Department of Education

SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Fiscal Year 2016 Budget Request

CONTENTS

Page

Introduction.............................................................................................................................X-1

FY 2016 Budget Request........................................................................................................X-2

Participation in Governmentwide E-Government Initiatives .....................................................X-7

Budget Authority by Account...................................................................................................X-9

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

Full-Time Equivalent Employment by Account ......................................................................X-11

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

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

Organization Chart................................................................................................................X-14

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

Report on the Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business ......................................X-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 

2016 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), which under the Department’s 2016 request would provide $15.4 billion 

to help approximately 23.8 million students in high-poverty schools make progress toward State 

academic standards; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B Grants to States, which 

would provide $11.7 billion to help States and school districts meet the special education needs 

of 6.6 million students with disabilities; Federal Pell Grants, which would make available nearly 

$32.1 billion in need-based grants to 8.4 million students enrolled in postsecondary institutions; 

and the postsecondary student loan programs, which would help provide roughly $137 billion in 

new and consolidated Direct Loans to help students and families pay for college.

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); and

• Grants payment processing.

The fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request also places emphasis on improving departmental 

management of programs and resources. Specific management priorities include:

• Financial management, including projects designed to ensure accountability for 

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

managers;

• Improving staff performance, including leadership development for employees;

• Improving recruitment, retention, and development of staff;

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

reducing reliance on high-risk contract vehicles;

• Analyzing office space needs in order to identify opportunities to reduce the 

Department’s footprint;

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

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

a continued focus on data security;

• Student aid administration, with a focus on administering Pell Grants and student loans;

and

• Program performance improvement to inform decisionmakers and focus limited 

resources on programs that work, and to reform or eliminate programs that do not.

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 2016 budget request continues to reduce spending in the areas of 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 2016

(dollars in millions)

Category

2010 

Obligations

2016 

Request

Percent Change 

from 2010

Travel $11.2 $9.6 -14%

Printing 5.1 2.5 -51

Supplies 1.7 1.0 -41

Advisory and Assistance 18.6 14.7 -21

Total 36.6 27.8 -24

FY 2016 Budget Request

FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST

The 2016 total Salaries and Expenses discretionary budget request is $2.255 billion, 14 percent 

more than the 2015 level. A summary of increases by funding account is provided on page X-9.

The 2015 appropriation for the Program Administration account included a 2.8 percent cut, 

requiring severe reductions of staff and thereby necessitating furloughs. Since appropriations 

staff have indicated that the 2015 reduction was not intended to produce wide-scale furloughs, 

the Department is planning to transfer up to 3 percent into the account later in the fiscal year to 

avoid immediate multi-day furloughs of approximately 1,900 employees. 

The requested 2016 increase is focused mainly on several key areas: a net increase of 303

FTE (200 FTE for Office for Civil Rights, 3 FTE for Office of Inspector General, and 51 FTE for 

Program Administration, after factoring in the anticipated transfer in 2015 to avoid furloughs); 

building modernization costs necessary to implement the Department’s multi-year strategy to 

consolidate and reduce its space needs; student aid administration loan servicing to cover the 

costs of the growing loan portfolio and renegotiated servicing contracts to encourage continual 

competition among servicers and improve performance; student aid administration priorities 

efforts such as implementing gainful employment regulations and making student aid data more 

transparent; core student aid systems; and built-in increases to cover continued operations of 

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

financial systems and IT security, a proposed pay raise, an extra paid day in 2016, increases in 

FERS benefits, and rent.

The following charts provide detail on the total Salaries and Expenses request of $2.255 billion 

by category, and the $227.1 million cost increases by category.

Personnel

28%

Other Non-Personnel

3%

Overhead

(Rent & Mail) 3%

Non-SAA Contracts

6%

Student Aid 

Administration 

Contracts

60%

FY 2016 Salaries & Expenses Costs by Category

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

Fixed Net Increases

7%

FTE

17%

Other

4%

Student Aid 

Administration NonServicing Core 

Contracts

1%

Student Aid 

Administration 

Servicing

62%

SAA Administration 

Priorities

4%

Building 

Modernization

5%

FY 2016 Budget Increases by Category

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

STAFFING AND COSTS SUMMARY

Staffing

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

decades. There has been landmark legislation affecting the very core of the Department’s 

business. From elementary and secondary education reform to the transition to 100 percent 

direct lending to the significant increase in civil rights related complaints, the past decade has 

seen a steady and significant growth in Department workload. There has also been a dramatic 

increase in costs to maintain security of data systems, as well as an enhanced focus on prudent 

financial and information technology management.

At the same time, staffing levels for most Department accounts are at all-time lows, with many 

vacancies going unfilled for several years. The 2016 request includes funding for 4,328 FTE to 

provide an adequate level of personnel to address current workload demands. Requested FTE 

increases include 200 FTE for the Office of Civil Rights and 51 FTE for Program Administration

(PA) (after excluding the reduction of FTE in 2016 resulting from the transfer of staff to HHS, 

and including the staffing impacts of the anticipated transfer in 2015 to avoid furloughs). The

requested FTE level for PA would still be lower than 2008.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, H.R. 803, Public Law 113-128, dated July 22, 

2014, will transfer certain functions and personnel of the Rehabilitation Services Administration 

(RSA) and the functions and personnel of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation

Research in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) from the 

Department of Education to the Administration for Community Living in the Department of

Health and Human Services. This transfer must occur within a year of bill passage (i.e., no later 

than July 21, 2015). OSERS estimates that 40 FTE will be transferred; these FTE, therefore,

have been excluded from the 2016 request. 

As shown in the following chart, Department staff are divided between Washington, D.C., 

headquarters, 11 regional offices, and 13 field offices. Most regional and field office staff are in 

Federal Student Aid (FSA), the Office of Inspector General, and the Office for Civil Rights. 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

Personnel and Non-Personnel Costs Summary

The budget request includes $637.9 million for personnel compensation and benefits. The 

request is an increase of $52.7 million from the 2015 level. Non-personnel costs cover such 

items as travel, rent, mail, telephones, utilities, printing, information technology (IT), contractual 

services, equipment, supplies, and other departmental services. The total budget for nonpersonnel activities in 2016 is $1.6 billion, an increase of $227.1 million from the 2015 level. 

Seventy-seven percent, or $174 million of the non-pay increase, is the result of higher Student 

Aid Administration discretionary servicing costs. Other increases are in the areas of space 

reduction and consolidation, business process reengineering, and IT systems consolidation 

(e.g., migrating to laptops to facilitate telework and reduce rent for office space; redesigning the 

Impact Aid System; upgrading financial systems; obtaining an independent, third-party review of 

the Department’s IT security environment); and reengineering ED's management of student 

privacy controls.

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 $149.8 million is requested for 

these costs in 2016, an increase of $23.3 million from the 2015 level. The increase is primarily 

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

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

for the renovation of Department occupied buildings to help reduce the overall space footprint,

increases in background investigations mostly due to a higher number of contractors for Federal 

Student Aid requiring security clearances, increases in rent due to the expiration of the rent 

abatement for the LBJ Federal building as well as historically based cost escalations.

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 $95.1 million is requested, an increase of $6.8 million from the 

2015 level. The increase includes funding for continued operations, necessary upgrades of and 

enhancements to EDCAPS, the Department’s core financial system; and necessary upgrades to 

IT security operations, IT system consolidation (including migrating to laptops to facilitate 

telework and reduce rent costs), and Education Department Utility for Communications, 

Applications, and Technical Environment (EDUCATE), for the computer communications 

network and related services and equipment.

Improper Payments

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

payments.

The Department relies on a variety of monitoring efforts to prevent 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 $1.4 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 Education staff and 

grantees in resolving audits. The data analytics effort is consistent with OMB’s grant reform 

initiative and its new Omni circular, which streamlines eight Federal regulations into a single, 

comprehensive policy guide, to reform and strengthen Federal grantmaking.

Finally, risk assessments and estimates of improper payments continue to be performed in 

accordance with the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act (IPERIA). 

For risk susceptible programs, management will continue to prioritize and assess risk for each 

type of payment within each program, identify and estimate improper payment amounts and 

rates, identify and categorize root causes for improper payments, and implement corrective 

actions to reduce improper payments. Existing corrective actions include activities to increase

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

accuracy of Student Aid Application information through the use of the Free Application for 

Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT), and school verification.

PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENTWIDE E-GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

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

initiatives 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 $3.0 million in 2015, and requests $3 million in 2016 for these initiatives. 

The request includes support for the following initiatives:

(in whole dollars)

E-Gov Initiative FY 2015 FY 2016

Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business $105,000 $105,000

Enterprise Human Resource Integration 133,000 140,000

E-Rulemaking 68,000 123,000

E-Travel 172,000 172,000

Financial Management Line of Business 220,000 231,000

Geospatial Line of Business 25,000 25,000

GovBenefits.gov* 298,000 269,000

Grants.gov 544,000 447,000

Human Resource Management Line of Business 65,000 65,000

Integrated Acquisition Environment 87,000 75,000

Integrated Acquisition Environment – Grants and 

Loans* 1,290,000 1,290,000

USAJOBS 25,000 23,000

Total $3,032,000 $2,965,000

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

Shared Service (Non E-gov)

Planning and Performance Management Database – 2015: $100,000; 2016: $53,000; Program 

Administration account.

The Planning and Performance Management Database initiative will improve access to and the 

value of information on Government goals, performance, organization, and programs to 

enhance public accountability while meeting the GPRA Modernization Act reporting

requirements efficiently.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Department of Education

Budget Authority by Account

(dollars in thousands)

Click here for accessible version

Budget Authority by Account 

2016 Change from

ACTIVITY 2014 2015 Request 2015 to 2016

Program Administration:

 Salaries and Expenses $422,917 $411,000 $460,259 $49,259

 Building Modernization 0 0 13,830 13,830

Office for Civil Rights 98,356 100,000 130,691 30,691

Office of Inspector General 57,791 57,791 59,256 1,465

 Subtotal, Departmental Management 579,064 568,791 664,036 95,245

Administrative costs from program accounts:

College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans 435 435 450 15

Historically Black College and University Capital Financing 334 334 340 6

Institute of Education Sciences:

 National Assessment Governing Board 8,235 8,235 7,827 (408)

 National Board for Education Sciences 275 275 275 0

Student Aid Administration

 Salaries and Expenses 663,251 715,745 726,643 10,898

 Servicing Activities 502,749 681,179 855,211 174,032

 Subtotal, program accounts 1,175,279 1,406,203 1,590,746 184,543

 Total, Salaries and Expenses 1,754,343 1,974,994 2,254,782 279,788

 NOTE: Excludes $1 million for the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) transfer from HHS in FY 2014. The 2015 Appropriation for

the Program Administration account does not reflect two anticipated transfers. The first would transfer funds to the Department of

Health and Human Services for necessary administrative expenses per Section 491 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, 

P.L.113-128. The second would avoid potential furloughs of staff by using the Department’s authority to transfer up to 1 percent of another 

discretionary appropriation as long as the receiving appropriation does not increase by more than 3 percent, with the sending appropriation

to be determined.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Budget Authority by Object Classification

Click here for accessible version

Budget Authority by Object Classification

(dollars in thousands)

2016 Change from

Object Class 2014 2015 Request 2015 to 2016

11.10 Full-time permanent $425,972 $433,339 $470,591 $37,252

11.31 Full-time temporary 15,133 8,605 9,582 977

11.32 Part-time 1,841 1,194 961 (233)

11.33 Consultants 454 350 355 5

11.51 Overtime 437 446 503 57

11.52 Awards 4,967 4,368 4,475 107

11.80 Other Compensation 0 0 0 0

 Compensation subtotal 448,804 448,302 486,467 38,165

12.00 Benefits 130,601 136,713 151,266 14,553

13.01 Benefits for former personnel 355 180 180 0

21.00 Travel 9,253 8,548 9,612 1,064

22.00 Transportation of things 76 301 76 (225)

23.10 Rental Payments to GSA 74,523 73,831 78,239 4,408

23.31 Communications 583 486 641 155

23.32 Postage/fees 967 789 784 (5)

 Subtotal 23 76,073 75,106 79,664 4,558

24.00 Printing & Reproduction 3,207 2,490 2,512 22

25.10 Advisory and Assistance Svcs 11,197 9,625 14,653 5,028

25.21 Other Services 592,063 760,367 963,678 203,311

25.22 Training/Tuition/Contracts 5,292 5,120 5,853 733

25.23 Field Readers 10 10 10 0

25.30 Goods/Services from Gov't 46,866 38,323 42,925 4,602

25.40 Operations/Maint of Facilities 381 256 266 10

25.71 Operations/Maint of Equipment 1,334 1,163 1,164 1

25.72 IT Services/Contracts 424,824 484,279 483,780 (499)

 Subtotal 25 1,081,967 1,299,143 1,512,329 213,186

26.00 Supplies 1,015 1,000 1,033 33

31.01 IT Equipment/Software 1,154 1,691 1,632 (59)

31.03 Other Equipment 257 232 304 72

 Subtotal 31 1,411 1,923 1,936 13

32.00 Building Alterations 1,581 1,288 9,707 8,419

43.01 Interest and Dividends 0 0 0 0

Total 1,754,343 1,974,994 2,254,782 279,788

Total Pers. Comp. & Ben. 579,760 585,195 637,913 52,718

Total Non-Personnel 1,174,583 1,389,799 1,616,869 227,070

 NOTE: Excludes $1 million for the Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL) transfer from HHS in FY 2014. 

The 2015 Appropriation for the Program Administration account does not reflect two anticipated transfers. 

The first would transfer funds to the Department of Health and Human Services for necessary administrative Act 

expenses per Section 491 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, P.L.113-128. The second would

potential furloughs of staff by using the Department’s authority to transfer up to 1 percent of another 

discretionary appropriation as long as the receiving appropriation does not increase by more than 3 percent, 

with the sending appropriation to be determined.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Department of Education

Full-time Equivalent Employment (Staff Years) by Account

Click here for accessible version Full-Time Equivalent Employment by Account

2016 Change from

ACCOUNT 2014 2015 Request 2015 to 2016

Program Administration 1,898 1,861 1,961 100

Office for Civil Rights 544 554 754 200

Office of Inspector General 249 241 244 3

 Subtotal, Departmental Management 2,691 2,656 2,959 303

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 11 14 14 0

 National Board for Education Sciences 1 1 1 0

Student Aid Administration

 Discretionary authority 1,320 1,350 1,350 0

 Mandatory authority 0 0 0 0

 Subtotal, program accounts 1,336 1,369 1,369 0

 Subtotal, FTE 4,027 4,025 4,328 303

 Total, discretionary authority 4,027 4,025 4,328 303

 Total, mandatory authority 0 0 0 0

 Total, FTE 4,027 4,025 4,328 303

 NOTE: The 2015 Appropriation for the Program Administration account does not reflect two anticipated transfers. The first 

would transfer funds to the Department of Health and Human Services for necessary administrative expenses per Section 491

of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, P.L.113-128. The second would avoid potential furloughs of staff by using 

the Department’s authority to transfer up to 1 percent of another discretionary appropriation as long as the receiving 

appropriation does not increase by more than 3 percent, with the sending appropriation to be determined.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Full-time Equivalent Employment by office

Click here for accessible version

2016 Change from

OFFICE 2014 2015 Request 2015 to 2016

Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance 5 6 6 0

Career, Technical and Adult Education 77 72 75 3

Chief Financial Officer 172 166 174 8

Chief Information Officer 125 122 140 18

Civil Rights 544 554 754 200

Communications and Outreach 104 98 103 5

Deputy Secretary 63 37 52 15

Elementary and Secondary Education 224 244 262 18

English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and

 Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students 15 18 19 1

Federal Student Aid 1,235 1,247 1,247 0

General Counsel 103 103 110 7

Innovation and Improvement 85 97 102 5

Inspector General 249 241 244 3

Institute of Education Sciences 173 174 188 14

Legislation and Congressional Affairs 17 18 19 1

Management 173 167 179 12

National Assessment Governing Board 12 14 14 0

National Board for Education Sciences 0 1 1 0

Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development 100 102 108 6

Postsecondary Education 178 183 191 8

Secretary 93 88 92 4

Special Education and Rehabilitiative Services 246 240 213 -27

Under Secretary 34 33 35 2

 Total, FTE 4,027 4,025 4,328 303

 NOTE: The 2015 Appropriation for the Program Administration account does not reflect two anticipated transfers. The first would 

transfer funds to the Department of Health and Human Services for necessary administrative expenses per Section 491

of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, P.L.113-128. The second would avoid potential furloughs of staff by using 

the Department’s authority to transfer up to 1 percent of another discretionary appropriation as long as the receiving 

appropriation does not increase by more than 3 percent, with the sending appropriation to be determined.

Department of Education

Full-time Equivalent Employment (Staff Years) by Office

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Detail of Full-time Equi valent Employment

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

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

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

Executive level IV........................ 3 10 10

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

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

 Total - EX Salary....................... $1,348,475 $2,799,675 $2,806,700

Senior Executive Service................ 87 96 96

 Subtotal - ES .............................. 1/ 87 96 96

 Total - ES Salaries........................ $14,509,425 $15,926,400 $16,010,400

AL................................................. 1 1 1

AD................................................ 165 165 176

ED/EI........................................... 6 6 8

GS/GM-15................................... 497 501 515

GS/GM-14..................................... 914 921 948

GS/GM-13..................................... 1,084 1,092 1,124

GS-12........................................... 730 735 777

GS-11........................................... 208 212 261

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

GS-9............................................. 139 146 182

GS-8............................................. 37 38 40

GS-7............................................. 90 90 105

GS-6............................................. 14 12 20

GS-5............................................. 18 16 32

GS-4............................................. 24 20 30

GS-3............................................. 7 7 11

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

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

 Subtotal...................................... 3,939 3,966 4,237

Total full-time equivalent

 employment, end of year........... 4,034 4,079 4,350

Full-time equivalent

 usage......................................... 4,027 4,025 4,328

Average ES salary....................... $166,775 $165,900 $166,775

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

Average GS/GM salary................ $106,535 $107,622 $107,989

1/ FY 2014 includes 12 FSA SES positions. FY 2015 & FY 2016 include 10 FSA SES positions.

Department of Education

Detail of Full-Time Equivalent Employment

2014 Actual 2016 Request

Detail

2015 Estimate

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Organization Chart

X-14
Locations of Major Administrative Contractors

X-15

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)
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

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 119,000 members (up from 96,000 in February 

2014), the MAX Federal Community is reportedly the largest Governmentoperated collaboration site. Usage is currently growing at a rate of over 1,000 

users per month. 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, 

and MAX survey to quickly gather and analyze information via tokenized 

surveys.

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. Over 200

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

Current Status: BFELoB data collection tools have already demonstrated 

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 (QFRs) 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.

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

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.

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’, going live with 

the final set of services this year for A-11 Data Entry that have greatly 

improved the process, eliminated large amounts of manual data entry, and 

enabled 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 finalize their budget system 

deployment as a potential shared service. 

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 

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

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

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

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.

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 6,000 people have taken the self-paced online training 

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

4,100 percent and a savings of over $5 million.

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

Program 

Management Office 

(PMO)

Serves as a central coordination point for Governmentwide collaboration and 

sharing of technologies and processes. The 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 eight initiative-specific workgroups that meet on a 

regular basis.

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 

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Capability Objectives and Benefits

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 eight Agencies with work 

underway to support several more with “single sign-on” capabilities. We have 

had discussions with the Performance Management Line of Business on how 

we can best link up with that community to our mutual benefit and will continue 

to explore that relationship in the coming year. 

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

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 1,500 individuals since the Department began 

hosting over 3 years ago. 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 quarterly, with waiting 

lists and strong participation. The first Budget Career Day, hosted at ED in 

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

from senior budget leaders and professionals across the budget community. 

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Capability Objectives and Benefits

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 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 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Planning 516 437 655 100 125 125 116

Acquisition 714 904 810 355 335 350 375

Operations & Maint. 401 650 680 720 685 700 781

Govt FTE Costs 376 490 444 162 172 238 244

2,007 2,481 2,589 1,337 1,317 1,413 1,516

FTEs 2 4 4 4 4 2 2

Costs by project 2014 2015 2016

Planning 78 95 95

Acquisition 178 285 285

Operations & Maint. 919 1185 1185

Govt FTE Costs 100 100 100

1,275 1,565 1565

FTEs 1 1 1

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SALARIES AND EXPENSES OVERVIEW

Anticipated Contributions by Agency (dollars in thousands)

AGENCY

FY 

2014

FY 

2015

FY 

2016

Department of Agriculture $95 $95 $95

Department of Commerce 105 105 105

Department of Defense--Military 105 105 105

Department of Education (direct funds) 105 105 105

Department of Energy 105 105 105

Department of Health and Human Services 105 105 105

Department of Homeland Security 105 105 105

Housing and Urban Development 105 105 105

Department of the Interior 105 105 105

Department of Justice 105 105 105

Department of Labor 105 105 105

Department of State 105 105 105

Department of Transportation 105 105 105

Department of the Treasury 105 105 105

Department of Veterans Affairs 105 105 105

US Army Corps of Engineers-Civil Works 80 80 80

Environmental Protection Agency 75 75 75

General Services Administration 105 105 105

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 105 105 105

National Science Foundation 105 105 105

USAID 105 105 105

Office of Personnel Management 105 105 105

Small Business Administration 50 50 50

Securities and Exchange Commission 50 50 50

Social Security Administration 0 50 50

Millennium Challenge Corporation 50 50 50

Broadcasting Board of Governors 50 0 0

Office of National Drug Control Policy 50 50 50

Consumer Financial Protection Board 50 0 0

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