0 0

11.33 Consultants 0 0 0 0

11.51 Overtime 0 0 0 0

11.52 Awards 0 0 0 0

11.80 Other compensation 0 0 0 0

Subtotal, Personnel Comp. 0 0 0 0 

12.00 Benefits 0 0 0 0

13.10 Benefits for former personnel 0 0 0 0

Subtotal, Per. Comp & Ben. 0 0 0 0 

21.00 Travel 0 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, 23 0 0 0 0 

24.00 Printing and reproduction 0 0 0 0

25.10 Advisory and assistance services 0 0 0 0

25.21 Other services $21,496 0 0 0

25.22 Training/tuition/contracts 0 0 0 0

25.30 Goods/services from gov’t 0 0 0 0

25.40 Operations/maint of facilities 0 0 0 0

25.71 Operations/maint of equipment 1,223 0 0 0

25.72 IT services/contracts 290 0 0 0

Subtotal, 25 0 0 0 0 

26.00 Supplies 0 0 0 0

31.10 IT equipment/software 0 0 0 0

31.30 Other equipment 0 0 0 0

Subtotal, 31 0 0 0 0 

32.00 Building alterations 0 0 0 0

43.10 Prompt payment interest 0 0 0 0

 Total, Obligations 23,009 0 0 0 
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

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Summary of Changes

(dollars in thousands)

2024 $2,033,943

2025 2,659,126

Net change 625,183

Increases:

2024 base

Change

from base

Built-in:

Increase in salaries and benefits, a 2.0 percent pay raise,

and projected benefits increases. $321,707 +$10,426

Program:

Increase in salaries and benefits for 76 additional FTE 321,707 +15,126

Increase in Overtime 296 +348

Increase in Awards 4,459 +572

Increase in Postage 23 +5

Increase in Printing and Reproduction 2 +5

Increase in Advisory & Assistance Services 862 +133

Increase in Other Services 737,573 +270,789

Increase in Training 1,437 +552

Increase in Supplies 33 +21

Increase in IT Equipment/Software 55 +302

Increase in IT Services/Contracts 967,038 +342,661

Subtotal, increases +640,940

Decreases:

2024 base

Change 

from base

Program:

Decrease in Transportation of Things $8 -$8

Decrease in Travel 706 -156

Decrease in Rent 14,000 -3,136

Decrease in Goods and Services 39,257 -12,457

Subtotal, decreases -15,757

Net Change +625,183
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

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Authorizing Legislation

(dollars in thousands)

Activity

2024 

Authorized

2024 

Annualized CR

2025 

Authorized

2025 

Request

Student aid administration (Higher Education Act of 1965, I-D) 0 $2,033,943 To be determined1 $2,659,126

Total appropriation 2,033,943 2,659,126

Portion of request not authorized 2,659,126

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2015; reauthorization for FY 2025 is expected through appropriations action.
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

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Appropriations History

(dollars in thousands)

1 The levels for House and Senate allowances reflect action on the regular annual 2016 appropriations bill, which 

proceeded in the 114th Congress only through the House Committee and Senate Committee.

2 The levels for the House and Senate allowances reflect Committee action on the regular annual 2017 

appropriations bill; the Appropriation reflects the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017.

3 The level for the House allowance reflects floor action on the Omnibus appropriation bill; the Senate allowance 

reflects Committee action on the regular annual 2018 appropriations bill; the Appropriation reflects the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141). 4 The levels for the House and Senate Allowance reflect Committee action on the regular annual 2019 appropriations 

bill; the Appropriation reflects enactment of the Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and 

Education Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 115-245). 5 The Senate Allowance reflects the Chairman’s mark; the Appropriation reflects the Further Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-94). 6 The Appropriation reflects the supplemental funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act 

(P.L. 116-136). 7 The level for the House allowance reflects subcommittee action. The level for the Senate Allowance reflects the 

Chairman’s mark; the Appropriation reflects Division H of the FY 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 

116-260). 8 The Appropriation reflects supplemental funds from Division M of the FY 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2021 (P.L. 116-260). 9 The Appropriation reflects the American Rescue Plan Act of FY 2021 (P.L. 117-2). 10 The House allowance reflects floor action on the FY 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act; the Senate allowance 

reflects the Chairman’s mark; and the Appropriation reflects the annualized continuing resolution level.

11 The house allowance reflects the regular annual FY 2023 appropriation, which was introduced on the floor, the 

Senate allowance reflects the Chairman’s mark; and the Appropriation reflects the Consolidated Appropriations Act

(P.L. 117-328). 12 The House allowance reflects Subcommittee action, and the Senate allowance reflects Committee action on the 

regular annual 2024 appropriations bill; the Appropriation reflects the annualized continuing resolution level. 

Year

Budget 

Estimate

to Congress

House 

Allowance

Senate 

Allowance Appropriation

20161 $1,581,854 $1,446,924 $1,361,700 $1,396,924

20172 1,631,990 1,551,854 1,546,854 1,576,854

20183 1,697,711 1,697,711 1,576,854 1,678,943

20194 1,772,000 1,678,943 1,678,943 1,678,943

20205 1,812,000 1,678,943 1,778,943 1,768,943

2020 CARES Supplemental6 0 0 0 40,000

20217 1,883,309 1,768,943 1,868,943 1,853,943

2021 CRRSAA Supplemental8 0 0 0 30,000

2021 Mandatory ARP Supp9 0 0 0 91,130

202210 2,053,943 2,053,943 2,033,943 2,033,943

202311 2,654,034 2,579,034 2,594,034 2,033,943

202412 2,654,034 1,769,207 2,183,943 2,033,943

2025 2,659,126
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

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Significant Items in FY 2024 Appropriations Reports

Spending Plan

Senate: The Committee directs the Department to provide a detailed spend plan of the 

planned uses of funds in this account within 45 days of enactment, and to 

provide quarterly briefings on its implementation not later than 10 days prior to 

the start of the quarter. This should continue to include, but not be limited to, 

detailed breakouts by baseline operations and development efforts, and 

servicing, student aid core systems, IT activities, and other Federal Student Aid 

activities. These spend plans should also include details on major activities, 

including implementation of the Unified Servicing and Data Solution [USDS], 

FUTURE Act, and FAFSA Simplification Act, and other activities as 

appropriate. Further, the spend plan should include a crosswalk to activities 

funded under administrative costs and servicing activities, and any reallocation 

of funds between those two activities should be treated as a reprogramming of 

funds, and the Committees should be notified in advance of any such changes.

Response: The Department will provide the requested report.

Advance Change Request Notification 

Senate: The Department is directed to provide notification to the Committees no later 

than 7 days after issuing a student loan servicing contract Change Request [CR], 

including a summary of any new requirements, adjustments to existing 

requirements, or removal of requirements in the CR.

Response: The Department will work with the Committees to provide the requested 

information per this directive.

Return to Repayment Briefings

Senate: The Committee directs the Secretary to provide monthly briefings to the 

Committees on Appropriations and to the Committees on Education and the 

Workforce of the House of Representatives and on Health, Education, Labor, 

and Pensions of the Senate on progress related to implementation of Title IV of 

Division B of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (Public-Law 118-5) for Federal 

student loans during fiscal year 2024. The briefings should include information 

on borrower status, including the percentage of borrowers in repayment-byrepayment plan and the percentage of borrowers who are delinquent or not 

making payments, metrics on communications with borrowers, such as open 

rates for emails, and any changes to communications with borrowers based on 

data or behavioral economics assumptions.

Response: The Department will provide the requested briefings to the Committees as 

directed. 
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

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Quarterly USDS Implementation Briefings

Senate: The Committee recommendation also continues the requirement for the

Department to provide quarterly briefings on Federal student loan servicing 

contracts, including the transition to USDS.

Response: The Department will provide the requested briefings to the Committees as 

directed.

Foreign Influence

Senate: The Department shall report to the Committee on the presence and influence of 

Confucius Institutes and any steps it has taken to address undue influence with 

institutions of higher education.

Response: The Department will provide the requested report to the Committee consistent 

with the information that is reported to the Department and the Department’s 

obligations pursuant to Section 117 of the HEA.
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

 

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Activity: 

Student Aid Administration 

(Higher Education Act of 1965, I-D)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2025 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority:

2024 Annualized CR 2025 Request Change 

Personnel Comp. & Ben. Costs $326,540 $353,012 +$26,472

Non-Personnel Costs, excluding

Loan Servicing Costs 732,403 981,731 +249,328

Subtotal, Salaries and Expenses 1,058,943 1,334,743 +275,800

Loan Servicing Costs 975,0002 1,324,383 +349,383

Total 2,033,943 2,659,126 +625,183

FTE 1,615 1,691 +76

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Student Aid Administration (SAA) account provides funds to administer the federal student 

financial assistance programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 

1965, as amended.

The Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), the Office of the Under Secretary (OUS), and 

the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) oversee and administer the federal student financial 

assistance programs. The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 established FSA as the 

Federal Government’s first performance-based organization to improve service for students, 

parents, schools, and other program participants; to reduce student aid administration costs; to 

increase the accountability of the officials responsible for administering program operations; and 

to integrate the student aid processing and delivery systems.

OPE, under the direction of the Under Secretary, formulates policy for the Student Financial 

Assistance programs and administers other Federal post-secondary education programs. In 

addition, other Department of Education (Department) offices, including the Office of the Chief 

Information Officer (OCIO), Office of the General Counsel (OGC), Office of Planning, Evaluation 

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2015. 2 The amounts shown here and discussed throughout the Congressional Justification reflect the Administration’s 

estimated allocation between Loan Servicing Costs and Salaries & Expenses. The Congressional allocation between 

these activities is $975 million Loan Servicing Costs and $1,059 million Salaries and Expenses. Any reallocation of 

funds by the Department will require a reprogramming and notification of the Appropriations Committees.
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

 

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and Policy Development (OPEPD), and Office of Finance and Operations (OFO) contribute to 

the policy formulation, administration and oversight of the student aid programs.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2020 $1,768,943

2020 CARES Act 40,000

2021 1,853,943

2021 CRRSA Act 30,000

2021 Mandatory ARP Act 91,130

2022 2,033,943

2023 2,033,943

2024 Annualized CR 2,033,943

FY 2025 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2025, the Administration is requesting $2,659.1 million to administer all Title IV 

Federal Student Aid programs, which is $625.2 million more than the 2024 annualized CR 

based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. This includes $1,334.6 million for student aid 

administration salaries and expenses and $1,324.4 million for loan servicing activities. The 

funds in this request are critical to maintain core operations and implement reforms that will 

improve FSA’s ability to serve students and borrowers while strengthening protections and 

ensuring its vendors can provide high-quality service.

The fiscal year 2025 request includes the following major categories:

1. Loan servicing activities total $1,324.4 million, a net increase of $280.6 million 

more than the 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. The 

request reflects continuing efforts to facilitate a successful return to repayment, the 

full transition from legacy servicing contracts to the recently awarded Unified 

Servicing and Data Solution (USDS) contract, and necessary funding for a full 

12 months of steady-state operations. More information is provided on page 15. 

2. Student Aid and Borrower Eligibility Reform (SABER) initiative totals 

$76.5 million, a decrease of $30.6 million less than the 2024 annualized CR based 

on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. This funding is critical for the continued 

implementation of the requirements in the FAFSA Simplification Act and Fostering 

Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE Act) and 

ongoing operations. Additional information is provided on page 18. 

3. Federal Student Aid Information Technology (IT) activities total $173.9 million, 

an increase of $10.0 million more than the 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal 

year 2023 appropriation. Increased funding is necessary to support activities to 

protect against security breaches to ensure protection of borrowers’ personal 
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

 

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information as well as providing the necessary IT infrastructure for FSA’s data 

storage. More detail is provided on page 21. 

4. FSA Core Systems, Other FSA activities, and Institutional Oversight activities 

total $589.2 million, a net increase of $325.0 million more than the 2024 annualized 

CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. The fiscal year 2025 funding 

request is needed to provide operations, maintenance, and development support for 

core systems (i.e., Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system, Next Gen 

Digital and Customer Care (DCC), Next Gen Business Process Operations (BPO), 

Next Gen National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), Next Gen Partner 

Participation and Oversight (PPO) initiative, as well as other FSA core systems that 

assist with supporting students and borrowers throughout the financial aid lifecycle). 

The request also supports the recompete effort for the Title IV Origination and 

Disbursement contract and necessary costs for the Sweet settlement. Additional 

information is provided on page 25. 

5. Personnel Compensation and Benefits (PC&B), Overhead and Other Non-FSA 

Activities total $495.2 million, an increase of $38.3 million above the 2024 

annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. The increased costs are 

due to the proposed 2.0 percent Governmentwide pay raise and increased cost of 

benefits. This budget request supports 1,525 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) in FSA, and 

166 FTE for Non-FSA offices that support student aid activities. Additional 

information is provided in the Personnel Compensation and Benefits (PC&B), 

Overhead and Other Non-FSA Activities section on page 41. 
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

 

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FY 2025 Categorical Costs

The below chart includes costs by category and percent of the total fiscal year 2025 Budget 

Request.

Fifty-three percent of the fiscal year 2025 Budget Request includes support for loan servicing 

and the SABER initiative. Personnel compensation and benefits account for 19 percent of the 

request, with FSA core systems, other FSA activities, institutional oversight activities, and FSA 

IT activities representing 28 percent.

The following sections provide descriptions of each categories’ initiatives and select activities.

Loan Servicing Activities: $1,324.4 million

The fiscal year 2025 request includes $1,324.4 million for loan servicing activities, $280.6 million 

more than the fiscal year 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. This 

includes $1,279.1 million for operations and maintenance of loan servicing including specialty 

servicing, an increase of $289.8 million more than the fiscal year 2024 annualized CR based on 

the fiscal year 2023 appropriation; and $45.3 million for development, modernization, and 

enhancement activities related to servicing, $9.2 million less than the fiscal year 2024 

annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. The fiscal year 2025 request 
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

 

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supports 12 months of operations post transition from the legacy servicing environment to the 

USDS from November 2024 through October 2025. 

Facilitating Return to Repayment

On March 20, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 emergency, FSA began providing temporary 

relief on Department-managed federal student loans by allowing students to opt into a 

temporary suspension of loan payments and instituting a 0 percent interest rate. One week 

later, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) was signed into law, 

extending the relief through September 30, 2020, to all borrowers with federally-held loans 

without requiring borrowers to opt in, while adding several borrower benefits and protections. 

The relief was extended several times since then. In June 2023, Congress passed a law ending 

and preventing further extensions of the payment pause. The last pause extended through 

August 2023, with payments resuming in October 2023 after an unprecedented 42-month 

repayment pause.

The Department implemented several provisions that will be in place throughout fiscal year 

2024 to ensure borrowers successfully resume student loan repayment and remain in good 

standing on their student loans. Over the course of fiscal year 2025, FSA anticipates the student 

loan portfolio will begin to return to a pre-COVID-19 pandemic distribution of account statuses 

as the transitional borrower provisions—On-Ramp and Fresh Start—come to an end. As such, 

FSA will be closely monitoring servicer performance to ensure that the most at-risk borrowers 

are well-served. In addition, an At-Risk Borrower Performance Incentive is included in the new

USDS contracts that rewards servicers by allocating new accounts based on proven ability to 

keep vulnerable borrowers current on their payments.

Servicing Operations

FSA awarded the USDS contract in April 2023, and loan servicers will begin work under this 

contract in Spring 2024. Under USDS, loan servicers will adopt the most up-to-date 

cybersecurity posture, ensuring that borrower data is secure, systems are less vulnerable to 

cyberattacks, and business processes are aligned with new USDS requirements. Servicers will 

also implement changes that will improve the borrower experience, including making consistent 

formatting of elements across their websites with co-branding and “.gov” domains, which 

increases brand recognition for FSA and reduces the threat of third-party debt relief scams.

FSA will also begin transitioning what have historically been referred to as the specialty loan 

servicing programs (i.e., Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Temporary Expanded PSLF 

(TEPSLF), Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharges, and Teacher Education 

Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grants) into FSA’s enterprise of systems 

and services. Customer service and manual processing for these programs will be performed by 

the Business Process Operations (BPO) vendors, who are trained by FSA. This change 

provides a more consistent experience for borrowers and allows for increased oversight of these 

programs.
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

 

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The fiscal year 2025 request includes $1,108.0 million for USDS operations and maintenance; 

$44.3 million for operations and maintenance for the Debt Management Collection System;

$121.6 million for operations and maintenance for Perkins Loan and Health Education 

Assistance Loan servicing, Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education 

grant tracking and servicing costs, Total and Permanent Disability application processing and 

servicing, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness application processing; $5.0 million for Treasury

lockbox services; and $0.2 million for an interagency agreement with the Social Security 

Administration to provide data that assists with outreach to borrowers with the TPD discharge 

process. 

Unified Servicing and Data Solution Development, Modernization, and Enhancement: 

$45.3 million

The President’s fiscal year 2025 budget request includes $45.3 million in development, 

modernization, and enhancement funding to support the complete transition from the legacy 

loan servicing contracts to USDS along with $1.0 million for system enhancements to support 

the complete transition from the legacy loan servicing contracts to USDS and necessary 

modifications to servicer systems to support operations and policy implementation. These funds 

will support progress toward fully implementing cybersecurity upgrades within the Department 

and laying the foundation for transforming StudentAid.gov into a portal for all federally managed 

borrowers to more easily manage their repayment journeys.

Cybersecurity: $15.5M

While the USDS servicers will have developed their systems to be compliant with federally 

mandated cybersecurity provisions by the end of fiscal year 2024, FSA must invest in the 

infrastructure needed to perform continuous data monitoring and other systematic oversight of 

servicers’ systems, which includes enhanced cybersecurity situational awareness, full 

compliance with Executive Order 14028, implementation of Trusted Interconnection (TIC) 3.0, 

and transition to fully compliant Zero Trust Architectures and automated information system

interconnections. 

Transition of Specialty Loan Servicing: $7.8M

In fiscal year 2024, FSA will transition the customer experience for TEACH Grants, PSLF, and 

TEPSLF to StudentAid.gov. In fiscal year 2025, FSA will transition TPD away from the legacy 

servicers to StudentAid.gov and the BPO vendors. Centralizing the specialty programs on 

StudentAid.gov provides aid recipients with many benefits, including fewer account transfers; a 

consistent, high-quality user experience; increased opportunities for self-service; and more 

streamlined customer service. Additionally, this change aids FSA in providing borrowers with 

simpler, more effective interactions during repayment; improving FSA’s access to and use of 

data to improve borrowers’ experiences and outcomes; and increasing borrower access to 

clear, accurate, and timely information. As a result, borrowers can anticipate a more uniform 

and streamlined customer experience encompassing these programs, all while being directed 

by procedures developed and managed by FSA.
STUDENT AID ADMINISTRATION

 

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Single sign-on via the FSA ID: $10.4M

During the initial implementation of USDS in fiscal year 2024, borrowers will maintain 

credentials to access their servicer’s website and use their FSA ID to access StudentAid.gov. In 

late fiscal year 2024 and into the first quarter for fiscal year 2025, servicers and FSA plan to 

transition to the USDS Single Sign-On (SSO) solution, which will enhance the borrower

experience by providing one username (FSA ID), password, and multifactor authentication

(MFA) to access both StudentAid.gov and servicer websites. Instead of maintaining two sets of 

credentials, the USDS SSO solution will allow an authenticated user to simultaneously use 

StudentAid.gov and their servicer web site, providing borrowers with easier access to the tools 

that are currently accessed through different authentication systems. SSO also provides the 

benefit of transitioning all borrowers to MFA, which is a security protocol that was implemented 

for the FSA ID in 2022 but has yet to be implemented in servicers’ authentication systems. 

Leveraging SSO allows FSA to implement MFA in a more efficient and cost-effective manner 

than if FSA required each servicer to implement their own MFA solution.

The implementation of SSO is an important first step in the ultimate shift of all repayment activity 

to StudentAid.gov, as it ensures that, instead of borrowers having a different login for their loan 

servicer’s website and StudentAid.gov, they are using their FSA ID across all websites, 

increasing borrower traffic to the tools and information on StudentAid.gov. Activities will include 

a phased roll-out of SSO functionality with the USDS servicers, additional BPO contact center 

support for borrowers needing assistance in accessing their FSA ID, enhancements to selfservice functionality (such as account recovery) associated with the FSA ID, increased capacity 

of the FSA ID system, and proactive communications to aid borrowers in transitioning from 

servicers’ authentication methods to the FSA ID.

Building Borrower-Facing Repayment Tools on StudentAid.gov: $10.6M

Additionally, in fiscal year 2025, FSA will lay the foundation for a consolidated online portal that 

will allow all borrowers with federally held student loans to manage their debt through 

StudentAid.gov, enabling borrowers to make payments, enroll in repayment plans and other 

program benefits, monitor the status of forms and program eligibility, and all other services 

currently available on servicer websites. This will begin the development and build out of a 

unified data model so FSA can ingest more detailed data from all USDS servicers and the initial 

development of a suite of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and cloud solutions to 

connect USDS loan servicing systems with StudentAid.gov and other cloud applications.

It has been a long-term goal for FSA to have all federally managed borrowers navigate their 

repayment journeys on StudentAid.gov, as the current environment requires borrowers to 

manage repayment through their servicer’s website, which can result in inconsistent 

communication of information to borrowers and can lead to borrower confusion and the 

proliferation of third-party debt relief scams that take advantage of the current, fragmented 

system. While FSA has taken steps to provide borrowers with consistent information and reduce 
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the incidence of borrowers falling for scams, steps taken to date are only small, incremental 

improvements.

Developing a repayment portal is a major initiative that requires significant investment in FSA 

infrastructure, borrower tools, and communications with borrowers. It is also an initiative that 

carries significant risk should tools not be functional when they are introduced. To address the 

breadth and sensitivity of the project, FSA plans to take a phased approach to building out the 

borrower portal, starting with the planned implementation of SSO late in fiscal year 2024, 

development of a unified data model, and vital enhancements to FSA’s Application 

Programming Interface (API) management.

In fiscal year 2024, FSA will begin work to define requirements and develop the design of 

portions of repayment functionality on StudentAid.gov. FSA will also design a preliminary data 

model that will enable FSA to use and present borrowers with accurate data from disparate 

servicer systems.

In fiscal year 2025, FSA will begin to build the necessary infrastructure to support the repayment portal. 

This includes beginning to use and iterate on the unified data model. Additionally, FSA will begin 

developing requirements and design of borrower-facing tools. FSA anticipates building tools to

support repayment over the course of several fiscal years, given the extensive infrastructure 

necessary to support these functions and the sensitivity of these tools to borrowers’ ability to 

manage their repayment journeys.

Due to the complexity of this effort, it is likely that building out the StudentAid.gov borrower 

portal will continue through fiscal year 2026 and beyond.

Student Aid and Borrower Eligibility Reform (SABER): $76.5 million

The FUTURE Act amends section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and allows for 

certain taxpayer information to be shared with the Department through FSA for the purposes of 

administering the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form, Income-driven 

Repayment (IDR) plans, and the TPD discharge process. 

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, amended requirements stated in IRC section 6103

to allow individuals to share Federal Tax Information (FTI) among family members. Additionally, 

the law included the FAFSA Simplification Act, which requires FSA to modify the student aid 

eligibility determination, disbursement, and verification process by changing how aid eligibility 

(e.g., Federal Pell Grants) is calculated and determined.

The FUTURE Act and the FAFSA Simplification Act fundamentally changed the way students 

apply for aid, as well as how institutions of higher education and the federal government 

administer that aid. For example, the FUTURE Act and the FAFSA Simplification Act introduce 

complex changes to intricately linked business processes, systems and partnerships including 

the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system and the National Student Loan Data 

System (NSLDS®). Additionally, the successful implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act
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depends on a modernized FAFSA backend system. Both legislative mandates have also 

impacted the financial aid community (i.e., schools, software vendors, state agencies, 

designated scholarship organizations) and required substantial changes to their processes and 

systems. 

The SABER initiative continues to implement the FUTURE Act and the FAFSA Simplification 

Act through modernizing the FAFSA system through the Award Eligibility Determination (AED) 

solution; managing impacts to the Application Eligibility Determinations System (AEDS); and 

improving communications and outreach to students, parents, borrowers, and partners. These 

activities began in fiscal year 2020 and will continue through fiscal year 2025 until FSA enables 

the provisions of the FAFSA Simplification Act for the 2025–2026 award year.

FSA continues to implement both legislative mandates in three coordinated areas: 

• Implementation of the IRS Interface: Starting in fiscal year 2020 and continuing through

fiscal year 2025, the first area aims to establish FSA’s ability to request and receive certain

FTI from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) through the FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange 

(FA-DDX), an interface that enables FSA to request, receive, and process FTI from the IRS.

o From fiscal year 2020 through fiscal year 2023, the technical foundation and 

infrastructure was established.

o In fiscal year 2024, the FA-DDX interface became fully operational. FSA supported

enhancements to the IDR and FAFSA processes to leverage FTI to determine eligibility 

for student aid and IDR plans. These enhancements included the implementation of bulk

IDR application processing and the availability of operational tools to analyze processed 

IDR and FAFSA information.

o Funding in fiscal year 2025 enables the FA-DDX interface for the 2025–2026 FAFSA 

form while maintaining the interface for the 2024–25 FAFSA form and IDR application. 

Additionally, FSA will also support enhancements to the interface including any changes 

to the technical interface and bulk file layouts.

• Significant Changes to FSA Systems: Starting in fiscal year 2021 and continuing through

fiscal year 2025, the second area includes updates to FSA systems and processes to 

enable the provisions of the FUTURE Act and FAFSA Simplification Act for the 2023–2024, 

2024–2025, and 2025–2026 award years.

o From fiscal year 2021 through fiscal year 2023, FSA completed the required contract 

modifications and awards to develop and implement the applications and infrastructure 

required to fully implement the FUTURE Act and FAFSA Simplification Act for the 2024–

2025 award year.

o In fiscal year 2024, FSA continued to build the AED solution for both the 2024–2025 and 

2025–2026 award years, which will be the first instance where the AED solution handles

two concurrent FAFSA cycles. Additionally, in fiscal year 2024, FSA continuously 

safeguarded and monitored systems that receive, store, and manage FTI from the IRS 

while supporting enhancements to these systems including changes to how eligibility for 

IDR plans is determined and calculated based on the regulatory changes to IDR plans.
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o Funding in fiscal year 2025 will enable FSA to initiate the final stages of 

decommissioning the existing Central Process System (CPS) solution as the AED 

solution handles two concurrent FAFSA cycles. Additionally, funding in fiscal year 2025 

enables FSA to implement the remaining provisions of the FAFSA Simplification Act

including coordination with other federal agencies that handle means-tested benefit 

programs and changes to the FAFSA experience based on continuous consumer 

testing. Fiscal year 2025 funding will also allow FSA to continue supporting the 

operations, maintenance, and safeguarding of applications and systems that will receive, 

store, and manage FTI from the IRS.

• Training and Resources for FSA’s Partners: Starting in fiscal year 2022 and continuing

through fiscal year 2025, the third area includes FSA’s work with its partners—schools, state

agencies, and designated scholarship organizations—as they update their systems and 

processes to fully implement the FUTURE Act and FAFSA Simplification Act for the 2025–

2026 award year. Additionally, phase three enables FSA to ensure that its customers—

students, parents, borrowers, and their families—are properly informed of the changes to 

the IDR and FAFSA processes.

o During fiscal years 2022 and 2023, FSA engaged partners impacted by the implementation 

of the provisions of the FUTURE Act and FAFSA Simplification Act, developed outreach 

materials, and provided more expansive and robust training and communication compared 

to previous FAFSA cycles.

o In fiscal year 2024, FSA will sustain the training, communications, and support activities 

with its partners. These activities include continuous updates to partner communications 

(e.g., Financial Aid Toolkit, Partner Connect), webinars, and preview presentations. 

Additionally, on February 5, 2024, the Department announced the FAFSA College Support 

Strategy, which will help schools and students complete the better FAFSA form. The 

Department is in the process of deploying federal financial aid experts to a group of 

lowered-resourced colleges to ensure these colleges have the tools and information 

needed to process financial aid packages, understand the steps they need to take to 

prepare, deliver direct on-campus support, and provide ongoing consultations and trainings 

as needed. Through this effort, the Department expects to serve Historically Black Colleges 

and Universities, tribal colleges, and universities, and colleges that are lower-resourced. 

The Department is also standing up a new concierge service within FSA, which will provide 

a broad set of colleges direct contact with financial aid experts to provide personalized 

support based on an institution’s needs.

o Funding in fiscal year 2025 will allow FSA to support the remaining training, 

communications, and support activities with its partners for the 2025–26 award year, which 

would include in-person presentations to state association and regional conferences. 

Until the implementation of the FUTURE Act and FAFSA Simplification Act are completed, FSA 

will need to continue its interagency agreements with IRS for the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT), 

which provides applicants access to specific data elements from their individual tax return in a 

secure way to transfer data to complete tax-related sections of the online 2023–24 FAFSA form. 

This tool allows federal student aid applicants and student loan borrowers a convenient and 

simplified way to apply for aid and options for repayment, while reducing the submission of 

inaccurate financial information.
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During fiscal years 2022 and 2023, most of the development activities for the FUTURE Act were 

implemented and fully operational, including the FUTURE Act solutions (e.g., FTI Infrastructure, 

FTI Module, and FTI Data Mart). Additionally, the AED solution was operational for the 2024–

2025 award year and served as the new FAFSA backend system. FSA will decommission the 

IRS DRT solution for the IDR form in fiscal year 2024 and plans to decommission the IRS DRT 

solution for the FAFSA form in fiscal year 2025 once the 2025–2026 FAFSA form is fully 

implemented.

For fiscal year 2025, the Administration requests $76.5 million for the SABER initiative, 

$30.6 million less than the fiscal year 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 

appropriation. The request includes $14.9 million for the development, operations, and 

maintenance of the AED solution, which serves as the new FAFSA backend system beginning 

in the 2024–2025 award year; $45.9 million for the development, operations, and maintenance 

of the systems that will manage and store FTI as a result of the FUTURE Act; and $11.7 million 

for system and process changes based on the FAFSA Simplification Act. Additionally, $4.0 

million will enable the continuous operations and development of the FA-DDX with the IRS.

Federal Student Aid IT activities: $173.9 million

FSA takes seriously the ongoing security threats to operations and the risk of compromising

students’ and borrowers’ personal information within FSA and across institutions of higher 

education. With increased cybersecurity risks across government and organizations, security 

threats may come in many forms including patching vulnerabilities, ransomware, and phishing 

attacks. FSA is dedicated to working with schools to safeguard students’ data and has provided 

multiple presentations to education professionals on FSA’s role in assisting schools with 

addressing cybersecurity findings. Additionally, FSA continues to collaborate with the 

Department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer to ensure compliance with the Federal 

Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, the Executive Order Improving the Nation’s 

Cybersecurity (EO 14028), the Federal Zero Trust Strategy, and Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) and Department of Homeland Security IT requirements. This requires FSA to

improve protection, response, and remediation capabilities to safeguard sensitive data.

The below descriptions provide details of FSA’s IT activities and investments within the 

Enterprise Technology Directorate.

FSA Cybersecurity Program: $56.9 million

The FSA Cybersecurity Program protects information assets including data, IT infrastructure,

and applications for the third largest Federal repository of sensitive personally identifiable 

information (PII), as well as a $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio. The FSA Cybersecurity 

Program strives to improve IT security by increasing situational awareness, improving 

monitoring of assets and continued incident response, conducting formal security 

authorizations, securing operations of FSA systems, managing security vulnerabilities at an 

acceptable risk level, and documenting FSA security guidelines. FSA must comply with the 
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Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) of 2014 through testing, verification, 

and validation of the security controls of approximately 75 reportable FSA systems.

In fiscal year 2023, to comply with EO 14028, FSA initiated the process of consolidating multiple 

asset databases into a single Enterprise Configuration Management Database (CMDB), to 

facilitate end to end asset visibility. By the end of fiscal year 2023, the CMDB had visibility of 

approximately 50% of the FSA assets that reside in Next Generation Data Center (NGDC). FSA 

has started the process of gaining visibility to one of its loan servicers, Maximus Education LLC, 

and will have the remaining assets in NGDC and all Maximus Education LLC assets included in 

the CMDB by the end of fiscal year 2024. FSA will begin onboarding more servicers into the 

platform, which will provide FSA greater visibility into its enterprise assets.

FSA will continue to work as diligently as possible to implement cyber enhancements in support 

of the implementation of the SABER initiative, EO 14028, Federal Zero Trust Strategy (OMB 

memorandum M-22-09) requirements and OMB memorandum on improving the Federal 

Government’s Investigative and Remediation Capabilities Related to Cybersecurity Incident 

(OMB memorandum M-21-31). All are extremely important efforts to protect the third largest 

federal repository of sensitive PII, as well as a $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio.

The FSA Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) Cybersecurity Division provides technical 

assistance to institutions of higher education in the form of incident response support; 

assistance remediating Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) audit findings; resources on cyber 

threat information; and outreach to notify schools of available technical resources, clarification 

on general guidelines, and information on practical implementation and best practices. In fiscal 

year 2025, new guidelines under the GLBA, as well as new requirements concerning the 

handling of FTI and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), will require an increase in 

oversight and outreach activities. Because institutions will receive FTI through the FAFSA 

starting in award year 2024-2025, and because FTI is a type of CUI, FSA is required by 

Executive Order Controlled Unclassified Information (EO 13556), 32 Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR) Part 2002, and an Education Department directive to control how the 

schools use, store and safeguard this information. This request includes $5.2 million to address 

a four-fold increase in the work of the IHE Cybersecurity Division due to work required to 

provide effective oversight of thousands of IHEs and support the implementation of these new 

requirements, which include the anticipated increases in the number of GLBA findings, 

cybersecurity incidents, and cyber threats, as well as the need for expanded communications 

and outreach.

The fiscal year 2025 request includes an increase of $3.7 million more than the fiscal year 2024 

annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. The increase will fund the 

completion of the Technical Directorate Service Platform (TDSP) which will provide multithreaded process for supporting both IT as well as business-related functions such as project 

management and change control.
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Identity and Access Management (IAM): $11.0 million

IAM includes multiple systems and capabilities and integrates with all new and legacy FSA 

applications to manage and track two-factor authentication, security training, rules of behavior 

acknowledgement, self-service password resets, and security access policy enforcement for 

privileged users. IAM provides secure, efficient access to FSA systems for approximately 

90 million users.

IAM provides the FSA enterprise with enhanced sign-on capability and access control for web 

applications to privileged users (i.e., school administrators, system administrators, and database 

administrators). It also provides integrated horizontal sign-on to multiple applications, thereby 

enforcing standardized security requirements such as identity, password complexity and multifactor authentication.

The fiscal year 2025 request of $11.0 million supports the operations and maintenance of the 

IAM and Person Authentication Service (PAS). It also includes approximately $1.0 million for the 

development and enhancement activities related to usability, security, and MFA to support the

implementation and execution of EO 14028.

Next Generation Data Center (NGDC): $52.7 million

NGDC serves as one of the host facilities for FSA applications1 that process student financial 

aid applications (grants, loans, and work-study) and supports payments from and repayment to 

lenders. The NGDC is organized around four types of components: network infrastructure, 

midrange servers (Microsoft Windows platforms, UNIX/Linux platforms), IBM mainframes, and 

components in the cloud. It leverages security measures to ensure the protection of CUI, 

increase availability and reliability of services that support FSA operations, improve elasticity 

and scalability of resources to the cloud environment, and preserve legacy mainframe 

capabilities and infrastructure.

Additionally, the data center dedicated circuits provide the telecommunications backbone to all 

FSA systems and call centers. These network services and Trusted Internet Connection 

capabilities support system management functions and inquiries into data processing with 

external stakeholders. Data center dedicated circuits include data and voice lines and toll-free 

numbers.

The fiscal year 2025 request supports continued operations and maintenance of the NGDC, 

organic growth within the data center and NGDC cloud environments, an increase in dedicated 

circuit costs, and scheduled projects (cloud expansion, system migration, EO 14028 

enhancements, Internet Protocol Version 6 transition, and Transport Layer Security 

1 NGDC hosts 73 information systems (e.g., Financial Management System, Enterprise Business Collaboration, EzAudit, FAFSA Processing System, Rational Support, Student Aid Internet Gateway).
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1.3 upgrade). This investment is necessary for planning the closure of the physical data center 

and migration of applications to the cloud environment.

The fiscal year 2025 request includes $52.7 million for NGDC and dedicated circuits, an 

increase of $6.9 million more than the fiscal year 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 

2023 appropriation, to support the ongoing expansion and enhancement of the NGDC Cloud 

environments, additional vendor support costs for the Cloud environments, and the expected 

increase of usage in the data center and NGDC Cloud to support the new FSA USDS program. 

FSA IT Management: $16.4 million

FSA IT Management provides essential support to assist the FSA enterprise including the FSA 

Chief Information Officer in developing IT strategy, IT Portfolio Management (PfM), IT Project 

Management, Capital Planning and Investment Control, Enterprise Architecture, software 

engineering and testing services that are critical to the operational support and execution of all 

key FSA business applications.

In fiscal year 2025, the Enterprise Architecture and Engineering (EAE) request is $11.3 million. 

EAE provides a full range of architectural and engineering services that provide FSA with the 

necessary services and support needed to continuously plan, maintain, and evolve the FSA 

enterprise architecture. The services enable the organization to have access to information 

about FSA’s IT systems and data to inform investment planning and decisions, as well as 

support analysis and identification of performance gaps, highlighting areas where opportunities 

for improvement, streamlining, standardization, and re-use exist. EAE also provides technical 

design oversight services to analyze, design, plan and implement enterprise solutions to 

successfully execute business and technical strategies in alignment with FSA’s target 

architecture and cloud strategy and implement industry best practices.

IT Portfolio Management includes support for subject matter expertise in Capital Planning/ITPfM 

and investment management to analyze, design, plan and implement enterprise solutions to 

successfully execute business strategies. This support assists FSA in structuring IT projects and 

policies to achieve desired business results and be informed on industry trends. IT engineering 

expertise is provided to ensure technical solutions meet FSA requirements and represent 

industry best practices. Additionally, project management support provides project governance, 

project prioritization and reporting, risk and schedule management, and project management 

training. The fiscal year 2025 request includes $0.5 million for these activities.

The FSA IT Management investment includes $1.8 million in fiscal year 2025 for the 

Development Security Operations (DevSecOps) initiative, which integrates security throughout 

the software development lifecycle, allowing for secure architectural designs, efficient system 

integration, and delivery of secure applications.

Lastly, the fiscal year 2025 request includes approximately $2.8 million for Enterprise 

Configuration Management (ECM) support; Enterprise Testing Services, which provides 
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independent testing for applications; and Rational Support, which provides visibility to FSA 

system changes and manages the risks associated with these changes.

Enterprise Software Licensing (ESL): $31.7 million

ESL is the agency’s licensing expense that supports numerous technologies and platforms for 

business systems. This function consolidates and establishes enterprise-wide agreements for 

similar types of software to reduce licensing duplication and gain economies of scale from 

volume pricing discounts. The request supports licensing for many systems and operations 

including, the FAFSA, FSA’s Security Operations, Next Gen DCC, Next Gen Partner Connect, 

Next Gen BPO providers, the SABER initiative, Debt Management, NGDC’s migration to an 

integrated cloud structure, and other enterprise activities.

The fiscal year 2025 request of $31.7 million is $3.8 million less than the fiscal year 

2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. 

Enterprise Business Management System (EBMS): $4.0 million

The Enterprise Business Management System (EBMS) investment consists of three IT mission 

support capabilities: Enterprise Business Collaboration (EBC), Application Development 

Portfolio Production Support (ADPPS), and the EBMS Platform. Together, these platforms 

provide a core set of tools supporting internal business processes and external facing 

applications outside the scope of FSA's major business systems. EBC consists of two separate 

environments, internal and external facing, to provide collaboration tools including portals, 

workflows, task lists, etc., that can be implemented and managed by end users. ADPPS 

provides operations and maintenance support for internal and external facing web-based 

applications. The third solution, the EBMS Platform, enables automation of workflows 

supporting several manual paper-based processes, most of which are not currently supported 

by technological solutions.

The fiscal year 2025 request of $4.0 million is $0.1 million more than the fiscal year 

2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. 

Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG): $1.2 million

SAIG and the Electronic File Transfer (EFT) system provides telecommunications and data 

transmission solutions for FSA’s partner institutions (i.e., post-secondary schools, lenders, and

guaranty and State agencies), FSA’s Title IV systems, and external government agencies. SAIG 

supports the sending and receiving of Privacy Act data for processing and reporting on financial 

aid. The EFT system is used by FSA systems to transmit and receive data for processing by 

government agencies, including the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans

Affairs, Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Homeland Security.

The fiscal year 2025 request of $1.2 million is $0.1 million more than the fiscal year 

2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. 
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FSA Core Systems, Other FSA Activities, and Institutional Oversight: $589.2 million

There are various core systems and FSA activities that assist in federal student aid delivery 

throughout the student aid lifecycle. Engaging with students, parents, and borrowers; 

communicating with school partners; and originating and disbursing federal aid: these 

interactions all require support from FSA core systems and activities. Additionally, institutional 

oversight through the Office of Enforcement oversees schools that pose the greatest risk to 

students and taxpayers and provides remediation to harmed borrowers. This section provides 

details about core systems and the Next Generation Federal Student Aid (Next Gen FSA) 

initiative, which is modernizing systems and business models for engaging with FSA, and the 

work of the Office of Enforcement.

The Next Gen FSA initiative started in fiscal year 2017 and has emphasized the importance of 

creating an improved, high-quality customer experience for FSA's millions of students and 

families by streamlining student aid systems and processes through consolidation of websites 

and alignment of supporting operations. Next Gen FSA is transforming various aspects of how 

FSA operates when interacting with customers and partners at postsecondary institutions.

The below sections provide descriptions of some of FSA’s core systems and other activities in

the areas of student and borrower engagement, institution engagement, and data.

Student and Borrower Engagement

It is imperative to draw a clear distinction between the Digital and Customer Care platform 

(DCC) and the Business Process Operation (BPO), despite the seeming overlaps in their 

objectives.

DCC, which includes a suite of services and delivery platforms, is composed of enterprise-wide 

technology, systems, tools, and delivery enablement. DCC’s core function is to provide the 

necessary tools and applications that are instrumental in supporting operations and ensuring 

seamless service delivery for borrowers. These resources empower FSA in the digital realm, 

where FSA manages content and services on StudentAid.gov and FSApartners.ed.gov through 

a Digital Platform, enhance customer support through a Customer Care Platform, and engage 

with students and borrowers effectively using a Marketing and Communication Platform.

Conversely, BPO providers serve as the foundation for the public-facing, personnel component 

of FSA’s Enterprise-wide Contact Center solution. BPO funding provides staffing for the 1-800-

4-FED-AID contact center (also known as the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC)), 

equipping it with the human resources needed to facilitate customer interactions and back-office 

processing tasks. BPO providers are the individuals who deliver context, support, and a human 

touch to the services FSA offers Title IV recipients. The BPOs are the backbone to the customer 

care and contact center operations.

This approach ensures that technology, tools, and systems necessary for service delivery (e.g., 

DCC) are appropriately resourced, while also addressing the critical need for personnel to 

provide context and support to the American public (e.g., BPO). Together, DCC and BPO form 
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the integrated framework that enables FSA to fulfill its mission of providing accessible and 

comprehensive student aid services.

Next Gen Digital and Customer Care (DCC): $95.0 million

In 2019, FSA launched the digital front door for students, parents, and borrowers, otherwise 

known as Next Gen Digital and Customer Care, or DCC. DCC allows these customers to 

interact with FSA through their preferred communication channel including web, phone, chat, 

virtual assistant (Aidan), email, text, or social media. It includes FSA’s single 1-800 number for 

reaching the FSAIC, the digital platform consisting of StudentAid.gov, the customer care 

platform for the BPO contact centers, the marketing and communications platform for email and 

text messaging, and Aidan. DCC provides modern tools to ensure students, parents and 

borrowers see FSA as a trusted and reliable resource in managing federal student aid and will 

continue to provide operational support and make necessary enhancements to existing 

capabilities as part of its continuous improvement plan. Those continuous improvements will 

allow for more automated processes, which will reduce the need for manual activities, including 

faxing and mailing documents, resulting in a more efficient delivery of services to customers.

Customers first interact with FSA when they create an FSA ID and complete their FAFSA on 

StudentAid.gov. They continue to use StudentAid.gov to complete other important steps in the 

aid process, such as completing student loan entrance and exit counseling and signing a master 

promissory note. However, once repayment starts, borrowers interact primarily with one of 

FSA’s loan servicers and receive fewer communications directly from FSA. This can create a 

disjointed, inconsistent, and confusing borrower experience, where borrowers are less likely to 

access and benefit from the tools and services provided on FSA’s website, such as the 

application for IDR plans and Loan Simulator. Through the implementation of DCC, FSA has 

taken steps to provide borrowers with consistent, timely information that reduces borrower 

confusion; however, steps taken to date are only small, incremental improvements. The target 

state for DCC is to allow all federally managed borrowers to navigate their repayment journeys 

on StudentAid.gov, eliminating the immediate need to navigate to loan servicers' websites and 

eventually replace them. FSA will begin to take steps towards this target state in fiscal year 

2025, by transitioning to a Single Sign-On solution and beginning to build the necessary 

infrastructure to support the repayment portal on StudentAid.gov.

The fiscal year 2025 request of $95.0 million is $54.2 million more than the fiscal year 

2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. The increase will support 

funding operations for a full 12 months as well as development work that has been postponed in 

prior fiscal years due to budgetary constraints. The development work aims to bring new 

capabilities to DCC (e.g., support for borrowers in collections, additional functionality to 

StudentAid.gov, etc.) and to enhance existing capabilities (e.g., support for borrowers in 

repayment) to realize DCC's full potential of becoming a unified platform to assist aid applicants

and recipients with all financial aid needs from origination and disbursement to repayment. The 

fiscal year 2025 request will continue to support the StudentAid.gov operations and 

maintenance and development activities for more than 117 million users who visit 

StudentAid.gov to access critical information and tools as they prepare and plan for college, 
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apply for and receive federal student aid, and repay student loans. It will specifically support the 

following activities:

• The implementation of the Digital Platform reporting framework and roadmap, which 

includes project management, tracking and management of created reports, and roadmap 

assessments. 

• Hosting and maintenance of the secured cloud environment for FSA platforms and manage 

software and hardware licenses.

• Maintenance of UX researchers to develop research insights and actionable 

recommendations based on understanding of user motivations and behaviors to inform 

user-centric FSA product design. Understanding the why behind user behavior helps build 

insights that continue to be relevant for decision-making.

• Dedicated capacity to Agile teams to support improvements across Digital Platform and the 

CRM platform.

• Support for Aidan’s transition to a modern conversational AI platform, Google Dialogflow, 

which will improve FSA’s ability to deflect call volume by responding to trending questions 

and accurately identifying customer questions through large language models.

• Support for the Command Center operations and maintenance, including the forecasting 

and distribution of volumes of work (calls, chats, and processing tasks) among BPOs based 

on performance metrics, a comprehensive training program and knowledgebase that reflects 

changes in the FSA and contact center environments, an iterative feedback method to foster 

improvements in both training and tools, and a quality oversight program.

• Support for the digital marketing platform, email and SMS campaigns, organic social media 

content creation and scheduling.

• Administration of Medallia surveys and report metrics that are reported as part of FSA 

performance metric goals in the Annual Report to Congress and provide customer 

satisfaction reporting, validation, and data analysis.

• Support for regulatory and statutory updates to FSA programs and contact center agent 

tools such as the DCC CRM to enable successful completion of the work.

• Support the SABER initiative and the launch of the 2024-25 FAFSA application as required 

by statue. At the same time, support for the transition of the FAFSA ‘back end’ from the 

legacy CPS system to the new FPS system will also be provided.
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Business Process Operations: $105.2 million1

BPO represents an investment aimed at centralizing and streamlining Federal Student Aid 

customer interactions. It ensures a user-friendly and efficient service, promoting high customer 

satisfaction for Title IV program participants.

Upon initiating contact with FSAIC, customers are directed to the appropriate contact center to 

assist them, whether that is a BPO contact center or their servicer. The main contact number for 

most questions (e.g., 1-800-4FedAid)—which connects customers with FSAIC—along with the 

single digital platform on StudentAid.gov, is meant to improve and simplify the borrower 

experience. FSAIC functions as the primary point of contact for borrowers, particularly those 

who may not know which number to call or whether they need to speak with a BPO agent or a 

servicer. Once a borrower has contacted FSA, either through FSAIC or another contact number, 

many are directed to a BPO vendor, depending on their inquiry. The system is engineered to 

simplify navigation and provide immediate access to the most relevant assistance.

BPO vendors are responsible for handling millions of customer interactions that flow through 

FSAIC, handling not only direct communications but also critical back-office processing to 

ensure the integrity and efficiency of our services. BPOs serve customers via calls, chats, 

webform emails and postal correspondence (both control and non-control) in both English and 

Spanish. BPO vendors serve as a primary source for information and support on federal student 

aid programs, processes, and applications. The support and services they provide includes:

• General Information on Federal Student Aid: Providing comprehensive details about 

available federal student aid programs, including grants, loans, and work-study 

opportunities.

• Assistance with FAFSA® Form: Supporting students and parents with completing the Free 

Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), including answering questions about the 

form and guidance on the submission process.

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Information: Providing details about the PSLF 

program, including eligibility requirements, the application process, and guidance on how to 

submit employment certification as well as technical support for the PSLF Help Tool on 

StudentAid.gov.

• Customer Service and Intake for Borrower Defense (BD) to Repayment: Providing 

assistance to borrowers who wish to apply for Borrower Defense to Repayment discharge. 

BPO vendors handle processing of BD applications, offering guidance on how to complete 

and submit necessary documentation, explaining the review process, and providing updates 

on the status of applications.

• FSA ID: Assisting individuals in creating and managing their username and password 

account on StudentAid.gov, or “FSA ID.” This is FSA’s authentication credential for students, 

1 BPO costs are not inclusive of specialty loan servicing, which are included in the Loan Servicing Activities section.
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parents, and borrowers and is essential for accessing and completing applications for 

assistance, applying for repayment plans, consolidating, and more on StudentAid.gov.

• Guidance on Loan Repayment: Providing information on various loan repayment plans, how 

to manage loan payments, and advice on changing repayment plans, consolidating loans, or 

applying for loan forgiveness programs.

• Support for Loan Borrowers: Assisting borrowers with questions about their federal student 

loans, including account status, loan balances as reported by loan servicers, and loan 

servicer contact information.

• Troubleshooting and Problem Resolution: Supporting submission of Feedback (“Complaint”) 

cases, under the FSA Ombudsman, on StudentAid.gov and does back-office triage on those 

cases to resolve where possible or else escalated to the appropriate entity such an FSA or a 

loan servicer.

• Loan Consolidation: Offering information and assistance on consolidating eligible student 

loans. BPO vendors guide borrowers through the application process and help understand 

the implications of consolidation.

• PLUS Credit Counseling and Credit Decision Appeals: Providing advice and support for 

borrowers who need help understanding their credit, as it relates to PLUS eligibility or who 

wish to appeal a credit decision related to their eligibility for a PLUS loans.

• TEACH Grant Agreement to Serve or Repayment and Counseling related to TEACH Grants: 

Offering guidance on the TEACH Grant program, which provides grants to students who 

intend to teach in a high-need field in a low-income area. BPO vendors help with the 

agreement to serve and provide counseling related to these grants to ensure recipients 

understand their obligations.

• Customer Listening: Providing critical feedback to FSA about customer interactions. BPO 

vendors report top issues, highlight trends, and escalate anomalies to FSA stakeholders for 

various product and systems to improve troubleshooting, focus resources on difficult areas, 

and drive continuous improvement.

• Office of Inspector General: Researching customer claims of fraud for OIG Fraud cases.

In each of these areas, BPO vendors play a critical role in providing clear information, guidance, 

and support to help customers make informed decisions about their education financing and 

fulfill their financial obligations.

Additionally, with the transition of what have historically been referred to as the specialty loan 

servicing programs (e.g., PSLF, TEPSLF, TPD, and TEACH Grants) into FSA’s enterprise of 
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systems starting in FY2024, Customer service and manual processing for these programs will 

be performed by BPO vendors. Activities will include:

• Support for Borrowers/Recipients: Assists borrowers/recipients with questions about their 

aid, including account status, qualifying payments, application status, and service 

obligations.

• Review and Manual Application Processing: Processing of PSLF & TEPSLF Certification 

and Application form, TPD Discharge Applications, and TEACH Grant Certification of 

Qualifying Teach form.

• PSLF Employer Eligibility: Assisting with the intake, review, and processing of PSLF 

employer eligibility requests. 

This transition of specialty loan servicing programs will directly address some of the common 

pain points for customers under the current loan servicing system. For example, customers are 

often confused about when to contact FSA (via the contact numbers that are managed by 

BPOs) about questions related to PSLF, and when to contact the PSLF servicer, MOHELA, 

directly. When specialty servicing transitions to FSA, a customer will be able to call the FSAIC

for any questions related to the PSLF Program. If the customer’s questions require information 

from a servicer, the BPO agent will contact the servicer on the back end to attain the relevant 

information and share it with the customer. This will simplify and improve the customer 

experience. In addition, FSA will also introduce a new contact number for borrowers with 

questions about loan discharge or cancellation. This number will also connect the customer with 

a BPO agent and will expedite the process for borrowers with questions on these topics.

In fiscal year 2025, BPO vendors will provide a single point of contact for defaulted student loan 

borrowers seeking support to get out of default. This includes, but is not limited to, loan 

rehabilitation, consolidation, and repayment in full. This represents further movement toward the 

centralization of contact center services and the creation of a streamlined borrower website, 

further enhancing accessibility and customer understanding of FSA’s programs.

The fiscal year 2025 request for BPO is $105.2 million, an increase of $35.3 million more than 

the fiscal year 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. This requested

increase is due to funding a full 12 months of ongoing operations and including pivotal call 

center support and ongoing training for BPO agents to ensure they provide accurate, consistent, 

and legally compliant information. Additionally, it supports the contact center infrastructure 

necessary for upcoming transitions to a more customer-centric service model.

Experimental Sites Initiative (ESI): $0.4 million

The Experimental Sites Initiative is authorized under section 487A(b) of the Higher Education 

Act of 1965, as amended, and allows the Department to test the effectiveness of new policy 

approaches by waiving specific statutory or regulatory requirements at the postsecondary 

institutions, or consortia of institutions, approved to participate in the experiments. By 

contrasting the results achieved with the flexibilities to the results achieved under current 

regulations, the Department can obtain data to support changes to regulations and statute. To 
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implement an experiment, FSA makes changes to its procedures and systems, collects survey 

data and student-level data on participants in the experiment, and, in collaboration with the 

Institute of Education Sciences, performs analysis of the outcomes of students and institutions 

that participated in the experiment. 

The fiscal year 2025 request of $0.4 million is $0.2 million more than the fiscal year 

2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. This will allow the team to 

implement the needed data collection updates for the revised Second Chance Pell experiment. 

In addition, the requested funds will support the improvement of FSA’s data collection tools for 

experiments under the ESI, ongoing system maintenance and operations for new and current 

experiments, and evaluation of ongoing experiments and experiments where institutional 

participation has concluded. These improvements are consistent with FSA’s adoption, in 

partnership with the Institute of Education Sciences and the Office of the Undersecretary, of 

joint principles for designing, implementing, and evaluating experiments under the Experimental 

Sites Initiative.

Transformation Support Contract: $2.1 million

The Transformation Support contract provides resources to address technical gaps in the 

existing workforce for strategically important initiatives such as the Next Gen initiative, SABER, 

and other modernization of information systems across FSA’s mission-critical programs. The 

Transformation Support contract will provide additional support for the architecture and 

procurement planning for DCC; procurement planning for the PPO initiative and BPO; and 

planning for technological modernization and associated projects as project management office 

support, market research, technical planning and support, data and modeling capabilities, cost 

estimation and forecasting, and governance requirements. Without this critical support, the

implementation of program releases related to DCC, PPO, BPO, USDS, TIVOD, and other 

modernization efforts of mission-critical systems and services (e.g., spanning the entire FSA 

portfolio) within FSA would be delayed. The fiscal year 2025 request of $2.1 million is 

$0.2 million more than the fiscal year 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 

2023 appropriation. The fiscal year 2025 request will provide resources for recompete efforts to

modernize legacy systems.

Institution Engagement and Program Compliance

Next Gen Partner Participation and Oversight (PPO): $30.6 million

FSA is transforming the experience for schools and financial aid offices through the 

implementation of the Next Gen PPO initiative, or FSA Partner Connect. The current landscape 

requires schools to interact with multiple systems to determine student eligibility for aid, process 

awards, and report and reconcile funding information. Many of the processes are heavily 

manual or are dependent on outdated, vulnerable systems.

In early 2021, FSA launched FSA Partner Connect—a new, digital portal that serves as the 

foundational platform for FSA partners—at fsapartners.ed.gov. FSA Partner Connect Release 

1.0 featured the Knowledge Center, which replaced the Information for Financial Aid 

Professionals website. The redesigned site offers a new look and feel, streamlined information, 
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and improved search capabilities. The Knowledge Center also includes the Federal Student Aid 

Handbook presented in a more searchable and user-friendly format that will help schools quickly 

access information on how to effectively administer Federal student aid, which in turn will 

substantially improve students’ and borrowers’ experiences. Additionally, alongside the 

completion of Release 1.0, in 2023, FSA successfully integrated the FSA Training Conference 

site (fsaconferences.ed.gov) used to share information and host content for the annual FSA 

Training Conference. Furthermore, in 2023, FSA integrated the FSA Learning Management 

System into the more secure Partner Connect system authorization boundary.

Release 2.0 was implemented in December 2023 and focused on an extensive redesign of the

Application for Approval to Participate in the Federal Student Financial Aid Programs (E-App), 

which schools use to apply to participate in Title IV programs, and the re-engineering of the 

Postsecondary Education Participants System (PEPS), one of FSA’s oldest and most 

technically vulnerable systems. The Next Gen PPO initiative also includes additional

implementation plans that would integrate other partner-facing sites into FSA Partner Connect. 

Specifically, Release 3.0 will integrate and retire the legacy Participation Management site 

(fsawebenroll.ed.gov) which allows schools and partners to enroll and manage data access with 

FSA systems.

Overall, these initial efforts will result in the retirement of six total individual FSA partner-facing 

sites with future plans to integrate over an additional eight sites into FSA Partner Connect. 

When complete, Partner Connect will serve as the primary entry point for the various Title IV 

business functions for school and partners and introduce proactive analytical capabilities to 

target oversight resources on high-risk schools. This, in conjunction with a plan to centralize and 

consolidate partner customer service, will create an opportunity for FSA to further streamline aid 

delivery and oversight processes. The additional benefits of this investment include improving 

the partner experience through streamlined processes and automation, improving management 

and oversight capabilities, and enhancing FSA’s ability to respond to legislative changes.

The fiscal year 2025 request of $30.6 million is $21.6 million more than the fiscal year 

2023 appropriation. This increase will support funding operations and maintenance for a full 

12 months and funding development work related to system changes as a result of regulatory 

changes.

eZ-Audit: $2.6 million

eZ-Audit is a web-based application for submission of financial statements and compliance 

audits by institutions that participate in the Title IV program, which allows FSA to enhance 

program integrity and improve oversight. The fiscal year 2025 request is $2.6 million, which will 

provide ongoing operations and maintenance and significant platform and security upgrades.

Gainful Employment and Financial Value Transparency (GE) (FVT): $8.0 million

The GE / FVT regulations that become effective July 1, 2024, will enhance transparency by 

providing information about the financial costs and benefits of attending postsecondary 

programs and prohibit schools from offering Title IV aid for GE programs for which the expected 

earnings could not support repayment of the associated debt. Under the new regulations, both 

GE and Non-GE programs will be subject to two metrics: a debt-to-earnings metric that 
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compares a program graduate’s estimated debt payments with their earnings and an earnings 

premium that compares a graduate’s earnings against the typical earnings of a high school 

graduate in the same state or nationally. The FVT regulations apply to all programs, and the GE 

regulations apply to nearly all programs at proprietary institutions and programs at public and 

not-for-profit institutions that lead to a credential but do not lead to a degree, or career education 

programs. The full scope includes gathering enrollment, grant and scholarship aid, cost of 

attendance and total debt, including private student loan debt, data that will be used with 

earnings data to calculate the above metrics. Should a GE program fail either or both metrics in 

a single year, students will be warned at the time of enrollment that their program has failed the 

metric and is in danger of losing eligibility. Should a GE program fail at least one of these 

metrics twice in a 3-year period, the institution’s eligibility to disburse Title IV aid for that 

program will be officially revoked or terminated. Non-GE programs that are not undergraduate 

degree programs and fail the debt-to-earnings metric will be subject to a student 

acknowledgement requirement. Appeals are limited to the standard eligibility and certification 

processes and procedures which are in effect after a program has lost eligibility.

For fiscal year 2025, FSA plans to complete the implementation of the second phase of 

development by integrating program eligibility status decisions into the StudentAid.gov interface 

for student acknowledgement and integrating all school functionality into Partner Connect.

Conference Management: $2.4 million

In support of FSA's mission to administer the Title IV student aid programs, FSA hosts an 

annual training program for schools participating in Title IV programs. Given the growth and size 

of the federal student aid programs and recent changes in student aid policies, programs, and 

procedures, this training conference is critical to support schools participating in these programs 

to properly manage taxpayer resources. This training is part of FSA’s school oversight 

responsibility and increases the integrity of the federal student aid programs while ensuring 

appropriate stewardship of taxpayer resources.

Conference Management provides support for the annual FSA Conference and FSA’s 

participation in the national financial aid related conferences (e.g., National Association of 

Student Financial Aid Administrators). Depending upon the training delivery method, FSA trains 

between 6,500 and 16,000 financial aid professionals and disseminates information about Title 

IV programs through these forums. The conferences were held virtually from fiscal years 2021-

2024 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and limited funds. The fiscal year 2025 request supports 

an in-person and hybrid conference.

Data Management

Title IV Origination and Disbursement System and Customer Service Transition and Underlying 

Systems: $250.6M

The Title IV Origination and Disbursement contract will expire on January 31, 2025. The 

procurement of a new transition contract for operations and maintenance and incremental 

improvements to FSA’s mission critical systems, COD, NSLDS, EDMAPS, EDWA, the Federal 

Tax Information Datamart systems (FTI DM) and Partner Customer Service will replace the 
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current TIVOD contract and will be awarded in fiscal year 2025 and will guarantee timely and 

efficient origination, disbursement, and servicing of Title IV aid.

The timeframe for procuring this new contract provides a transition period to prepare for 

modernization, ensuring the systems and applications will be ready to adopt when FSA 

implements enterprise-wide technology, data, and customer service strategies.

The new transition contract will work towards modernization by de-scoping the systems and 

grouping like services within the appropriate technological platforms allowing FSA to be more 

adaptive and scalable. It will be structured to promote transparency and allow for increased 

visibility, planning, and collaboration through centralized tools and standardization across teams 

and projects.

Lastly, it will transform partner-facing customer service and engagement by centralizing 

operations to deliver an exceptional experience, enabling self-service, analytics, and 

compliance.

Common Origination and Disbursement (COD): 

Through the TIVOD contract, the COD system will originate and track the disbursement of 

more than $135 billion in new Title IV Aid to millions of student recipients in fiscal year 

2025. The COD system interfaces with several FSA systems to verify student eligibility; 

supports origination, disbursement, and reporting for Pell Grants, TEACH Grants and 

Federal Direct Student Loans; supports income-based repayment, borrower defense, and 

PSLF applications; provides borrower counseling; fulfills reporting and financial 

reconciliation requirements; and provides oversight tools and reports to support FSA in 

monitoring administration of Title IV Aid programs.

National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) 

NSLDS fulfills a Congressional mandate from the Higher Education Act of 1992 and is the 

hub for student, borrower, and partner data reporting. It maintains student-level data for the 

full student aid lifecycle and provides the core data for most FSA systems. The main

function of NSLDS is to provide administrative data on the provision of Title IV aid and 

provide an electronic data exchange between program participants and the system.

Through the Next Gen FSA initiative, NSLDS was transformed into a modern, more secure, 

and flexible platform that is a major factor in the ability to deliver an enhanced customer 

experience. The re-platformed NSLDS, which launched in fiscal year 2022, continues to 

meet the requirements of the Higher Education Act of 1992 but uses modern technology 

that better integrates infrastructure and data systems. NSLDS also supports the collection 

and dissemination of data related to TEACH Grants, TPD, PSLF, and TEPSLF, and will 

support the transition of these activities as part of the implementation of USDS in 2024.

During January 2024, a data governance sub-group was launched to oversee the quality 

and integrity of data being reported by loan servicers to NSLDS. The governance group will 

focus on the organizational activities that are aimed to ensure the completeness and 
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accuracy of data reported to FSA. Group membership consists of senior leaders 

responsible for guidance and changes of servicing requirements, oversight of loan 

servicers to include oversight of their data, which is reported through NSLDS, and the 

overall management of data collection, monitoring, data changes, and error management. 

The data governance group will conduct an annual assessment of the quality of data 

reported to FSA leadership, make recommendations of management controls, and foster 

an environment of continuous improvement around the data representing FSA’s loan 

portfolio.

EDMAPS

EDMAPS provides a unified data platform and common data environment for FSA to 

improve accuracy and consistency of aid lifecycle data through real-time data access, while 

leveraging advanced cybersecurity measures to reduce the risk associated with managing 

PII. Currently, some of FSA’s data infrastructure is fragmented, with information spread in 

standalone systems that are tethered together in a patchwork fashion. EDMAPS brings 

together the data from some of FSA’s largest data platforms, including the NSLDS; FAFSA 

Processing System; EDWA; DCC; loan servicers; and processing systems. FSA has also 

created new capabilities within EDMAPS to manage and reconcile data including a data

lake and a personal master data management system. Data from the student aid lifecycle is 

received, loaded, curated, and archived in a data repository establishing a master copy of 

key data entities after reconciling and resolving interface discrepancies among various 

databases.

This flexibility in the data architecture provides FSA the tools necessary to respond to data 

requests more efficiently and accurately in support of Federal data initiatives. It also allows

FSA to collect more data than it has in the past, providing additional insights into FSA 

programs and making data available to support measures of equity for demographic 

subgroups, improved oversight of FSA vendors, and a global view of FSA operations.

In fiscal year 2025, continuing in its support of USDS, EDMAPS staff will complete the 

implementation and begin operations of a central document repository which will host and 

manage all of FSA’s applicant, borrower, and partner documents. During fiscal year 2025, 

FSA will also develop and enhance its archiving and retention practices utilizing the 

capabilities of the EDMAPS Data Lake.

EDWA

EDWA includes multiple toolsets and analytic platforms and the full Title IV lifecycle data 

spanning over 18 years. EDWA leverages analytics and reporting efforts to meet the 

increased data requests of internal and external customers. It provides the enterprise with 

accurate, timely, and repeatable information while also allowing for data-driven decision 

making and large-scale data modeling efforts. As a component of EDMAPS, EDWA is 

integrated with the Next Gen master data management system and data lake (both of 

which are existing components in EDMAPS). This provides more timely and robust data for

analytics, reporting purposes, and operations. EDWA is also a part of the data 
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infrastructure within EDMAPS that supports Federal initiatives consistent with those 

described in the EDMAPS section.

EDWA has been leveraged in daily operations through outreach to borrowers at risk of

default and to mitigate the risk of fraud in the Title IV programs. Lastly, EDWA has also 

been leveraged to improve institutional compliance and detect bad actors.

Financial Management System (FMS): $7.7 million

FMS consolidates and manages all financial transactions from other FSA systems; facilitates 

reconciliation and internal program management and reporting; and tracks and manages 

payment processing for Federal Direct Loan originations and Pell Grant awards. FMS enables 

the continuation of all FSA grant, loan, and loan guaranty activity and supports the mission of 

delivering aid under Title IV programs. The fiscal year 2025 request of $7.7 million, $0.4 million 

more than the fiscal year 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation, 

supports the operations and maintenance of FMS.

Institutional Oversight and Title IV Program Enforcement

In 2021, FSA announced an independent Office of Enforcement, comprised of four independent 

groups, aimed at bolstering its capabilities to oversee schools that pose the greatest risk to 

students and taxpayers and to remediate harmed borrowers. The Investigations Group 

proactively uncovers school misconduct or high-risk conduct that, if unchecked, causes 

significant harm to students and substantial cost to taxpayers. The Borrower Defense Group 

adjudicates claims for relief on behalf of borrowers who were defrauded by their schools; this 

program has provided billions in remediation to harmed borrowers in recent years. The 

Administrative Actions and Appeals Service Group (AAASG) implements the Secretary’s 

authority to fine, limit, suspend, terminate, and impose emergency actions against schools. And 

the Resolutions and Referral Management Group (RRMG) helps borrowers resolve complaints 

about their schools and provides important information gathering and referral functions.

Separate from the Office of Enforcement, FSA’s Office of Partner Participation and Oversight 

(PPO) engages in compliance oversight of all schools that participate in the Department of 

Education's Federal Student Aid programs. The Program Eligibility and Oversight office intakes 

and processes applications for Title IV eligibility from all participants. It also conducts some 

oversight activity focused on, among other things, assessing financial responsibility. The 

Investigations Group within the Office of Enforcement differs from the Program Eligibility and 

Oversight office because it conducts in-depth investigations into a smaller number of schools

and is primarily focused on unlawful conduct aimed at increasing enrollment and 

misrepresentations made to the Department to maintain eligibility. Both the Investigations Group 

and Program Eligibility and Oversight refer actions to Enforcement’s Administrative Actions and 

Appeal Service Group (AAASG) to implement the appropriate action.

On February 13, 2024, the Department announced that it would be suspending certain oversight 

work performed by PPO to allow colleges to devote additional resources to processing student 

records faster and more efficiently during the Better FAFSA rollout. The suspension does not 
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cover oversight related to allegations of severe misconduct, such as fraud or a severe breach of 

fiduciary duty.

In fiscal year 2023, the Office of Enforcement has pursued significant administrative actions 

aimed at helping to ensure compliance and identifying violations that put students at risk of 

being harmed by low quality programs. For example, in April 2023, FSA denied Florida Career 

College’s (FCC) application to continue to participate in the Title IV programs based on 

evidence generated by Enforcement’s Investigations Group that FCC manipulated the “ability to 

benefit” test. The “ability to benefit” test evaluates whether students are academically equipped 

to benefit from a school’s programs and manipulating that test can result in students attending a 

program for which they are not prepared and were less likely to graduate. Due to this 

settlement, FCC will no longer receive over $80 million per year in Title IV funds to draw 

students into borrowing for a program that left many of them worse off.

The Office of Enforcement has also deployed other tools to penalize noncompliance and deter 

misconduct. For example, when it has identified violative conduct that warrants action but is not 

so egregious as to rise to the level of suspending eligibility for Title IV funding, the office has 

utilized an authority granted by Congress in the Higher Education Act to sanction institutions 

through fines. In the past year, the Department fined a large institution for making substantial 

misrepresentations to prospective students about the cost of graduate programs, and fined 

institutions that extended Title IV benefits to students enrolled in an unaccredited program. 

Based on FSA’s oversight work, AAASG imposed fines on more than 50 institutions in the last 

year.

The Department has also imposed conditions in Program Participation Agreements when 

needed to prevent future violations. For example, when the Investigations Group uncovered 

serious concerns about an institution’s use of the ability to benefit test described above, FSA 

included a condition in their participation agreement prohibiting that test’s use at that school. 

This condition addresses and stops misconduct that is costly to both students and taxpayers.

The Office of Enforcement’s Borrower Defense Group aids borrowers harmed by unlawful 

practices and legally entitled to loan forgiveness. Borrower defense discharges can also result 

in enforcement actions where the Department seeks to hold institutions accountable for the 

discharges when appropriate. The Department is currently litigating the first-ever borrower 

defense recoupment action in an administrative hearing. In that litigation, the Department is 

seeking to recoup $23.6 million for federal loans that the Department discharged based on 

findings from the Borrower Defense Group that DeVry made substantial misrepresentations 

about employment prospects to prospective students.

In fiscal year 2023, Borrower Defense worked hard and efficiently to implement the settlement in 

the Sweet v. Cardona litigation. That settlement includes an unprecedented number of 

applications that must be adjudicated by specific deadlines starting in fiscal year 2023 through

January 2026. Borrower Defense met all adjudication deadlines in fiscal year 2023, but as 

discussed below, needs additional personnel resources to meet future deadlines.
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In addition to implementing the Sweet settlement, in fiscal year 2023 Borrower Defense 

implemented a series of low-cost technology and quality control enhancements. Borrower 

Defense designed a database to memorialize and track the school-based fact-finding process 

required by all borrower defense regulations. The office also improved the manual school 

notification process into an automated one that functions through the COD system, a change 

that saved the Department over $600,000.

Since the establishment of the Office of Enforcement in October 2021, FSA has:

• initiated or imposed more than 90 administrative actions against schools relating to 

significant violations of Title IV program requirements. These actions include over 30 loss of 

eligibility actions; over 50 fine actions totaling over $45 million; and nearly 30 suspension or

debarment actions against individuals;

• announced group discharges based on borrower defense findings or individual discharges 

under the applicable regulation totaling over $11 billion in relief for over 900,000 students 

who attended the following schools: College America campuses in Colorado, University of 

Phoenix, Ashford University, DeVry University, Corinthian Colleges, Inc., ITT Technical 

Institute, Marinello Schools of Beauty, and Westwood College;

• obtained settlements with five law schools that improperly disbursed federal funds and 

obtained reimbursement, fines, and an agreement to stop ineligible disbursements in the 

future;

• established a secret shopper program to identify potentially deceptive or predatory practices 

used to recruit and enroll students;

• established a formal Tip Line so that individuals with relevant information about potential 

misconduct at schools can submit that to Enforcement;

• issued seven bulletins to promote compliance with federal law and enhance enforcement 

efforts and put schools, students and other stakeholders on notice, which address (1) 

debarments and suspensions imposed against individuals; (2) the inability of non-disclosure 

agreements to preclude talking to law enforcement; and (3) the need for accurate and robust 

compliance management systems; (4) misrepresentations to service members and their 

families;

• strengthened its relationships with state and federal partners by collaborating in taking 

action against schools that violate the law, including the Federal Trade Commission, 

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Veterans Affairs, and state attorneys 

generals;

• reviewed and resolved 5,635 student or borrower complaint cases against their institutions 

of higher education, including 740 cases regarding the Grant Disbursement (Pay Out) 

Process at the school, 721 cases regarding the Loan Disbursement (Pay Out Process) at 

the school and 669 cases regarding Financial Allegations (Tuition and Fee Charges). Each 
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case represents a student or borrower who had an issue, problem, or concern that FSA 

helped to resolve.

Enforcement is also finalizing and implementing the use of a new risk model aimed at identifying 

schools and service providers potentially engaged in misconduct that could impose significant 

cost on students and taxpayers. The risk model will incorporate raw data such as enrollment 

changes and student withdrawal rates as well as holistic information like investigations by other 

regulators and insider tips and leads and will be updated as appropriate. This model will enable 

Enforcement to prioritize its resources on the highest risk schools.

Funding needed to support Enforcement is modest relative to the size of the program, and to 

other federal regulators who oversee significant markets and programs. The fiscal year 2025 

request will enable FSA to satisfy the Department’s legal obligations from the settlement in 

Sweet v. Cardona and applicable regulations and to support the timely adjudication of individual 

and group borrower defense claims. It will also enable FSA to continue its important work as 

described above. The fiscal year 2025 request primarily focuses on funding the Office of Borrower 

Defense so that it can satisfy the obligations the Department agreed to in the Sweet settlement 

and to build technology to organize and prioritize work.

1. Required Instruction for Execution of Sweet Settlement for Borrower Defense 

Adjudication Staff & Sweet Settlement Support: $56.6 million

For fiscal year 2025, the Office of Borrower Defense projects that it will need 

$56.0 million to be able to hire sufficient staff to satisfy the Department’s legal 

obligations in the Sweet v. Cardona settlement and $0.6 million for related 

training and onboarding, for a total of $56.6 million. This settlement resolved a 

class-action lawsuit first brought in 2019 against former Secretary Betsy

DeVos with allegations based on undue delays in the processing of borrower 

defense claims and based on the quality of the notices sent to borrowers 

whose claims were denied. The settlement applies to borrower defense claims 

that were previously denied through the challenged notices and to claims that 

were not adjudicated as of time that the settlement received final court 

approval in November 2022. 

The Sweet settlement includes specific deadlines for the Department to 

resolve certain applications. For applications that are not adjudicated by those 

deadlines, the settlement provides that the applicant will automatically receive 

full settlement relief, which includes loan discharges and refunds of previous 

payments to the Department. The Department has satisfied the first two 

adjudication deadlines, however there are still over 250,000 applications that 

must be adjudicated by January 28, 2026. This volume of applications far 

exceeds the number of applications that were expected to be covered by the 

settlement when the Department made the agreement in June 2022—which 

was due, in part, to the time period for new applications to be covered by the 

settlement lasting months longer than anticipated. In addition, the 

Department’s anticipated staffing levels, at that time, did not account for 
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subsequent years’ appropriations remaining at existing levels, providing no 

increase despite increasing costs.

At current staffing levels, the Department does not have sufficient capacity to 

adjudicate a significant number of these 250,000 claims by their applicable 

deadline to adjudicate them all by January 28, 2026, the Department would 

need to onboard approximately three hundred attorneys at a cost of 

$56.0 million and have them work exclusively on these applications for a full 

year. If the Department does not hire additional staff, we estimate that a 

significant share of the unadjudicated applications, representing several billion 

dollars of loan amounts, could end up being automatically discharged.

In fiscal year 2024, the Department requested $21.0 million to adjudicate 

certain applications covered by the Sweet settlement whose claims need a 

decision by January 2026. That amount reflected the annual need that would 

have to be sustained to meet the deadlines in the Sweet settlement over a 

three-year period. These investments have been delayed as FSA has been 

operating under flat funding since fiscal year 2022. Therefore, the increase for 

fiscal year 2025 reflects the shorter timeframe for adjudicating claims.

Borrower Defense also requests $0.6 million for the required instruction for 

executing the Sweet Settlement for new employees. Training needs include 

in-person sessions for new hires, intensive regional trainings for attorneys, 

and periodic supervisory trainings and leadership meetings to support the 

workstreams necessary to enable Borrower Defense attorneys to meet the 

Department’s obligations under the settlement.

2. Borrower Defense Technology Infrastructure (BD): $2.3 million

These funds support the development and operation of systems needed to 

adjudicate borrower defense applications, including ensuring that the 

borrower defense applications and adjudication technology comply with 

applicable regulations and settlement obligations. In fiscal year 2025, the 

Borrower Defense Group will need to continue to update and maintain its 

adjudication platform and, if the 2023 regulation is enjoined permanently, 

create a set of new coded applications, and update its adjudication platform to 

conform with that new application. The Borrower Defense Group will also 

need to pay operation and maintenance costs for COD, which hosts the 

automated notification process, and the Group will need to create new COD 

notice forms for each new type of notification that needs to be sent.

3. Enforcement Operations and Enhancements: $1.9 million

The Enforcement Operations and Enhancements initiatives supports the 

development of technology and information systems needed by Enforcement. 

Currently, Enforcement information management is comprised of Excel 

spreadsheets, SharePoint folders, and siloed information in disparate 
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systems used by Enforcement business units. The Office of Enforcement 

does not have a centralized database or the ability to look up a school to 

determine which, if any, of the Enforcement business units may have ongoing 

or previous work relating to a school. The fiscal year 2025 request will support 

development of a system to track Enforcement matters; to compile and 

maintain data and documents relating to internal and external investigations 

and actions relating to schools; and to track information, data, and metrics 

that will be utilized in a robust risk model. The request includes resources for 

a case management and workflow system for Investigations, improved 

professional tools for monitoring complaints, and systems for fact-finding and 

evidence management for borrower defense. The Enforcement Operations 

initiative supports the organization’s ability to use a risk-based approach to 

prioritizing work by focusing on schools that create the highest risk to 

borrowers and taxpayers. Additionally, the system will contain performance 

data and dashboards to support strategic planning by Enforcement managers 

and supervisors as well as reporting capabilities that currently must be 

compiled manually. Lastly, the Office of Enforcement cannot operate without 

funding for Department of Justice’s e-Discovery system and Westlaw, which 

Enforcement uses to review, analyze, and organize large document 

productions relating to investigations and borrower defense claims, and 

research applicable law and prior conduct of schools for investigations and 

borrower defense.

Personnel Compensation and Benefits (PC&B), Overhead and Other Non-FSA Activities: 

$495.2 million

PC&B: $352.6 million

The Administration’s request for SAA in fiscal year 2025 includes $352.6 million in PC&B, an 

increase of $26.3 million and 76 FTE above the 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 

2023 appropriation, to support a total of 1,691 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE). This total consists of 

1,525 FTE for FSA, including an increase of 59 FTE for Unified Servicing and Data Solution 

(USDS), budget and acquisition staff, oversight, and borrower defense adjudication, and 10 FTE 

for the newly created FSA Digital Services Team. The increase also supports a 2.0 percent pay 

raise, projected benefit increases, awards, and overtime.

Of the 1,691 requested FTE, 166 FTE work outside of FSA and perform student-aid related 

activities in the Department of Education in the Office of Finance and Operations, the Office of 

Chief Information Officer, Office of the General Counsel, Office of Postsecondary Education, 

Office of the Under Secretary, and the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development. 

This represents an increase of 7 FTE more than the 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal 

year 2023 appropriation; these additional FTE will largely be used to improve policy analysis of 

federal student aid programs, perform accreditation work, and help respond to an increasing 

volume of Freedom of Information Act requests.
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Office of the Chief Economist

In fiscal year 2022 the Department announced the creation of the first ever Chief Economist role 

within the Office of the Under Secretary. The Chief Economist works with experts in the Office of 

the Chief Data Officer, the Institute of Education Sciences, Budget Service, and Federal Student 

Aid to:

• Provide the best-possible analysis and advice to guide real-time policymaking;

• Provide advanced data analytic support other ED offices, including FSA’s Enforcement 

Office, the Office for Civil Rights, etc.;

• Conduct rigorous research to build evidence for policy aimed at improving ED programs and 

further key elements of the Department’s learning agenda;

• Build a culture of experimentation, including partnerships with leading social science 

researchers to pilot-test new ways to serve students and borrowers; and

• Serve as a liaison to the research community so that leading researchers’ insights and 

evidence inform our agenda and we can work together to build the evidence and research 

base on how best to strengthen education.

Since it was established, the Office of the Chief Economist has primarily been staffed with shortterm, unpaid positions including fellowships, IPAs, and internships. Hiring external experts and 

academic researchers on short-term IPA positions helps flexibly recruit staff with advanced 

skillsets and deep technical expertise in areas aligned with current policy needs. But a 

foundation of career staff is a necessary addition to provide consistent support for other offices, 

provide institutional memory for ED programs and data resources, and to help temporary IPA 

staff to be productive by overcoming the steep learning curves and complexities involved in 

analyzing ED’s vast administrative data that are used in the Office’s work. The Administration’s 

2025 request for this office is $1.5 million, an increase of roughly $1.0 million over a fiscal year 

2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. This level of funding would 

support a full-time staff of 7 FTE, along with additional non-pay funding to support additional 

staff resources via temporary Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignments.

Digital Services Team

The fiscal year 2025 request also includes an increase of 10 FTE for the newly created FSA

Digital Services Team. The team will be managed by an FSA leader with deep knowledge of

FSA systems, as well as the needs of students, parents, borrowers, and partners. This

investment in digital service experts will help FSA deliver simple, seamless, and secure services

with the user experience as the driver. This integrated team will have some mix of the following

competencies: engineering (software, business process, test), product management, design

(service, interaction, user experience), data analysis, and independent verification and

validation analysis. These specialists will work on initiatives directly impacting tens of millions of

students and borrowers, as well as thousands of school partners. As FSA moves the front-end

borrower experience from loan servicers to StudentAid.gov and centralizes the partner
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experience through Partner Connect, FSA believes a new approach is necessary. FSA has

made great progress modernizing its systems and must now to modernize its workforce to

match the technology. During fiscal year 2024, FSA will identify a working group to fully develop

the plan for the team, including recruitment strategies and timelines.

Overhead and Other Non-FSA Activities: $142.6 million

The SAA account also provides funding to non-FSA offices to support FSA’s mission and the 

management of the student aid programs. It includes funds for departmental support activities, 

such as central computer services and financial management system operations, rent, and 

other overhead. It also includes activities carried out in other offices, such as the annual 

financial audit of FSA, negotiated rulemaking, and budgetary cost estimation.

The total request in fiscal year 2025 for these activities is $142.6 million, $12 million above the 

2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation, primarily for increases in the 

enterprise cybersecurity program.

Rent: $10.8 million

Rent payments to the General Services Administration for FSA-occupied space will total 

$10.8 million for fiscal year 2025, $3.2 million less than the 2024 annualized CR based on the 

fiscal year 2023 appropriation. The Department has been engaged in a multi-year effort to 

reduce space, including consolidating FSA space in the Union Center Plaza building into the 

Lyndon Baines Johnson Headquarters Building (LBJ).

Centralized Information Technology: $63.0 million

Combined funding for central computer services and telecommunications will total $63.0 million 

in fiscal year 2025, an increase of $9 million above the 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal 

year 2023 appropriation. This increase is primarily for enterprise cybersecurity programs. For 

more information on this effort, please refer to the Program Administration narrative.

Centralized Support: $56.8 million

Other non-pay central support services, including background investigations, business support

systems, guard services, security, and departmental training and development courses, will total 

$56.8 million in fiscal year 2025, an increase of $7.4 million above the 2024 annualized CR 

based on the fiscal year 2023 appropriation. The increase is mostly for contracts and grants 

systems modernization as well as background investigations. For more information on these 

modernization efforts, please refer to the Program Administration narrative.
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Student Loan Modeling Investment: $2.3 million

One key activity managed by the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development1 is 

Student Loan Modeling. As mentioned previously, the Administration is requesting 4 additional 

FTE including the development of two new branch chiefs within CEAD to help bolster this 

function. In addition, the fiscal year 2025 Request includes $2.2 million in non-pay funding, a 

$0.2 million decrease from the 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal 2023 appropriation. The 

Student Loan Modeling investment provides support for developing cost estimates and 

budgetary impacts of student loan policies affecting the $1.6 trillion current portfolio. Given the 

magnitude of the portfolio, improving the accuracy of the cost estimates of the student loan 

programs is vitally important. The Department’s financial reporting, informed policy making, and 

effective monitoring of Government borrowing by Treasury all rely on accurate cost estimates. 

This investment is critical for the projection of future cost estimates and will support 1) continued

development of a borrower-based microsimulation student loan cost model, 2) validation 

support for credit models and 3) ongoing support of the current student loan model. Student 

Loan Modeling is comprised of the following:

Microsimulation Model Development

To estimate student loan costs more accurately, provide more detailed analysis of program 

effects, and better inform student loan policy, this investment aims to develop and implement a 

borrower-based microsimulation model. This model will consist of multiple components, most 

significantly the Servicer Emulator, which will process borrower and loan events to calculate 

cash flows, and the Event Generator, which will simulate borrower and loan events. Full 

development of this model is expected to be highly complex and rely on a combination of 

Department, interagency and vendor support. The Department expects the microsimulation 

model to be fully operational in fiscal year 2026 for the fiscal year 2028 Budget.

• Servicer Emulator: The Department currently has an interagency agreement with the 

Department of Treasury to develop a borrower-based (i.e., microsimulation) cash flow 

model, otherwise known as the Servicer Emulator. The Servicer Emulator portion of the 

model replicates the events and actions that occur during the life of a loan. The fiscal year 

2025 request of $640,000 will be used to fund the agreement to continue development of 

the model.

• Event Generator: In fiscal year 2020, the Department awarded a contract for the 

Microsimulation Event Generator. The design phase of this project was completed in fiscal 

year 2022. The implementation phase commenced in 2022 and is funded through fiscal year 

2024. The contractor has reviewed the existing student loan model and assumptions, 

evaluated potential data sources, and has developed several of the Event Generator’s 

modules.

1 Within OPEPD, the Office of Budget Service, Cost Estimation and Analysis Division is responsible for developing 

full-cost estimates for the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL), and Ford Direct Student Loan 

(FDSL) programs.
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The fiscal year 2024 request of $462,423 and fiscal year 2025 request of $350,000 funds 

training and technical support for the event generator microsimulation model development.

Model Validation

The Department engages with an independent vendor to provide validation of its student loan 

models. Vendor support has been used to review modeling methodology changes to the 

collection assumption; PSLF modeling; and updates to the IDR model. The specific credit 

models validated are determined on a priority basis using an assessment of model risk. Planned 

work for fiscal year 2025 continues review of the IDR model and the microsimulation servicer 

emulator, and additional assumptions based on updates made in fiscal year 2024. The fiscal 

year 2025 request is $626,413.

Technical Support

The Student Loan Modeling investment request for fiscal year 2025 also includes $661,000 for 

continued support of the current student loan cash flow model, server maintenance and 

upgrades necessary to house the models, accompanying data and IT administrative support.

Other Non-FSA Activities: $9.7 million

Other non-FSA activities, including negotiated rulemaking, College Scorecard support, 

centralized financial reporting support, and data collection, will total $9.7 million in fiscal year 

2025, $1.2 million less than the 2024 annualized CR based on the fiscal year 

2023 appropriation.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, 

program goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of 

the progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of program results is based 

on the cumulative effect of the Federal resources provided for the program as well as the 

resources and efforts invested by those served by the program. At the beginning of fiscal year

2023, FSA released the sStrategic Plan will serve as the basis for fiscal year 2024-2025 

performance measure and targets.

Strategic Goal 1: Improve Customer Service and Outcomes for Students and Borrowers

FSA intends to outperform the standard for excellent customer service by transforming our 

organization, enhancing borrower outcomes, and collectively keeping the promise to improve 

opportunities for students and families to make informed decisions on financial aid for college 

and student loan repayment. These improvements will provide superior customer experience, 

resulting in positive repayment outcomes and reduced defaults.

Strategic Objective 1.1: Simplify the student loan repayment process to reduce future 

delinquency and default rates and improve accessibility of loan forgiveness programs.
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Performance Indicator 1.1.A: Number of borrowers that received loan forgiveness.

Indicator Definition: This performance indicator measures the number of total borrowers who 

receive loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Borrower 

Defense, Total and Permanent Disability (TPD), and Income-drive Repayment (IDR) Programs.

Fiscal Year Target Actual

2023 Baseline 1.32 million

2024 2% above baseline (1.35 million) --

2025 3% above baseline (1.36 million) --

Analysis of Progress:

FSA implemented customer and stakeholder outreach that provided repayment options and 

loan forgiveness information to better inform students and borrowers, resulting in positive 

repayment outcomes and reduced defaults. Outreach included:

• The FSA team introduced Always-on email campaigns, such as Targeted Early Delinquency 

Intervention (TEDI), Third-Party Debt Relief (TPDR) scam intervention, and borrower risk at 

the time of disbursement, aimed to reduce future delinquency and default.

• Direct to Discharge (D2D) and PSLF Account Adjustments were created, leading to full 

forgiveness for many borrowers and additional months of credit toward forgiveness for many 

others.

• Supported regular discussions with policymakers at the Department, OMB, and Congress 

with analysis and modeling on options for the repayment process.

• Multiple email and short message service (SMS) outreach campaigns we executed, focusing 

on PSLF, return to repayment, Fresh Start, auto-debit, Supreme Court decision, and IDR 

plans, including the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan.

Performance Indicator 1.1.C: Percentage of borrowers submitting applications through the PSLF 

Help Tool.

Indicator Definition: This performance indicator measures the percentage of borrowers that start 

and complete the PSLF Help Tool by generating a PSLF form.

Fiscal Year Target Actual

2023 Maintain or Increase 60.5%

2024 Maintain or increase --

2025 Maintain or increase --

Analysis of Progress:

FSA continues to implement various enhancements that will provide an improved customer 

experience for students and borrowers, resulting in positive repayment outcomes and reduced 
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defaults. The PSLF Help Tool, available on StudentAid.gov, helps borrowers determine whether 

they are eligible for PSLF, apply for forgiveness, and certify employment. Previously, borrowers 

would need to use the PSLF Help Tool to determine their eligibility; print and sign the PSLF 

Form & Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF) Certification & Application Form; have one or 

more employers sign the paper form; and submit the completed form by mail, fax, or by 

uploading their form to the PSLF servicer portal if their loans were already assigned to 

MOHELA. For the first time, borrowers can fully complete the PSLF application process digitally 

with the help of the new digital signature and submission components of the PSLF Help Tool.

The redesigned tool allows borrowers to:

• sign and submit the PSLF Form digitally on StudentAid.gov;

• identify employers that need to sign their PSLF Form and send requests for e-signature via 

DocuSign;

• track the status of their PSLF Form in their account’s Status Center; and

• digitally sign and submit PSLF forms for processing and provides automatic updates to a 

borrower’s progress with the PSLF program.

FSA updated the PSLF Help Tool to increase transparency for borrowers and streamline the 

employer review process for the PSLF Servicer when an employer’s eligibility changed over 

time. With the introduction of the new 'Split' employer eligibility status in the PSLF Help Tool, the 

Digital Platform will now display 'Undetermined' eligibility statuses for users whose period of 

employment overlaps with an undetermined period. This new view will show borrowers the 

periods of their employment that are inapplicable towards their PSLF qualification.

On November 1, 2022, the Department published final new regulations governing PSLF in the 

Direct Loan program. These regulatory changes included updates to the application process, 

definitions for full-time employment, qualifying employers, and qualifying monthly payments.

On July 1, 2023, these new regulations for PSLF became effective and FSA’s implementation 

efforts included updating processes, procedures, systems, and information for borrowers on 

these changes.

In efforts to expand access to loan forgiveness to more borrowers, the limited PSLF waiver 

opportunity was introduced in fiscal year 2022 on October 6, 2021, and ended on 

October 31, 2022. The Department announced a change to the PSLF program rules for a 

limited time waiver utilizing the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solution 

Act (HEROES Act). The “limited PSLF waiver” refers to the time-limited policy changes to PSLF 

Program rules that allow borrowers to receive credit for past periods of repayment that would 

otherwise not qualify for PSLF. Beginning November 1, 2022, the “normal” program 

requirements resumed for PSLF and TEPSLF. In fiscal year 2023, FSA implemented wind down 

efforts for the limited PSLF waiver with procedures, processes, updates to borrower 

communications, and reporting. While the limited PSLF waiver ended on October 31, 2022, 

borrowers are still receiving updates to their PSLF payment counts and forgiveness as PSLF 
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forms are processed. Showing approximately a 30 percent increase from fiscal year 2021 to 

fiscal year 2023, the Department has met its objective to increase borrowers’ access to loan 

forgiveness. As of December 31, 2023, the total number of borrowers who received forgiveness 

from the PSLF Waiver was 720,000. The value of this forgiveness totaled $49.7 billion. When 

including the TEPSLF and PSLF categories of discharges, the value of forgiveness exceeded 

$57.4 billion and included 801,000 borrowers, as of December 31, 2023.

The limited PSLF waiver period caused a significant increase in the traditional Help Tool 

initiation volume. In addition, with the introduction of PSLF e-signature and digital submission 

during fiscal year 2023, FSA expects to see a continued increase in users who access the PSLF 

Help Tool and complete a PSLF form. The introduction of the e-signature and submission 

process has been the key driver in the increase for fiscal year 2023.

Strategic Objective 1.2: Enhance the quality of contact center and loan servicing operations, 

leveraging data to assess progress toward customer service and product delivery standards.

Performance Indicator 1.2.A: Percentage of contractor interactions reviewed that received a 

passing score.

Indicator Definition: The performance indicator measures the percentage of contractor 

interactions that are reviewed and receive a passing score as defined in their Service Level 

Agreements (SLAs).1

Fiscal Year Target Actual

2023 Baseline 98.1%

2024 ≥95% --

2025 ≥95% --

Analysis of Progress:

In late fiscal year 2021, several loan servicers informed FSA that they would not continue their 

student loan servicing past their current contracts. This meant that a significant portion of the 

Direct Loan portfolio would transfer to new servicers. The FSA’s Vender Oversight Group (VOG) 

was responsible for providing oversight for this process and focused on loan transfer reviews in 

fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

In fiscal year 2023, VOG finalized remediation plans for millions of student loans that were 

transferred (automated and manual) and closed out the transfers in September 2023. The 

oversight reviews were finalized in fiscal year 2023, and more than 500 transfer related issues 

were identified, remediated, and closed. VOG notified servicers of the final status through final 

reports.

1 The SLAs are contractual required performance criteria agreed upon by FSA vendors. These performance 

measures are intended to motivate vendors to provide high levels of service for FSA’s customers. They also facilitate 

FSA in holding vendors accountable when performance falls short of expectations.
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In preparation of borrowers returning to repayment status, VOG conducted more than 900 

secret shopper calls. Secret shopper calls involve VOG staff calling servicing call centers to ask 

representatives questions related to program changes, such as IDR plans and the new SAVE 

program, direct discharge on IDR and PSLF, along with other topics germane to return to 

repayment. Meeting SLA standards, VOG shared the 98.1% performance results of the secret 

shopper calls with the FSA internal stake holders as well as the servicers. Additionally, targeted 

monitoring reviews of SLAs were implemented in fiscal year 2022 and effectuated in fiscal year

2023.

Strategic Goal 2: Advance Equity and Access to Student Financial Assistance

Each year, FSA helps millions of Americans achieve their education dreams. Access to student 

aid is central to FSA’s mission: Funding America’s Future, One Student at a Time. Advancing 

equity and access to financial assistance options will help eligible students and families gain the 

benefits of education and training beyond high school.

Strategic Objective 2.2: Simplify the FAFSA process.

Performance Indicator 2.2.A: Customer satisfaction survey score associated with completing the 

FAFSA form.

Indicator Definition: This performance Indicator measures the applicant’s satisfaction with 

completing the FAFSA form.

Fiscal Year Target Actual

2023 78 80

2024 Maintain or Increase --

2025 Maintain or Increase --

Analysis of Progress:

Getting students, parents, and counselors around the country focused on increasing 

completions of the FAFSA form for the 2023–2024 academic year remains a top priority for 

FSA. Whether a student is attending a traditional four-year college or university, enrolling in a 

community college, or opting for a trade or vocational certification, the FAFSA form should be 

the first step forward for every high school senior in the United States. FSA encouraged highschool seniors and their families to complete the 2023–2024 FAFSA form by working with 

individual states, counselors, mentors, and college access professionals on initiatives.

FSA posted social media posts related to the FAFSA form and published other digital content 

including helpful articles on StudentAid.gov. FSA engaged local media outlets to raise 

awareness about the importance of completing the FAFSA form.

Through customer listening sessions, questions from customers via Aidan (chatbot), and survey 

responses, which are collected after completing the FAFSA form, FSA heard loudly that 

customers were struggling to find their Student Aid Report (SAR). As a result, FSA moved the 

“View SAR” button to be the first option on the My FAFSA page. Additional changes made as a 
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result of customer listening sessions include changing the order of the "Renew My FAFSA 

Form" and "Start a New FAFSA Form" buttons, making it more intuitive to renew the form, 

ensuring that unauthenticated users have a better user experience by providing a more direct 

route to the FAFSA form once they have logged in, and providing additional guidance to 

students who are experiencing housing insecurity on how to apply for federal aid.

Strategic Objective 2.3: Provide accurate, seamless, easy, and customized interactions 

throughout the student aid lifecycle.

Performance Indicator 2.3.A: StudentAid.gov Digital Satisfaction.

Indicator Definition: This performance Indicator measures customers’ overall satisfaction with 

StudentAid.gov.

Fiscal Year Target Actual

2023 Maintain or Increase (66) 721

2024 Maintain or Increase --

2025 Maintain or Increase --

Analysis of Progress:

FSA has continued to monitor and improve the customer channels across the student aid 

lifecycle. The customer channels include StudentAid.gov, business process operations (BPO) 

vendors, and Marketing Communications Platform (MCP). FSA continued to consolidate and 

improve services on StudentAid.gov, make data-informed improvements to BPO operations, 

and deliver key customer outreach campaigns and communications at scale. By leveraging 

insights based on available data (as well as customer listening and usability research), FSA has 

been able to make informed decisions on features and communications.

FSA expects to meet or exceed indicators 2.3.A and 2.3.D (below) in the following year based 

on improvements that have been made to key customer flows in fiscal year 2023, such as the 

IDR application and loan consolidation application. The Email Campaign Helpfulness consisted 

of high priority and time sensitive communications. FSA informed borrowers on updates and 

reminders regarding returning to repayment, IDR plans, debt relief, and key information that 

may be relevant to our students, parents, and borrowers.

StudentAid.gov and the products it supports leverage customer feedback through surveys, 

usability testing, and other mechanisms to inform improvements. In fiscal year 2023, many 

1 For 2.3.A, FSA will still ask customers for their satisfaction on a 5-point scale in the system; however, for reporting purposes, FSA 

will then convert the score to 0-100 using the following formula: Formula: x = ((Y/100)*4) + 1 x = 1-5 scale# Formula: Y = ((x - 

1)/4)*100 Y = 0-100 scale#. The FY 2022 converted version will be 66. Based on the converted score, FSA met the target for FY 

2023.
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enhancements were made to StudentAid.gov, which improved the user experience. The 

following are some highlights:

• Updated the PSLF Help Tool to provide borrowers with e-signature and submission 

functionality.

• Released new IDR application that integrates with IRS’ Federal Tax information capability 

and supports borrower enrollment in the new SAVE IDR plan.

• Provided borrowers with the ability to view the status of their IDR application, loan 

consolidation application, and PSLF form in their Dashboard and My Activity.

• Improved website navigation.

• Delivered more than 120 smaller improvements.

As a result of these improvements, StudentAid.gov saw a significant improvement in its digital 

satisfaction score from last year increasing from 66 to 72, and it maintained its high post 

transaction satisfaction score.

Performance Indicator 2.3.D: Email Campaign Helpfulness.

Indicator Definition: This performance indicator measures the helpfulness of FSA’s email 

campaigns as rated by customers who receive campaign emails.

Fiscal Year Target Actual

2023 Baseline 79

2024 Maintain or Increase --

2025 Maintain or Increase --

Analysis of Progress:

One of the main priorities for the Marketing and Communications Team was debt relief and 

return to repayment information. FSA informed its borrowers with updates and reminders 

regarding debt relief, as well as the pages and information that may be relevant to the students, 

parents, and borrowers. FSA had several opportunities to use actionable customer feedback to 

make improvements to email by incorporating and clarifying relevant information for the 

borrowers regarding repayment information. Based on borrower feedback, the main 

improvements would be to increase personalization and segmentation of communications.

FSA sent out several communications promoting the renewal of FAFSA applications for the 

fiscal year. One of the top goals for the communications is to increase the awareness of the 

2023–24 FAFSA, as well as encourage borrowers to complete the form.

An additional opportunity in the future is seasonality of FAFSA campaigns beyond the fall and 

winter student aid deadlines. FSA sent one campaign in spring 2023, which may have been too 

late given that major state deadlines had passed. One way for improvement, is to align the 
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spring renewal of their FAFSA form with major deadlines to encourage and remind borrowers to 

renew their FAFSA if they have not already.

Strategic Goal 3: Strengthen Engagement and Accountability for Educational and 

Financial Institutions 

FSA achieves its mission of funding America’s future with the assistance of participating 

educational and financial institutions. In addition to overseeing compliance with Title IV program 

laws and program rules, training and technical assistance is provided to schools, third-party 

servicers, and financial institutions to support their compliance efforts.

Strategic Objective 3.1: Utilize a comprehensive suite of monitoring tools to oversee 

participating partners.

Performance Indicator 3.1.A: Review for participating partners that have been provisionally 

certified.

Indicator Definition: This indicator measures the completion rate of comprehensive compliance 

reviews of provisionally certified institutions.

Fiscal Year Target Actual

2023 40.0%1 66.5%

2024 60% of participating partners --

2025 80% of participating partners --

Analysis of Progress:

To safeguard Title IV funds on behalf of students and taxpayers, FSA provides an effective, 

compliant student aid delivery process and a program of partner oversight and monitoring. 

These efforts are aimed at reducing program risks by monitoring the performance of 

participating partners such as schools, third-party servicers, and financial institutions, as well as 

assessing their compliance with program participation requirements. FSA performs this 

oversight by using a comprehensive suite of monitoring tools to review participating partner 

compliance. The expansive set of monitoring tools includes:

• Title IV compliance audit reviews and resolutions

• Institution financial health ratio analyses and periodic financial reporting reviews

• Title IV program reviews encompassing assessments of administrative capability, policies, 

and procedures

1 FSA Partner Participation Oversight has revised the calculations of comprehensive reviews to include additional 

data quality checks to ensure unduplicated count of participating institutions. Due to this change in the calculation, the 

FY 2023 target was adjusted down to account for any potential margin of error.
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• Calculation and distribution of cohort default rates

• Comprehensive Compliance Reviews (CCRs)

FSA far exceeded the fiscal year 2023 annual target goal for completing CCRs on at least 40 

percent of provisionally certified partners during the first year of the FY 2023-27 Strategic Plan

period. FSA’s strong performance provided a pathway so that more than 65 percent of 

provisionally certified partners received a CCR during fiscal year 2023. FSA maintained greater 

attention and focus on its provisionally certified partners as these institutions may pose greater 

risk. This result also provides a margin against potential adversity in future fiscal years while 

FSA:

• deploys new enabling technologies and implements new regulations;

• launches new programs and capabilities to deliver additional types of Title IV oversight such 

as for the proposed Gainful Employment regulations;

• navigates challenging shortfalls in requested appropriations and staffing levels; and

• manages staffing challenges related to retirements and other planned change within the 

Department.

Strategic Objective 3.2: Build enforcement capabilities, in coordination with federal and state 

partners to protect students, families, and taxpayers from deceptive, fraudulent, or harmful 

practices in the student aid marketplace.

Performance Indicator 3.2.A: Build and implement an FSA Enforcement Strategy that 

incorporates a risk model for identifying schools that pose risk to students and taxpayers.

Indicator Definition: Identify and provide a Strategic Plan to guide and inform the work and 

priorities of the Enforcement Office.

Fiscal Year Target Actual

2023 Develop Strategic Plan Enforcement Strategic Plan 

completed

2024 Implement Strategic Plan --

2025 Update and Maintain Strategic Plan --

Analysis of Progress:

Since FSA established an independent Office of Enforcement (Enforcement) in 2021, 

Enforcement has been proactively working to build additional investigative and enforcement 

capabilities to bolster oversight of schools and their service providers. The goal of these efforts 

is to identify and address conduct that is deceptive, fraudulent, or otherwise violates the laws 

and regulations governing the Title IV program, and that imposes significant costs on students, 

families, and taxpayers. The stand-alone Enforcement Office includes the Borrower Defense 
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Group (BDG), the Investigations Group (Investigations), the Administrative Actions and Appeals 

Service Group (AAASG), and the Resolution and Referral Management Group (RRMG).

Enforcement is responsible for certain FSA core work, including certain statutory, regulatory, 

judicially, and otherwise-required duties and functions. This includes proper and timely 

resolution of student complaints (through RRMG), initiation and timely resolution of 

investigations where appropriate (through Investigations), proper and timely resolution of 

referrals for adverse and administrative actions (through AAASG), and proper and timely 

resolution of borrower defense applications (through BDG).

In addition, Enforcement developed and is implementing a strategic plan in fiscal year 2024 to 

inform the build of the office. This plan includes five strategic imperatives including:

• BUILD: Build and grow a robust, dedicated, and modern Enforcement Office within FSA, 

capable of meeting the demands of the ever-changing higher education community and risk 

landscape.

• PROTECT: Develop and employ the full range of Enforcement’s authorities to deter 

predatory institutional and individual misconduct, strengthen oversight of high-risk 

institutions, improve institutional and individual accountability, and provide resolution or 

relief, where appropriate, for those harmed by predatory misconduct.

• PRIORITIZE AND MODERNIZE: Efficiently utilize resources and prioritize activities through 

the use of modern technology and data-driven approaches to our work.

• PARTNER: Maximize and share resources, capabilities, and expertise through partnership 

and collaboration, including within Enforcement, FSA, and the Department and with other 

state/federal enforcement agencies and partners.

• COMMUNICATE: Enhance communication and transparency of Enforcement’s authorities 

and activities with the public, policymakers, the higher education community, and other 

stakeholders.

In addition to developing a strategic plan, Enforcement has completed several initiatives in 

support of the plan’s strategic imperatives including:

Build:

• Enforcement onboarded 26 new staff in fiscal year 2023.

• Enforcement implemented a plan to update policies and procedures that guide the office’s

work.

Protect:

• Enforcement opened new investigations into schools and their service providers where risk 

indicators suggested potential violations.
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• Enforcement developed a robust suite of investigative tools, including a secret shopper 

program and a tip line.

• Enforcement developed findings to support BDG discharges and common findings related to 

schools.

Prioritize and Modernize:

• Enforcement developed a data-driven model to assess risk of violations that could impose 

significant harm to students, families, and taxpayers.

• Enforcement integrated FSA complaint data into its risk scoping.

Partner:

• Enforcement strengthened FSA’s relationships with federal and state partners, including the 

Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of 

Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, and state attorneys general through the Principles 

of Excellence Working Group pursuant to Executive Order 13607, Establishing Principles of 

Excellence for Educational Institutions Serving Service Members, Veterans, Spouses, and 

Other Family Members. 

• Enforcement entered information sharing agreements with partners, where appropriate and 

supported by a common interest in investigations of potential legal, regulatory, and 

contractual violations arising under agencies’ respective authorities.

Communicate:

• Enforcement updated the Borrower Defense webpage with substantive information about 

the borrower defense application and process to help potentially impacted borrowers 

understand how to file an application. 

• Enforcement issued four public bulletins in fiscal year 2023.

o The first bulletin announced a new avenue for knowledgeable sources to submit tips and 

information directly to the Enforcement Office about potential violations of the laws and 

regulations governing the federal student aid programs.

o The second bulletin announced that FSA will use secret shoppers as an additional tool 

to monitor schools’ Title IV compliance. Secret shoppers will evaluate recruitment, 

enrollment, financial aid, and schools’ other practices to help identify potentially 

deceptive or predatory practices used to recruit and enroll students.

o The third bulletin clarified that nondisclosure agreements that prohibit or limit employee 

communication with the Department violate Title IV regulations.

o The fourth bulletin reminded schools to ensure programs are properly accredited before 

disbursing funds.
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Strategic Goal 4: Increase Workforce and Workplace Capabilities

In any industry or sector, an organization’s most important asset is its talent. FSA strives to be a 

model federal employer, creating an environment where individuals maximize their potential and 

teams collectively move the agency forward. Achieving FSA’s mission requires attracting, 

developing, and retaining a skilled and agile workforce. The agency remains committed to 

investing in the knowledge, skills, and abilities of each of its employees. Diversity, equity, 

inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are foundational to this effort.

Strategic Objective 4.1: Promote workplace diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Performance Indicator 4.1.A: Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey – DEIA Index

Indicator Definition: The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey DEIA Index (formerly New 

Inclusion Quotient Index) measures inclusive environments. Includes items related to Habits of 

Inclusion: Empowering, Fair, and Supportive.

Fiscal Year Target Actual

2023 Baseline 73%

2024 Maintain or increase by 1% (74%) --

2025 Maintain or increase by 1% (75%) --

Analysis of Progress:

Organizations with strong diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives are 

more likely to have employees that are more engaged, with higher levels of trust, and increased 

job satisfaction while also improving work productivity. FSA is committed to attracting, retaining, 

and developing a workforce that is representative of the communities it serves, and creating 

more positive experiences for employees, customers, and stakeholders. In fiscal year 2023, 

FSA took the following steps toward meeting this objective:

• In alignment with Executive Order 14035, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the 

Federal Workforce and the Department’s strategic plan, FSA hired a DEIA Director to lead 

its DEIA efforts.

• In fiscal year 2023, there were four monthly special emphasis programs that focused on 

Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian-American Pacific Islander Month and 

Pride Month.

• Workforce Development Division developed the Power Users Learning Series for 

Employees (PULSE) Program to provide staff with the necessary tools and strategies to 

close skill gaps using a peer-to-peer learning approach.

• Initiated the FSA VOICE program. The intent of the program is to provide a platform for 

employees to voice their opinions, innovative ideas, and responses to some Federal 

Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) questions to continue to improve the efficiency and 

effectiveness of operations in the agency.
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FSA ranks above the Government-wide DEIA index of 71 percent but fell below the 76 percent 

benchmark for medium-size agencies.

In the upcoming fiscal year, FSA will consult with the Department’s Chief Diversity Officer and 

OPM’s DEIA office to ensure initiatives are in alignment with the Department’s DEIA strategic 

plan and Executive Order 14035. The DEIA Director will collaborate with leadership, the Human 

Capital Group, the Workforce Development Division, across business units, and with Workforce 

Relations Division to engage the union to develop DEIA initiatives that promote an inclusive and 

diverse workplace that is equitable and accessible to all.

Strategic Objective 4.3: Foster an organizational culture that promotes a productive, connected, 

and engaged workforce, particularly in a hybrid workplace environment.

Performance Indicator 4.3.A: Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey: Employee Engagement 

Index

Indicator Definition: The Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Employee Viewpoint 

Survey measures employees' perceptions of whether, and to what extent, conditions and 

characteristics of successful organizations are present in their agencies. The Employee 

Engagement Index assesses the critical conditions conducive for employee engagement (e.g., 

effective leadership, work which provides meaning to employees, etc.) It is made up of three 

subfactors: Leaders Lead, Supervisors, and Intrinsic Work Experience.

Fiscal Year Target Actual

2023 Maintain or improve by 1% (73%) 75%

2024 Maintain or improve by 1% (76%) --

2025 Maintain or improve by 1% --

Analysis of Progress:

FSA remains committed to enabling its organizational success by working toward fostering an 

organizational culture that promotes a productive, connected, and engaged workforce in a 

hybrid workplace environment. In conjunction with creating an environment with the appropriate 

tools and programs for staff, FSA is also striving to foster and support a culture where all 

employees feel engaged, included, informed, and connected to its mission. In fiscal year 2023, 

FSA completed the Employee Engagement Action Plan, which focused on improving 

communications throughout the organization, recognizing employee accomplishments, and 

benchmarking employee engagement to promote a workplace conducive to productivity.

The FEVS is a key tool that can be used to measure employee engagement throughout the 

federal government, including FSA. The fiscal year 2022 FEVS results, 73 percent, were made 

available in December 2022. The data was used to develop and execute plans to improve 

employees’ engagement in the productivity and efficiency of the agency. Currently the agency is 

operating in a hybrid form. For this practice to succeed, FSA must remain focused on 

strengthening employee communication channels. Communication platforms provide 

information and feedback (e.g., The Source Employee Newsletter, which includes a new, 

regional feature; FSA First Class; Management Services Regional Liaison Newsletter; FSA 
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Communications emails). FSA developed a new program that combines FEVS focus groups 

and the innovation programs. The program was held this past spring with a total of 

205 participants in 21 focus groups. The VOICE Focus Groups have helped FSA leadership 

identify underlying problems and work toward forming solutions to create a productive, 

connected, and engaged workforce.

The target for Performance Indicator 4.3 A is an increase in the employee engagement score by 

1 percent, which would equate to 76 percent.

Strategic Goal 5: Boost Operational Efficiency

Efficient internal operations are essential to achieving FSA’s mission. As FSA strives to become 

more customer-centric and outcome-based, the organization will continue to focus on 

operational and process improvement. By modernizing technology, leveraging data analytics, 

and tracking organizational performance, FSA can serve as a model for federal management 

best practices. Boosting operational efficiency requires cross-agency collaboration on data, 

finances, technology, and acquisitions. Each business unit and every employee contribute to 

operational efficiency, and FSA aspires to fully capitalize on our organizational and individual 

capabilities.

Strategic Objective 5.1: Strengthen enterprise-wide data analytics and information management 

to foster a customer-centric, data-driven, performance-based organization.

Performance Indicator 5.1.A: Sum of the Data Maturity Assessment (DMA) for DMA Processing 

Areas

Indicator Definition: This performance indicator measures assessed scores of the 20 key data 

process areas in the Annual Data Maturity Assessment.

Fiscal Year Target Actual

2023 56 69

2024 58 --

2025 60 --

Analysis of Progress:

FSA’s score in the Department’s Annual Data Maturity Assessment (DMA) is administered by 

the Department’s Chief Data Officer for all Department principal offices. The DMA provides a 

comprehensive framework of data management practices organized into key categories that 

allows for the benchmarking of capabilities, the identification of strengths and gaps, and the 

leveraging of data assets to improve business performance. Conducting the DMA provides an 

understanding of data maturity relative to subsequent measurements. The DMA fulfills a critical 

role in driving data-driven decision-making and ensuring that data is effectively leveraged as a 

strategic asset.
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The process areas evaluated in the assessment vary; the most recently completed assessment 

covers 18 process areas within the following seven categories:

• Data Management Strategy and Oversight

• Data Quality

• Data Operations

• Data Management

• Systems and Architecture

• Knowledge and Skills

• Customer Support and Engagement

FSA’s DMA scores have improved every year since the internal assessments began in fiscal 

year 2020. Each year, FSA has improved DMA scores from 33 in fiscal year 2020 to 69 in fiscal 

year 2023 by focusing on the key data initiatives consistent with our priorities. The fiscal year 

2023 score of 69 is specifically attributed to the focus on ‘Data Quality’ (aligned with the Federal 

Processing System (FPS) initiative to standardize FAFSA demographic data, including 

personally identifiable information (PII), across Title IV systems).

Strategic Objective 5.4: Improve cybersecurity detection, prevention, and protection ensuring 

data confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Performance Indicator 5.4.A: Cybersecurity Maturity-Level (Office of Inspector General Maturity 

Levels)

Indicator Definition: This performance indicator measures an agency’s progress toward 

achieving outcomes that strengthen Federal cybersecurity.

Fiscal Year Target Actual

2023 60% at Level 3 or higher 100%

2024 70% at Level 3 or higher --

2025 80% at Level 3 or higher --

Analysis of Progress:

FSA’s commitment to cybersecurity enhances the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of 

student and borrower data. Upholding and enforcing rigorous cybersecurity standards enables 

FSA to better achieve its mission. Through a review of the cybersecurity posture of our 

information systems, FSA has adopted a phased approach to upgrading existing FSA systems 

to incorporate multi-factor authentication, block malicious/suspicious activity, and facilitate 

incident response. These changes are to better protect borrower data, prevent identity theft, and 

ensure continuity of service.

In fiscal year 2023, the Chief Information Officer led FSA’s activities that directly contributed to 

the Department’s highest ever Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) 

audit score, and FSA was one of only three Federal Agencies to receive an “A” on the most 

recent Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act scorecard.
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The OMB provided guidance to agency Inspector Generals or independent assessors for 

determining the maturity of their agencies’ security programs through the publication of the FY 

2023–2024 Inspector General FISMA Reporting indicators. According to the reporting 

indicators, “the OMB believes that achieving a Level 4 (managed and measurable)1 or above 

represents an effective level of security.

During fiscal year 2023, the Technology Directorate Cyber Operations Division led the way on

achieving advanced level 3 or higher by:

• Maintaining an average cybersecurity risk scorecard nearly 28 percent above the 

Department average, while securely operating 82 percent of the Departments High Value 

Assets. The scores validate the investment and resources that FSA expends to ensure its 

customers can access systems and their personal data is well protected.

• Heavily leveraged low code cloud solutions to automate business practices, provide better 

internal controls, increase management’s insight into critical activities, and reduce the 

resource requirements needed to ensure the successful delivery of IT and cybersecurity 

capabilities.

The fiscal year 2022 Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) audit was 

the first time in the history of the Department that an “effective” rating, which is the highest 

overall outcome for a cybersecurity program, was achieved. In FY23’s audit that rating was 

exceeded with another “effective” score and overall higher numeric scores than in prior years.

During fiscal year 2023, several major initiatives contributed to the effective score:

• FSA’s Technology Directorate started the Advanced Analysis Group (AAG) as a fusion 

concept to amplify the output of several competencies within the FSA Security Operations 

Center (SOC). AAG brings together senior cybersecurity subject matter experts, threat 

intelligence specialists, and threat hunt capabilities in a cooperative environment to create 

and share actionable cybersecurity intelligence across the FSA and school organizations.

• Addressing the Administration’s highest priority, President Biden’s one-time debt relief, the 

Cyber Operations Division was responsive to define the security architecture, perform pen 

testing, assist with issue resolution, and monitor the service after deployment. These 

technical solutions contributed to the success of the debt relief initiative, which allowed 25 

million borrowers to quickly submit relief forms from anywhere in the world. The debt relief 

application went live on October 21, 2022, but due to the Supreme Court decision

applications were suspended on November 11, 2022.

1 Level 4 – Managed and Measurable definition: Quantitative and qualitative measures on the effectiveness of 

policies, procedures, and strategies are collected across the organization and used to assess them and make 

necessary changes.
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Account Summary Table

Select here for the online version