Department of Education

SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Request

CONTENTS

Page

Introduction............................................................................................................................W-1

FY 2017 Budget Request.......................................................................................................W-2

Participation in Governmentwide E-Government Initiatives ....................................................W-8

Budget Authority by Account..................................................................................................W-9

Budget Authority by Object Classification.............................................................................W-10

Full-time Equivalent Employment by Account ......................................................................W-11

Full-time Equivalent Employment by Office..........................................................................W-12

Detail of Full-time Equivalent Employment...........................................................................W-13

Organization Chart...............................................................................................................W-14

Locations of Major Administrative Contractors .....................................................................W-15

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business.....................................W-16
SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

INTRODUCTION

This overview summarizes the administrative costs and staffing for all Department accounts. 

Departmental administrative costs and full-time equivalent (FTE) employment are supported in 

2017 from funding in the following accounts: Program Administration (PA), Office for Civil 

Rights (OCR), Office of Inspector General (OIG), College Housing and Academic Facilities 

Loans Program (CHAFL), Historically Black College and University Capital Financing Program 

(HBCUCF), Institute of Education Sciences (IES), and Student Aid Administration (SAA). 

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

each account’s justification materials.

Key programs administered by the Department include Title I of the Elementary and Secondary

Education Act (ESEA), for which the Department’s 2017 request would provide $15.4 billion to 

help approximately 24 million students in high-poverty schools make progress toward State 

academic standards; and $11.9 billion for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B 

Grants to States to help States and school districts meet the special education needs of 

6.7 million students with disabilities. Key programs also include Federal Pell Grants, which 

would make available $31.0 billion in need-based grants to 7.7 million students enrolled in 

postsecondary institutions; and the postsecondary student loan programs, which would help 

provide roughly $150 billion in new and consolidated Direct Loans to help students and families 

pay for college.

In addition to employees, operational activities necessary for the everyday work of the 

Department include expenses for:

• Facilities management, including rent for office space and guard services;

• Phone and computer network services;

• Operation and maintenance of the Department’s Web sites (e.g., www.ed.gov and 

www.studentaid.gov);

• Grants payment processing; and

• Program oversight and enforcement of education laws.

One of the most pressing current management concern is cybersecurity and protecting the 

personally identifiable information in the Department’s and its contractors’ Information 

Technology (IT) systems. But we also strive for continuous improvement in other key 

management areas. Specific management priorities in the 2017 request include:

• Information technology, including improving the capability to collect educational data and a 

continued focus on data security;

• Financial management, including projects designed to ensure accountability for 

departmental assets, improve grants management, and provide better financial data to 

managers;

• Continuing to reduce the Department’s office space footprint;

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

• Administering Pell Grants and improving the servicing of student loans;

• Use of evidence about program success and performance to inform decisionmaking and 

focus limited resources on programs that work, and to reform or eliminate programs that do 

not;

• Improving recruitment, retention, performance, and development of staff, informed by 

employee feedback on the Governmentwide Employee Viewpoint Survey;

• Improving the acquisition process through development of the acquisition workforce and 

reducing reliance on high-risk contract vehicles; and

• Continuing to improve timeliness in resolving internal and external audits.

The Department also uses an Organizational Performance Review to see what is working. 

Each year, offices establish priorities and rate themselves on achievements. An overall panel of 

executives reviews these offices, and the senior leadership finalizes ratings and gives 

constructive feedback.

In addition to these management priorities, the Department is working hard to maintain 

administrative efficiencies as directed in Executive Order 13589 and OMB Memorandum 

M-12-12. The FY 2017 budget request continues to reduce spending on travel, printing, 

supplies, and advisory assistance through a mix of technological efficiencies and strategic 

acquisition efforts. The following table provides percent changes for these areas from FY 2010.

Reductions in Spending by Category:

FY 2010 to FY 2017

(dollars in millions)

Category

2010 

Obligations

2017

Request

Percent Change 

from 2010

Travel $11.2 $9.3 -17%

Printing 5.1 2.5 -51

Supplies 1.7 1.1 -35

Advisory and Assistance 18.6 8.2 -56

Total 36.6 21.1 -42

FY 2017 BUDGET REQUEST

The 2017 total Salaries and Expenses discretionary budget request is $2.315 billion, 7 percent

more than the 2016 level. A summary of increases by funding account is provided on 

page W-9.

The requested 2017 increase focuses on key Departmental policy and management priorities. 

These include: net increase of 269 FTE; improvements to the Department’s IT security to 

ensure the integrity of Department of Education and student loan borrower data as well as to 

prevent potential IT security breaches; building modernization costs necessary to implement the 

Department’s multi-year strategy to lower rent costs by consolidating and reducing its space 

needs; more resources for loan servicing due to more borrowers and changes in the new loan 

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

servicing contract to improve the portfolio’s performance and improve the borrowers experience; 

costs associated with the transition from the current computer network services and Information 

Technology (IT) infrastructure contract (EDUCATE), which expires in November 2017, to a new 

contract; a proposed pay raise; and increases in benefits.

The requested 2017 increase also includes resources to implement InformED. InformED is the 

Department’s groundbreaking effort to transform how the Department makes information 

available—and actionable—for internal users and for the public, building on lessons learned 

from the new College Scorecard. The InformED initiative would apply these lessons across the 

education spectrum, from early childhood to adult education. With intuitive tools for 

decisionmaking tailored to different audiences, new InformED “information hubs” would pull 

together the Department’s diverse array of data and studies on a particular topic and allow open 

data access to unlock answers to pressing education questions and needs. The fiscal year 

2017 request includes funds to support enhancements to the current College Scorecard, 

creation of new InformED information hubs, support for U.S. Digital Services, and the 

infrastructure to support open-access and data management.

The following chart provides detail on the total Salaries and Expenses request of $2.315 billion 

by category.

STAFFING AND COSTS SUMMARY

Staffing

The Department’s programs and responsibilities have grown substantially over the past decade. 

Some of the growth has resulted from legislation that added responsibilities or changed 

requirements, including the SAFRA Act and 100 percent Direct Lending, the Workforce 

Innovation and Opportunity Act, the DATA Act, and the Federal Information Technology Reform 

Act. Carrying out the existing Higher Education Act and making sure institutions comply with 

regulations to protect student and taxpayer interests has meant more workload. Even the 

recently reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every 

Student Succeeds Act, which consolidates some authorities and alters others, will require work 

to establish rules and to provide assistance to State education agencies and local education 

Personnel

29%

Other Non-Personnel

4%

Overhead

(Rent & Mail) 3%

Non-SAA Contracts

6%

Student Aid 

Administration 

Contracts

58%

FY 2017 Salaries & Expenses Costs by Category

Contract costs account for most of the Salaries and Expenses budget.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

agencies to ensure a smooth transition to and implementation of the new statute. Other 

workload has increased as the Department strives to improve its oversight of its programs and 

data. For example, the OCR has seen a surge in discrimination complaints received; OIG and 

other external audits have resulted in more follow up; there has been a dramatic increase in the 

collection, use, and analysis of data; and the Department has placed a high priority on 

maintaining security of data systems and focusing on prudent financial and information 

technology management.

The Department has been careful to ensure that all its positions are dedicated to critical 

missions and has reorganized its staffing to ensure that its structure matches the priorities. The 

FY 2017 request includes funding for 4,538 FTE to provide an adequate level of personnel to 

address current workload demands. Requested FTE increases include 164 FTE for the OCR, 

84 FTE for Federal Student Aid (FSA), and 21 FTE for PA. Even with these increases for 

critical Departmental priorities, the requested FTE level for PA would still be lower than 2008.

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

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

FSA regional office staff conduct reviews of lenders, institutions, and guaranty agencies 

participating in student financial aid programs, and perform debt collection activities on 

defaulted student loans. OIG staff conduct audits and investigations of Department programs 

and operations. OCR staff investigate civil rights complaints and conduct civil rights compliance 

reviews.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Boston

New York City

Philadelphia

Washington, D.C.

Regional Offices

Field Offices

Location of the Department of Education 

Regional and Field Offices

Seattle

San

Francisco Denver

Kansas

City

Chicago

Atlanta

Dallas

Cleveland Sacramento

Long Beach

Puerto Rico Pembroke 

Pines

Pittsburgh

St. Paul

Austin

Phoenix

Nashville

Ann Arbor

Personnel and Non-Personnel Costs Summary

The budget request includes $677.0 million for personnel compensation and benefits. The 

request is an increase of $38.0 million from the 2016 level. Non-personnel costs cover such 

items as travel, rent, mail, telephones, utilities, printing, IT, contractual services, equipment, 

supplies, and other departmental services. The total budget for non-personnel activities in 2017 

is $1.6 billion, an increase of $118.0 million from the 2016 level. Fifty percent, or $59.5 million 

of the non-pay increase, is the result of higher Student Aid Administration servicing costs. 

Centralized Overhead and Technology

Departmental overhead expenses cover centralized support and administrative services for all 

program and staff offices. The funds are administered by the Office of Management. These 

services include rent, building alterations and repairs, lease renewal, training, supplies, mail, 

and physical security for buildings and personnel. A total of $165.6 million is requested for 

these costs in 2017, an increase of $27.9 million from the 2016 level. Major increases include 

the renovation of Department occupied buildings to help lower rent costs by reducing the overall 

space footprint, background investigations for additional hired employees requiring security 

clearances, physical security costs, and historically based cost escalations. The Department is 

expecting to achieve rent savings in 2017 after the Department reduces its footprint in 2016 by 

moving over 800 employees into smaller spaces. As a result of the move and greater reliance 

on telework, ED will no longer occupy space in three rented buildings. However, achieving 

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

additional annual savings of up to $15 million by 2019 will require more significant investment in 

modernizing and consolidating other Department space.

Information technology activities that comprise centralized IT services include computer 

operations, maintenance and improvements, local area network operations, initiatives designed 

to link Department business needs with the best available technology, and other commonly 

shared IT and office automation activities. The funds are administered by the Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. A total of $129.5 million is requested, which is an increase of $30.6 million 

from the 2016 level. Major increases include costs to transition to a new network services and 

IT Infrastructure contract, improvements to the Department’s IT security to ensure the integrity 

of Department of Education data as well as to prevent potential IT security breaches, and 

development costs required to replace the Department’s outdated financial management 

systems software.

Improper Payments

The Department continues to focus on preventing, reducing, identifying and recovering improper 

payments.

For the Title IV risk-susceptible Pell grant and Direct Loan programs, the Department identifies 

improper payments, analyzes root causes, and annually assesses the effectiveness of its 

internal controls to prevent, detect, and recover improper payments. The major root causes of 

improper payments in the Pell Grant and Direct Loan programs are incorrect self-reporting of an 

applicant’s income, which leads to incorrect awards based on Expected Family Contribution 

(EFC), incorrect processing of student data by institutions during normal operations, student 

account data changes not applied or processed correctly, ineligibility for a Pell Grant or Direct 

Loan (e.g., validity of high school attended, history of degrees obtained), satisfactory academic 

progress not achieved, and incorrectly calculated return records by institutions returning Title IV 

student aid funds. To prevent and reduce improper payments, the Department is pursuing 

several corrective actions.

One of the most recent significant actions of the Department is encouraging applicants to 

retrieve certain income information directly from the IRS with the use of the IRS Data Retrieval 

Tool. With just a few simple steps, applicants can view information from their IRS tax return and 

transfer that information directly into the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). 

Applicants who are eligible to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool are encouraged through various 

messaging to use the tool. Moreover, among 2014-2015 applicants that had filed their taxes, 

58 percent of independent students and 46 percent of parents of dependent students had used 

the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT), which allows students and parents to access and 

automatically transfer their IRS tax return information into the FAFSA. Of those who fill out the 

FAFSA each year, some applicants indicate that they intend to file a tax return, but have not 

done so yet. These applicants must later retrieve their IRS data once they file or face 

verification by the school. For the 2017-18 award year, applicants will be able to complete their 

FAFSA using “prior-prior year” tax data. This is in contrast with the current “prior year” process 

where many applicants submit their FAFSAs before tax returns have been completed resulting 

in the need to estimate income and tax information that subsequently needs to be corrected 

once the tax return is filed; or waiting to complete their FAFSA until after the tax return has been 

filed. Also, applicants will be able to initiate their application earlier in the 2017-18 award year. 

The start of the FAFSA cycle for 2017-18 will change from January 1, 2017, to October 1, 2016. 

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Use of prior-year tax data should dramatically increase the number of people who can use the 

automated tool and lower the potential for improper payments.

The Department also uses verification to protect against improper payments and to confirm 

specific information reported on the FAFSA by the applicant. Prior to the 2012-13 award year,

the Department required postsecondary institutions to verify key items on up to 30 percent of 

their students’ FAFSA forms. Schools are now required to verify all applicants that are

randomly selected by the Department for verification. Annually, the Department analyzes grant 

recipients, student loan borrowers, and the verification selection system, and informs the 

financial aid community which FAFSA items are subject to verification for the upcoming award 

year. This annual analysis is intended to enhance verification methodology and to meet the 

goal of selecting applicants who are most likely to have incorrect information on their FAFSA.

In addition, Federal Student Aid’s Program Compliance office works to promote accountability in 

the administration of Title IV student financial aid through institutional oversight and 

enforcement. As part of its ongoing activities, Program Compliance conducts periodic 

recertification of all schools’ eligibility and issues loss of eligibility determinations to schools,

assesses millions of dollars in final program review and final audit determinations, and debars 

individuals from receiving assistance or benefits from any Federal Agency as a result of 

financial aid fraud or other criminal convictions. Additional information on the Department’s 

efforts to reduce and prevent improper payments in the Direct Loan Program can be found in its 

annual Agency Financial Report.

The Department relies on a variety of monitoring efforts to prevent, detect, and recapture 

improper payments. The Department has continuous controls monitoring software to help 

detect anomalies and potential issues in all grant, loan, and contract payments made through 

the G5 payment system. This automated tool is used to examine payment records and identify 

problems such as duplicate payments, unduly large payments, overpayments, and potential 

fictitious vendors. The Department maintains a robust internal control program to identify, 

recover, and report, as appropriate, all grant, loan, and other administrative payment errors. 

These efforts support the Department’s strategic goal to improve its organizational capacity by 

increasing the efficient and effective use of resources.

Another promising initiative is the improved use of data and text analytics for A-133 Single Audit 

reports to identify and address the root cause of common grantee challenges. The 

Department’s budget includes $1.6 million for this initiative, including funds for processing audits 

at the Federal Audit Clearinghouse, the Department’s Audit Accountability and Resolution 

Tracking System, and predictive analytics. The goal is to leverage existing data sources to 

improve program outcomes. Easier access to the audit data should help Department staff and 

grantees in resolving audits. The data analytics effort is consistent with the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit 

Requirements for Federal Awards (2CFR 200) establishes uniform cost principles and audit 

requirements for all Federal awards to non-Federal entities and administrative requirements for 

all Federal grants and cooperative agreements. Also referred to as the Uniform Guidance, it 

supersedes OMB circulars A-21, A-87, A-89, A-102, A-110, A-122, and A-133 and the Single 

Audit follow-up guidance from A-50.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENTWIDE E-GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

The Department is actively participating in a number of Governmentwide e-Government 

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

with the Government, save taxpayer dollars, and streamline citizen-to-Government 

communications. The Department has budgeted a total of $3.1 million in 2016, and requests 

$5.4 million in 2017 for these initiatives. The request includes support for the following 

initiatives/lines of business:

(in whole dollars)

Initiative/Line of Business FY 2016 FY 2017

Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business $110,000 $110,000

Enterprise Human Resource Integration 140,000 144,000

E-Rulemaking 124,000 112,000

E-Travel 172,000 172,000

Financial Management Line of Business 231,000 231,000

Geospatial Line of Business 25,000 25,000

GovBenefits.gov* 280,000 286,000

Grants.gov 544,000 428,000

Human Resource Management Line of Business 70,000 66,000

Integrated Acquisition Environment 78,000 81,000

Integrated Acquisition Environment * 1,290,000 3,594,000

Performance Management Line of Business 53,000 94,000

USAJOBS 26,000 29,000

Total 3,143,000 5,372,000

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

other initiatives is from the Program Administration account.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Department of Education

Budget Authority by Account

(dollars in thousands)

ACTIVITY 2015 2016

2017 

Request

Change 

from 2016 

to 2017

Program Administration:

 Salaries and Expenses 1 $418,260 $431,000 $450,342 $19,342 

 Building Modernization 0 1,000 24,485 23,485 

Office for Civil Rights 100,000 107,000 137,708 30,708 

Office of Inspector General 57,791 59,256 61,941 2,685 

 Subtotal, Departmental Management 576,051 598,256 674,476 76,220 

Administrative costs from program accounts:

College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans 435 435 457 22 

Historically Black College and University Capital Financing 334 334 349 15 

Institute of Education Sciences:

 National Assessment Governing Board 8,235 8,235 7,745 (490)

 National Board for Education Sciences 275 275 276 1 

Student Aid Administration:

 Salaries and Expenses 721,998 711,756 732,352 20,596 

 Servicing Activities 671,426 840,098 899,638 59,540 

 Subtotal, program accounts 1,402,703 1,561,133 1,640,817 79,684 

 Total, Salaries and Expenses 1,978,754 2,159,389 2,315,293 155,904 

1 The 2015 Appropriation for the Program Administration account excludes $4,470 thousand transferred to the Department of 

Health and Human Services per Section 491 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, P.L. 113-128. Includes $12 

thousand transferred to the account under the transfer authority included in Section 304 of the Department of Education 

Appropriations Act, 2015. 

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Budget Authority by Object Classification

(dollars in thousands)

Obj ect class number Object Class 2015 2016 

2017 

Request

Change from 

2016 to 2017

11.10 Full-time permanent $451,174 $463,654 $491,525 $27,871 

11.31 Full-time temporary 9,874 10,733 10,622 (111)

11.32 Part-time 1,223 989 950 (39)

11.33 Consultants 657 612 615 3 

11.51 Overtime 373 449 530 81 

11.52 Awards 4,136 4,444 4,617 173 

Subtotal R ow

 Compensation subtotal 467,437 480,881 508,859 27,978 

12.00 Benefits 130,838 147,957 157,941 9,984 

13.01 Benefits for former personnel 180 187 200 13 

21.00 Travel 8,697 9,293 9,286 (7)

22.00 Transportation of things 979 226 76 (150)

23.10 Rental Payments to GSA 73,612 75,207 77,672 2,465 

23.31 Communications 395 772 667 (105)

23.32 Postage/fees 469 782 783 1 

Subtotal R ow

 Subtotal 23 74,476 76,761 79,122 2,361 

24.00 Printing & Reproduction 2,458 2,477 2,495 18 

25.10 Advisory and Assistance Svcs 14,158 10,862 8,169 (2,693)

25.21 Other Services 735,818 889,767 952,318 62,551 

25.22 Training/Tuition/Contracts 4,564 5,272 5,740 468 

25.23 Field Readers 26 10 59 49 

25.30 Goods/Services from Gov't 42,489 47,298 50,877 3,579 

25.40 Operations/Maint of Facilities 256 271 26 (245)

25.71 Operations/Maint of Equipment 961 1,165 1,289 124 

25.72 IT Services/Contracts 491,924 480,949 515,840 34,891 

Subtotal R ow

 Subtotal 25 1,290,196 1,435,594 1,534,318 98,724 

26.00 Supplies 975 1,073 1,107 34 

31.01 IT Equipment/Software 1,555 1,891 1,679 (212)

31.03 Other Equipment 204 1,325 3,910 2,585 

Subtotal R ow

 Subtotal 31 1,759 3,216 5,589 2,373 

32.00 Building Alterations 759 1,724 16,300 14,576 

43.01 Interest and Dividends 0 0 0 0 

Total Row Total 1,978,754 2,159,389 2,315,293 155,904 

Total Row Total Pers. Comp. & Ben. 598,455 629,025 667,000 37,975 

Total Row Total Non-Personnel 1,380,299 1,530,364 1,648,293 117,929 

 NOTE: The 2015 Program Administration Appropriation excludes $4,470 thousand transferred to the 

Department of Health and Human Services per Section 491 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, 

P.L. 113-128. Includes $12 thousand transferred to the account under the transfer authority included in 

Section 304 of the Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2015.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Department of Education

Full-time Equivalent Employment (Staff Years) by Account

ACCOUNT 2015

2016 

Request

2017 

Request

Change 

from 2016 

to 2017

Program Administration 1,912 1,880 1,901 21

Office for Civil Rights 540 589 753 164

Office of Inspector General 236 244 244 0

 Subtotal, Departmental Management 2,688 2,713 2,898 185

FTE funded from program accounts:

College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans 3 3 3 0

Historically Black College and University Capital Financing 1 1 1 0

Institute of Education Sciences:

 National Assessment Governing Board 13 14 14 0

 National Board for Education Sciences 1 1 1 0

Student Aid Administration

 Discretionary authority 1,375 1,537 1,621 84

 Subtotal, program accounts 1,393 1,556 1,640 84

 Total, FTE 4,081 4,269 4,538 269

 NOTE: The 2015 level for the Program Administration account excludes $4,470 thousand transferred to the Department 

of Health and Human Services per Section 491 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, P.L. 113-128. Includes 

$12 thousand transferred to the account under the transfer authority included in Section 304 of the Department of 

Education Appropriations Act, 2015.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Department of Education

Full-time Equivalent Employment by Office

OFFICE 2015 2016 

2017 

Request

Change from 

2016 to 2017

Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance 5 0 0 0

Career, Technical and Adult Education 68 64 67 3

Chief Financial Officer 182 178 178 0

Chief Information Officer 124 125 126 1

Civil Rights 540 589 753 164

Communications and Outreach 106 96 96 0

Deputy Secretary 40 40 40 0

Elementary and Secondary Education 232 237 237 0

English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and

 Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students 18 18 18 0

Federal Student Aid 1,272 1,413 1,497 84

General Counsel 105 119 120 1

Innovation and Improvement 93 93 93 0

Inspector General 236 244 244 0

Institute of Education Sciences 183 185 191 6

Legislation and Congressional Affairs 19 18 18 0

Management 204 205 209 4

National Assessment Governing Board 13 14 14 0

National Board for Education Sciences 1 1 1 0

Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development 97 99 103 4

Postsecondary Education 186 183 183 0

Secretary 98 97 97 0

Special Education and Rehabilitiative Services 222 212 214 2

Under Secretary 37 39 39 0

 Total, FTE 4,081 4,269 4,538 269

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Department of Education

Detail of Full-time EquivalentEmployment

Detail

2015 Actual 2016 Estimate 2017 Request

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

Executive level II.......................... 1 3 3 

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

Executive level IV........................ 4 10 10 

Executive level V......................... 1 2 2 

 Subtotal..................................... 8 17 17 

 Total - EX Salary....................... $1,335,850 $2,827,775 $2,834,800 

Senior Executive Service................ 93 96 96 

 Subtotal - ES1 .............................. 93 96 96 

 Total - ES Salaries........................ $15,649,575 $16,317,600 $16,358,400 

AL................................................. 2 1 3 

AD................................................ 177 180 186 

ED/EI........................................... 7 9 12 

GS/GM-15................................... 520 533 546 

GS/GM-14..................................... 952 976 1,000 

GS/GM-13..................................... 1,078 1,104 1,131 

GS-12........................................... 779 790 811 

GS-11........................................... 198 261 280 

GS-10........................................... 1 2 3 

GS-9............................................. 141 182 190 

GS-8............................................. 37 45 48 

GS-7............................................. 88 105 112 

GS-6............................................. 13 20 25 

GS-5............................................. 15 32 41 

GS-4............................................. 25 30 35 

GS-3............................................. 1 11 16 

GS-2............................................. 3 5 6 

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

 Subtotal...................................... 4,037 4,287 4,447 

Total full-time equivalent

 employment, end of year........... 4,138 4,400 4,560 

Full-time equivalent (FTE)

 usage......................................... 4,081 4,269 4,538 

Average ES salary....................... $168,275 $169,975 $170,400 

Average GS/GM grade................. 12.2 12.0 12.0 

Average GS/GM salary................ $107,670 $109,924 $109,496 

1

. FY 2015 includes 9 FSA SES positions. FY 2016 & FY 2017 include 10 FSA SES positions.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Organization Chart

NOTE: The President’s Budget proposes to change the name of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education 

to the Office of Early, Elementary, and Secondary Education.

W-14
7 Denver

Department of Education

Locations of Major Administrative Contracts

and Current Contractors

2,9 Plano

11 San Antonio

1,5,6,9,10

Lawrence

5, 10 Coralville,

3 West Des Moines

3 Louisville, KY

3 Frankfurt, KY

11 Monticello, KY

10

Montgomery

5,10,11 Arlington, VA

1,4,6,9,10,12 Washington, DC

1, 3* McLean, VA

2,9,10 Fairfax, VA 

5 Great Falls, VA

11

Columbus

10, Rockville, MD

8 Bethesda, MD

6, Clarksville, MD

10

Phoenix

3* Madison

3* Lincoln

3* 

Chesterfield

10 Las Cruces

11 Niagara Falls

10 Reston, VA

1,5,6,9,10 Herndon, VA

1,5,6,10 Alexandria, VA

10 Ashburn, VA

3* Newark, DE

5 Venice

3* Salt 

Lake 

City

3* Concord, NH

3 Knoxville

11 Philadelphia

3* Harrisburg

3* Coraopolis

 

3* Oklahoma City

3 Columbia

3* Winooski, VT

10 Aurora,

Mt. Vernon

NOTE: An asterisk represents a headquarters location for loan servicing contracts. A full listing of locations can be found in the Student Aid 

Administration Congressional Justification.

3 Raleigh

10 Hattiesburg, MS

1 Financial Management System (FSA) 7 Payroll/Personnel Processing Center (OM)

2 EDUCATE (OCIO) 8 Education Department Central Automated Processing

3 Loan Servicers (FSA) Systems (EDCAPS)(OCIO)

4 OCR CRDC Survey (OCR) 9 Virtual Data Center (FSA)

5 National Student Loan Data System (FSA) 10 Front End Business Integration (FSA)

6 Integrated Partner Management (FSA) 11 Common Origination and Disbursement (FSA)

Locat ions of Major Administrative Contractors

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business 

as Required by Division D, Section 737(d) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, 

P.L. 110-161

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

Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business (BFELoB) in the fall of 2006. The focus of 

the BFELoB is to build a “budget of the future” by promoting information-sharing across 

Government Agency budget offices, as well as building a “community of practice.” Through this 

collaboration, the budget community has been identifying best practices for all aspects of 

budget formulation and execution. The BFELoB strives to find solutions linking budget 

formulation, execution, planning, performance, and financial management information.

Goals of the BFELoB include improvement and enhancements of:

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

executing the Federal Budget;

• the integration and standardized exchange of budget formulation, execution, planning, 

performance measurement, and financial management information and activities across 

the Government;

• capabilities for analyzing budget formulation, execution, planning, performance, and 

financial information in support of decisionmaking;

• capabilities for aligning programs and their outputs and outcomes with budget levels and 

actual costs to institutionalize budget and performance integration; and

• the efficiency and effectiveness of the Federal budgeting workforce.

BFELoB anticipates 10-year savings of over $200 million Governmentwide due to efficiencies 

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

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

rely on basic office software and manual processes. BFELoB’s goal is to reduce time spent by 

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

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

workforce).

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

workgroups are at different stages within the development lifecycle. Products under 

development are listed in the Objectives and Benefits table below and include implementation or 

projected implementation dates.

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

BFELoB.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Objectives and Benefits: Technology

Capability Objectives and Benefits

Technology

Technology

Collaboration 

Improves the efficiency and effectiveness of Government activities through the 

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

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

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

Agencies on shared programs).

Current products include the MAX Federal Community; secure online meeting 

capability; MAX Shared Desktop, and MAX Calendar.

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

platform, provides increased information sharing, collaboration, and knowledge 

management securely across the Federal Government, as well as within each 

Agency. With approximately 150,000 members (up from approximately

110,000 in October 2014), the MAX Federal Community is reportedly the 

largest Government operated collaboration site. Many Agencies are also using 

the secure MAX Shared Desktop or the secure online meeting tool allowing 

Agency personnel to attend meetings remotely with presentations displayed on 

their computer screens.

Technology

Data Collection & 

Tracking

Improves OMB and Agency efficiency and effectiveness in carrying out the 

numerous required budget data exercises. Benefits apply to both central 

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

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

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

collection capabilities, reduced errors, and reduced time spent manually 

consolidating and publishing data.

Current products include multiple Web-based data collection tools for central 

budget exercises, as well as a Web-based tool, MAX Collect, for Agency use in 

the collection of budget briefing and question and answer materials. MAX 

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

300 MAX Collect exercises have been utilized in the last year alone.

Current Status: BFELoB data collection tools have demonstrated significant 

value by automating the collection of data for dozens of centralized exercises 

related to the budget community for earmarks, continuing resolutions, 

Questions for the Record and across-the-board reductions. The MAX Collect 

tool provides even greater benefit by enabling Agency budget offices to 

automate their own data collection exercises. Agencies are now using the tool 

to facilitate a broad range of data calls and data collection exercises 

numbering in the hundreds. MAX survey is used to quickly gather and analyze 

information via tokenized surveys.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Capability Objectives and Benefits

Technology

Technology

Knowledge 

Management

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

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

budgeting community to manage the impending retirement of key personnel. 

Database-driven products such as the MAX Federal Community and MAX 

Collect enhance knowledge management capabilities by capturing 

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

Technology

Agency Budget 

Formulation and 

Execution Tools

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

formulation and execution applications, or have outdated applications, to 

quickly improve their effectiveness through automation. This effort encourages 

common and integrated solutions that are reusable Governmentwide.

Products include the Budget Formulation and Execution Manager system 

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

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

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

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

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

for which multiple services have gone live each year from 2011 – 2014, the 

most recent of which is Appendix Text capabilities rolled out in November 

2014. The Decision Matrix allows Agencies to define their specific budget 

system requirements and evaluates the capability and maturity of six Agency 

and three commercial budget systems against those requirements. The 

Budgeting Capability Self-Assessment Tool (BC SAT) has provided several 

Agencies with comprehensive resource listings to further help them with 

strategic planning and resourcing.

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

methodologies, and standards to enable Agencies to exchange data with 

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

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

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

continues to support Treasury’s BFEM and Labor’s DEBS systems as they 

provide customer Agencies with enhanced connections to OMB’s MAX budget 

system and has been working with EPA as they have finalized their budget 

system deployment as a potential shared service. 

Technology

Analytical Tools

Enhances Federal capabilities for analyzing budget formulation, execution, 

planning, performance, and financial information. This enables more 

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

decisionmakers with improved understanding of policy option impacts and 

alternatives. 

Current products include the MAX Analytics tool suite, which creates custom 

charts and graphs for analysis, and associated tools built upon the analytics 

core (such as MAX Calendar).

Current Status: MAX Analytics integrates with BFELoB data collection and 

collaboration tools, enabling charts that update automatically as new data is 

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Capability Objectives and Benefits

Technology

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

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

manage problems. BFELoB continues to work with Agencies to include the 

most relevant and useful capabilities in the tool suite. Several Agencies (OMB, 

DOJ, Treasury, etc.) are now utilizing MAX Analytics to drive decisionmaking 

based upon analysis not previously possible.

Technology

Budget Execution 

and Financial 

Management 

Integration

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

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

financial management. Identifying common business processes and data 

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

systems, as well as closer alignment with financial management systems. 

Current products include Governmentwide process maps for budget execution 

and budget formulation and the Web-based budget execution training module, 

budget formulation training module, and Appropriations Law training module.

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

community. Over 6,800 people have taken the self-paced online training 

module courses, which have an estimated return on investment to date of over 

4,750 percent and a savings of over $5.7 million.

Technology

Document 

Production

Enables Agency budgeting personnel to move from clerical to analytical 

functions, increasing Agency analytical resource availability. Many Agency 

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

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

simultaneously made in multiple documents for different stakeholders. 

Document production capabilities exist in Treasury and Labor’s shared service 

budget systems, as well as in the MAX Collect Tool, and in a recently released 

service allowing budget personnel to develop their own reporting templates.

Objectives and Benefits: Governance

Capability Objectives and Benefits

Governance

Governance

Program 

Management Office 

(PMO)

Serves as a central coordination point for Governmentwide collaboration and 

sharing of technologies and processes. The Program Management Office 

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

In this way, costs are reduced, economies of scale are achieved, and risks in 

developing and buying Agency budget tools are reduced through a coordinated 

combination of approaches that include: sharing common budget formulation 

components, purchasing commonly used software that has been proven in 

multiple Agencies, and purchasing services from other Agencies.

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

management, presentation, collaboration, and flexibility within the BFELoB. 

Currently, the PMO supports seven initiative-specific workgroups that meet on 

a regular basis.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Capability Objectives and Benefits

Governance

Process 

Improvements

Allows for the development of system requirements and guidelines for tools 

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

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

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

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

Agency financial management systems.

Current products include numerous updates to the MAX Federal Community, 

MAX Collect, MAX Analytics, and MAX Shared Desktop as well as 

implementation of MAX Authentication services at 11 Agencies with work 

underway to support several more with “single sign-on” capabilities (including 

at the Department of Education). 

Governance

Service Module 

Standardization

Encourages reusability and interoperability of budget systems across Agencies 

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

philosophy. Service module registration via the PMO will help ensure that 

Agencies are aware of existing services so that duplicative investments are not 

made. 

Objectives and Benefits: Human Capital

Capability Objectives and Benefits

Human Capital

Human Capital

Budget Human 

Capital

Enhances the effectiveness of the existing budgeting workforce and 

encourages participation from other professions within Government, the private 

sector, and universities. BFELoB provides a central venue for the budget 

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

appeal of Federal Budgeting as a career by combining Agency efforts to define 

budget career paths, core competencies, leadership development, certification 

programs, and sharing of ideas in areas such as succession planning, 

retention and recruitment.

Products include recommendations on core competencies and proficiency 

levels; a Budget Career Day conference devoted to enabling budget 

professionals to better plan their careers while providing tools for them to do 

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

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

for the coming year.

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

sessions hosted by the BFELoB. Monthly panel discussions featuring an OMB 

and senior Agency budget staff, focusing on specific budgeting related topics, 

have been attended by over 2,100 individuals since the Department began 

hosting. Brownbag discussion groups focusing on a deeper understanding of 

budget execution and on the Budget Career Road Map have been attended by 

over 500 people. An indepth course focusing on Basic Budget Processes 

began in 2013 and has been held 10 times, with waiting lists and strong 

participation from over 250 attendees. The Budget Career Day, hosted at ED 

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Capability Objectives and Benefits

in June 2014 to great reviews, provided guidance, materials and expert advice 

from senior budget leaders and professionals across the budget community, 

was attended by approximately 150 individuals. Pilot classes were held at ED 

on Grants and Acquisition training for budget professionals, attended by 

dozens, showing promise for adoption at a wider, Governmentwide level. All of 

these opportunities are offered to Federal employees free of charge.

Risks

Type of 

Risk 1

Risk Description Mitigation Approach

Other Technology Maintaining ability to develop 

and field highest quality IT 

services in the midst of rapid 

expansion of use without 

accompanying equal increase 

in available resources. 

Work with product leads to encourage 

continued focus on quality and meeting 

requirements, implement updated 

procedures.

Other Technology Using Agile development 

methodologies, adequate 

testing is a balancing act. We 

need to ensure major 

bugs/issues are not possible 

through rapid/quick 

turnaround releases.

Dedicated resources to quality assurance

and testing.

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

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

Line of Business and its ability to succeed.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Line of Business IT Costs (dollars in thousands)

Costs by project 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Planning $437 $655 $100 $125 $125 $116 $78 $95 $95 $95

Acquisition 904 810 355 335 350 375 178 285 285 285

Operations & Maint. 650 680 720 685 700 781 919 1185 1185 1185

Govt FTE Costs 490 444 162 172 238 244 100 100 100 100

2,481 2,589 1,337 1,317 1,413 1,516 1,275 1,565 1565 1565

FTEs 4 4 4 4 2 2 1 1 1 1

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Anticipated Contributions by Agency (dollars in thousands)

AGENCY

FY 

2015

FY 

2016

FY 

2017

Department of Agriculture $95 $110 $110

Department of Commerce 105 110 110

Department of Defense--Military 105 110 110

Department of Education (direct funds) 105 110 110

Department of Energy 105 110 110

Department of Health and Human Services 105 110 110

Department of Homeland Security 105 110 110

Housing and Urban Development 105 110 110

Department of the Interior 105 110 110

Department of Justice 105 110 110

Department of Labor 105 110 110

Department of State 105 110 110

Department of Transportation 105 110 110

Department of the Treasury 105 110 110

Department of Veterans Affairs 105 110 110

US Army Corps of Engineers-Civil Works 80 80 80

Environmental Protection Agency 75 110 110

General Services Administration 105 110 110

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 105 110 110

National Science Foundation 105 110 110

USAID 105 110 110

Office of Personnel Management 105 110 110

Small Business Administration 50 55 55

Securities and Exchange Commission 50 55 55

Social Security Administration 0 55 55

Millennium Challenge Corporation 50 0 0

Office of National Drug Control Policy 50 55 55

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