FY 2019 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 5

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

FY 2018–22 Strategic Goals and Strategic Objectives1

1

 The FY 2019 Statement of Net Cost and related notes align with the FY 2018–22 Strategic Plan.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK

In accordance with the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, the Department’s framework for performance management 

starts with the four-year Strategic Plan, including its two-year Agency Priority Goals (APGs), which serve as the foundation 

for establishing and implementing long-term priorities and performance goals, objectives, and measures by which the 

Department can gauge achievement of its stated outcomes. Progress towards the Department’s strategic goals and its APGs 

is measured using data-driven review and analysis. Additional information on performance management is available in the 

Annual Performance Plans and Annual Performance Reports.

The FY 2018–22 Strategic Plan is comprised of four strategic goals and four FY 2018-19 APGs. The Strategic Plan aims to 

align the Administration’s yearly budget requests and the Department’s legislative agenda, supported by the considerable 

experience and resources available from its internal staff. The Department continues to welcome input from Congress, state 

and local partners, and other education stakeholders about the Strategic Plan. Questions or comments about the Strategic 

Plan should be emailed to PIO@ed.gov.

THE DEPARTMENT’S APPROACH TO PERFORMANCE

Strategic Goal 1: Support state and local efforts to improve learning outcomes for all prekindergarten–grade 12 students in every community.

Strategic Objective 1.1 Increase high-quality educational options and empower students and parents to choose an education that meets their needs.

Strategic Objective 1.2 Provide all prekindergarten - grade 12 students with equal access to high-quality educational opportunities.

Strategic Objective 1.3 Prepare all students for successful transitions to college and careers by supporting access to dual enrollment, job skills 

development and high-quality science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Strategic Objective 1.4 Support agencies and institutions in the implementation of evidence-based strategies and practices that build the capacity of 

school staff and families to support students’ academic performance.

Strategic Goal 2: Expand postsecondary educational opportunities, improve outcomes to foster economic opportunity and promote an informed, 

thoughtful and productive citizenry.

Strategic Objective 2.1 Support educational institutions, students, parents and communities to increase access and completion of college, lifelong 

learning and career, technical and adult education.

Strategic Objective 2.2 Support agencies and educational institutions in identifying and using evidence-based strategies or other promising practices to 

improve educational opportunities and successfully prepare individuals to compete in the global economy.

Strategic Objective 2.3 Support agencies and educational institutions as they create or expand innovative and affordable paths to relevant careers by 

providing postsecondary credentials or job-ready skills.

Strategic Objective 2.4 Improve quality of service for customers across the entire student aid life cycle.

Strategic Objective 2.5 Enhance students’ and parents’ ability to repay their federal student loans by providing accurate and timely information, relevant 

tools and manageable repayment options.

Strategic Goal 3: Strengthen the quality, accessibility and use of education data through better management, increased privacy protections 

and transparency.

Strategic Objective 3.1 Improve the Department’s data governance, data life cycle management and the capacity to support education data.

Strategic Objective 3.2 Improve privacy protections for, and transparency of, education data both at the Department and in the education community.

Strategic Objective 3.3 Increase access to, and use of, education data to make informed decisions both at the Department and in the education 

community.

Strategic Goal 4: Reform the effectiveness, efficiency and accountability of the Department.

Strategic Objective 4.1 Provide regulatory relief to educational institutions and reduce burden by identifying time-consuming regulations, processes and 

policies and working to improve or eliminate them, while continuing to protect taxpayers from waste and abuse.

Strategic Objective 4.2 Identify, assess, monitor and manage enterprise risks.

Strategic Objective 4.3 Strengthen the Department’s cybersecurity by enhancing protections for its information technology infrastructure, systems and data.

Strategic Objective 4.4 Improve the engagement and preparation of the Department’s workforce using professional development and accountability measures.
6 FY 2019 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

THE DEPARTMENT’S AGENCY PRIORITY GOALS (APGs)

The Department identified four APGs for FY 2018–19. Improving education starts with allowing greater decision-making 

authority at the state and local levels and empowering parents and students with educational options. These APGs aimed 

to increase educational choice, improve the customer service the Department provides student aid borrowers, ensure 

protections of student privacy, and reduce red tape. The Department will identify APGs for FY 2020–21 in the FY 2021 

Annual Performance Plan. The effective implementation of the Department’s APGs will depend, in part, on the effective 

use of high-quality and timely data, including evaluations and performance measures. The Annual Performance Plan and 

quarterly updates for the APGs are available on www.Performance.gov/education/education.html.

APG Related Strategic Objective

Improve the access to, and the quality and transparency of, school choice 

options for kindergarten - grade 12 students. By September 30, 2019, the Charter 

School Program (CSP) will support the creation and expansion of 300 new charter 

schools nationally. The CSP will also support the enrollment of 50,000 students in new 

charter schools. Additionally, by September 30, 2019, the Department will disseminate 

eight resources, at least one per quarter, on evidence-based and promising practices 

related to school choice.

Strategic Objective 1.1: Increase high-quality educational 

options and empower students and parents to choose an 

education that meets their needs.

Improve borrowers’ access to quality customer service. By September 30, 

2019, the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) will advance the adoption of the Next 

Generation Financial Services Environment, enabling over 1.8 million customers to 

submit their Free Application for Federal Student Aid through the FSA mobile platform 

and 30,000 customers to use the mobile platform to check on their loan balances. 

Strategic Objective 2.4: Improve quality of service for 

customers across the entire student aid life cycle.

Improve student privacy and data security at Institutions of Higher Education 

(IHEs) through outreach and compliance efforts. By September 30, 2019, the 

Department will increase information security program outreach activities to IHEs by 

40% in order to help protect IT systems and data privacy and commence audits of 

IHEs subject to the Single Audit and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), resulting in 

36 IHEs (from a baseline of zero) completing an audit of GLBA-related information 

security safeguards with no significant findings.

Strategic Objective 3.2: Improve privacy protections 

for, and transparency of, education data both at the 

Department and in the education community.

Provide regulatory relief to education stakeholders. By September 30, 2019, the 

Department will reduce the regulatory burden on education stakeholders by submitting 

to OMB no less than 25 deregulatory actions (against a baseline of zero (0) for FYs 

2015 and 2016).

Strategic Objective 4.1: Provide regulatory relief to 

educational institutions and reduce burden by identifying 

time-consuming regulations, processes and policies and 

working to improve or eliminate them, while continuing to 

protect taxpayers from waste and abuse.

Goal 1. Support state and local efforts to 

improve learning outcomes for all 

P–12 students in every community.

Strategic Goal 1 focuses on outcomes related to 

the transition from the No Child Left Behind Act to 

implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), 

which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act in December 2015. The hallmark of the 

ESSA is the flexibility it provides for states to do what is 

best for children while preserving important protections 

for economically disadvantaged students, children 

with disabilities, English learners, and other vulnerable 

students. The law requires that states take steps to ensure 

all students have access to excellent teachers and positive, 

safe learning environments that equip them for college 

and career success.

The FY 2018–19 APG associated with Strategic Goal 

1 focused on expanding educational choice options for 

parents and students. Specifically, the APG aims to improve 

the access to, and the quality and transparency of, school 

choice options for kindergarten–grade 12 students.

APG for FY 2018–2019: Improve the access to, 

and the quality and transparency of, school 

choice options for K–12 students.

By September 30, 2019, the Charter School Program 

(CSP) will support the creation and expansion of 

300 new charter schools nationally. The CSP will 

also support the enrollment of 50,000 students in new 

charter schools. Additionally, by September 30, 2019, 

the Department will disseminate eight resources, 

at least one per quarter, on evidence-based and 

promising practices related to school choice.
FY 2019 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 7

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

security, usability, and experience of myStudentAid app 

for customers based on customer feedback to enhance 

the student and parent experience. Through FY 2019, 

nearly 66,000 customers used the myStudentAid app to 

check loan balances, resulting in goal achievement for this 

fiscal year. In addition, the fafsa.gov site was redesigned 

to accommodate the screen size and shape of any device, 

including desktop or laptop computers and mobile devices 

such as smartphones or tablets.

Goal 3. Strengthen the quality, accessibility 

and use of education data through better 

management, increased privacy protections 

and transparency.

Strategic Goal 3 focuses on strengthening data-driven 

decision-making in education by focusing on the ways 

the Department manages and makes available education 

data, while protecting student privacy. The Department 

is committed to improving how staff and stakeholders 

access, use, and share meaningful data on education 

while protecting privacy. These improvements enable 

the Department and other stakeholders in the education 

community to better provide the public with the 

information necessary to make informed decisions on 

behalf of their communities, states, and local districts. 

The FY 2018–19 APG associated with Strategic Goal 3 

focused on improving student privacy and data security at 

Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) through outreach 

and compliance efforts.

In FY 2019, the Department focused on this APG 

through collaborative efforts involving training, outreach, 

monitoring, and reporting. New audit standards for 

GLBA-related information security safeguards were 

published in the June 2019 2 C.F.R. Part 200 Appendix 

IX Compliance Supplement and impact the requirement 

of IHEs to conduct and submit an audited assessment of 

In FY 2019, the Department focused on the 

implementation of the CSP, including conducting new 

competitions and providing technical assistance to current 

grantees. Through CSP, the Department supported seven 

charter school grant programs through monitoring calls 

and site visits. In FY 2019, the Department released three 

evidence-based and promising practices resources related 

to educational choice. The Department met the target of 

disseminating eight resources during the FY 2018–19 APG 

reporting period. 

Goal 2. Expand postsecondary educational 

opportunities, improve outcomes to foster 

economic opportunity and promote an informed, 

thoughtful and productive citizenry.

Strategic Goal 2 focuses on expanding the Department’s 

efforts to support innovative and accessible paths to 

postsecondary credentials and job-ready skills training. 

In addition to supporting expanded postsecondary 

opportunities, the Department has a number of initiatives 

focused on affordability. These initiatives ensure borrowers 

have the best information available to make postsecondary 

program selection and associated borrowing decisions. The 

Department also continues to help students understand their 

financial aid options and repayment obligations. The FY 

2018–19 APG associated with Strategic Goal 2 focused on 

improving borrowers’ access to quality customer service.

In FY 2019, the Department focused on this APG to 

improve customers’ experience throughout the entire 

student aid life cycle by first modernizing capabilities 

related to the FAFSA and the servicing and repayment of 

customer loans. With the Department’s transition in FY 

2018 to a new paradigm of student loan processing, Next 

Generation Financial Services Environment (Next Gen 

FSA), FSA is providing a new experience for borrowers, 

and FSA customers in general, as they seek to make 

informed decisions about applying for aid, attending 

school, and repaying their student loans. From October 

2018 – February 2019, FSA made changes to improve the 

APG for FY 2018–2019: Improve borrowers’ 

access to quality customer service.

By September 30, 2019, the Office of Federal Student 

Aid (FSA) will advance the adoption of the Next 

Generation Financial Services Environment, enabling 

over 1.8 million customers to submit their Free 

Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) through 

the FSA mobile platform and 30,000 customers to use 

the mobile platform to check on their loan balances.

APG for FY 2018–2019: Improve student 

privacy and data security at Institutions of 

Higher Education (IHEs) through outreach and 

compliance efforts.

By September 30, 2019, the Department will increase 

information security program outreach activities to 

IHEs by 40% in order to help protect IT systems and 

data privacy and commence audits of IHEs subject 

to the Single Audit and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

(GLBA), resulting in 36 IHEs (from a baseline of zero) 

completing an audit of GLBA-related information 

security safeguards with no significant findings.
8 FY 2019 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

The Department intends to reduce the regulatory 

burden on stakeholders through review, rescission, and 

modification of outdated, burdensome regulations and 

guidance. The Regulatory Reform Task Force (RRTF), 

which includes a wide cross section of the Department’s 

senior leaders, was established under Executive Order 

13777 to review and reduce regulatory inefficiencies. The 

2018 RRTF Report highlights the Department’s efforts 

to reduce regulatory burden through December 2018. In 

response to RRTF recommendations, several cross-office 

workgroups were established to focus on the Education 

Department General Administrative Regulations; a web 

portal for Departmental guidance documents; and an 

information collections workgroup to reduce paperwork 

burden. In 2019, the Department issued final regulations 

on issues such as Programs and Activities Authorized 

by the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (Title 

II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 

2010) and Program Integrity: Gainful Employment. The 

latter rule eliminates significant paperwork burden and 

administrative costs for applicable entities and is estimated 

to yield $160 million in annualized cost savings.

data security programs. IHEs subject to the Single Audit 

have nine months from their fiscal year end to submit the 

audits to the Department; IHEs will not include the newly 

required standards in time to meet the Department’s FY 

2019 APG target. In Quarter 3 through Quarter 4, FSA 

engaged with 708 IHEs for technical assistance related 

to cybersecurity. FSA’s contact with these institutions 

consisted of discussing industry best practices, mitigation 

strategies, guidance for improving processes, and 

documentation to improve their security postures. FSA 

and the Department’s Privacy and Technical Assistance 

Center (PTAC) surpassed the FY 2018-19 APG target and 

collaborated to conduct 103 outreach activities targeting 

data privacy and IT security requirements of IHEs.

Goal 4. Reform the effectiveness, efficiency and 

accountability of the Department.

Strategic Goal 4 focuses in general on protecting taxpayers 

from fraud, waste and abuse. This involves improving 

internal decision-making and reducing regulatory burden 

on external stakeholders. The FY 2018-19 APG associated 

with Strategic Goal 4 aimed to provide regulatory relief to 

education stakeholders. 

APG for FY 2018–2019: Provide regulatory 

relief to education stakeholders.

By September 30, 2019, the Department will reduce 

the regulatory burden on education stakeholders by 

submitting to OMB no less than 25 deregulatory 

actions (against a baseline of zero (0) for FYs 2015 

and 2016).