2 FY 2021 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

About the Management’s

Discussion and Analysis

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) 

continued to enhance the content quality, report 

layout, and public accessibility of the fiscal year (FY) 2021 

Agency Financial Report (AFR) by refining graphics and 

providing more useful, balanced, and easily understood 

information about the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic 

Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, and about the 

Department’s loan programs, including additional cost 

and risk information. The Department also chose relevant 

web content to provide users with more information 

about the Department’s operations and performance.

To take advantage of the hyperlinks embedded in the 

report, the Department recommends reading it on the 

Internet. To continue to improve the quality and usefulness 

of information provided in the AFR, the Department

encourages the public and other stakeholders to provide 

feedback and suggestions at AFRComments@ed.gov.

This section highlights information on the Department’s 

performance, financial statements, systems and controls, 

compliance with laws and regulations, and actions taken 

or planned to address select challenges.

M I S S I O N A N D 

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

This section provides information about the Department’s 

mission, an overview of its history, and its structure. The 

active links include the organization chart and principal 

offices and a link to the full list of Department offices

with a description of selected offices by function.

T H E D E PA R T M E N T ’ S A P P R O AC H 

TO PERFORMANCE

This section provides a summary of the Department’s 

performance goals and results for FY 2021. Since the 

Department has chosen to produce separate financial 

and performance reports, a detailed discussion of 

performance information for FY 2021 will be provided in 

the Department’s FY 2021 Annual Performance Report and 

FY 2023 Annual Performance Plan to be released online 

at the same time as the President’s FY 2023 Budget of the 

United States Government (President’s Budget) in February 

2022. For more information, prior year performance 

reports can be found on the Department’s website. The 

Department also urges readers to seek programmatic data 

as it is reported in the Congressional Budget Justification, 

as well as on the web pages of individual programs. 

Any questions or comments about the Department’s 

performance reporting should be emailed to PIO@ed.gov. 

For more details on performance, please refer to the 

Department’s budget and performance web page at www.

Performance.gov.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

This section provides summarized information and analyses 

about the Department’s assets, liabilities, net position, 

sources and uses of funds, program costs, and related trend 

data. It provides a high-level perspective of the detailed 

information contained in the financial statements and 

related notes and provides an analysis of key financial 

statement changes.

A N A LYS I S O F SYS T E M S , C O N T R O L S , 

AND LEGAL COMPLIANCE

The Department’s internal control framework and its 

assessment of controls, in accordance with Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-123, 

Management’s Responsibility for Enterprise Risk 

Management and Internal Control, provide assurance 

to Department leadership and external stakeholders that 

financial data produced by the Department’s business and 

financial processes and systems are complete, accurate, 

and reliable.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

The Forward-Looking Information section describes the 

challenges that the Department aims to address to achieve 

progress on Enterprise Risk Management, Direct Loans, 

Next Generation Federal Student Aid (Next Gen FSA), 

Leveraging Data as a Strategic Asset, and Technology 

Business Management Solutions (TBMS).
FY 2021 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 3

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

About the Department

Our Mission

The U.S. Department of Education’s mission is to 

promote student achievement and preparation for 

global competitiveness by fostering educational 

excellence and ensuring equal access.

Who We Are. In 1867, the federal government recognized 

that furthering education was a national priority and 

created a federal education agency to collect and report 

statistical data. The Department was established as a 

Cabinet-level agency in 1980. Today, the Department 

supports programs in every area and level of education 

from preschool through postdoctoral research.

The Department makes funds and information available 

to individuals pursuing an education, colleges and 

universities, state education agencies, and school districts 

by engaging in four major categories of activities:

• Establishing policies related to federal education 

funding, including distributing funds, collecting on 

student loans, and using data to monitor the 

use of funds.

• Supporting data collection and research on 

America’s schools.

• Identifying major issues in education and focusing 

national attention on them.

• Enforcing federal laws promoting equal access and 

prohibiting discrimination in programs that receive 

federal funds.

Our Public Benefit. The Department executes the 

laws passed by Congress to promote student academic 

achievement and preparation for global competitiveness. 

The Department works with students, parents, educational 

institutions, school districts, and states to foster 

educational excellence and to ensure equal access to a 

high-quality education for all students. While recognizing 

the primary role of states and school districts in providing 

high-quality education, the Department is committed to 

helping ensure students throughout the nation develop 

skills to succeed in school, pursue postsecondary options, 

and transition to the workforce. The Department’s vision 

is to improve educational outcomes for all students.

Many of the Department’s programs involve awarding 

grants to state and local educational agencies and 

providing grants and loans to postsecondary students. The 

Department’s largest outlays are for its portfolio of student 

loans (see the Financial Highlights and Notes sections). 

Grant programs constitute the second-largest driver of 

outlays. The grant programs include student aid to help 

pay for college through Pell Grants, Work-Study, and 

other campus-based programs; grants awarded based on 

statutory formulas mostly for elementary and secondary 

education; and competitive grant programs to promote 

innovation. The Department also supports research, 

collects education statistics, and enforces civil rights laws. 

The Department manages and spends financial resources 

on programs designed to support parents, teachers, 

principals, school leadership, institutions, and states in 

the pursuit of instilling knowledge and transferring skills 

to students.
4 FY 2021 AGENCY FINANCIAL REPORT | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

The Department in Fiscal Year 2021

This chart reflects the coordinating structure of the U.S. Department of Education. A text version of the FY 2021 

coordinating structure of the Department is available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: The colors on this chart are for aesthetics only.

* The Office of the Under Secretary is responsible for the administration of the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity 

through Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

** The White House Initiatives are Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives; White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education; White House Initiative 

on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics; and White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.