By: James Kvaal, U.S. Under Secretary of Education
No president in history has done more to fix a broken student debt system than President Biden – including approving loan forgiveness for more than 4.7 million people and creating the SAVE plan, the most affordable repayment plan ever. But loan relief, alone, is not enough. We must also address the root causes of unaffordable debt.
By: James Kvaal, U.S. Under Secretary of Education
Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, over 942,000 public service workers have received the $68 billion in relief they are entitled to under the bipartisan Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). Prior to the Biden Administration, only 7,000 people in total had received debt forgiveness through PSLF.
This week, the U.S. Department of Education’s (Department) office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) is updating how borrowers manage their participation in the PSLF Program. These exciting changes have been in development for many years as the Department has worked to both overhaul loan servicing and implement significant improvements to its loan forgiveness programs, which include PSLF.
It has been nearly 18 years since Congress ended the joint consolidation loan (JCL) program; no new JCLs could be issued, and JCLs could not be reconsolidated or separated. Borrowers who were married and combined their individual federal student loans into a single joint Direct Consolidation Loan or joint Federal Consolidation Loan with their spouse continue to be mired by the inflexibility of that defunct loan program.
In a letter sent to all staff today, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona outlined comprehensive steps the Department is taking to improve Federal Student Aid (FSA) for students, families, borrowers, and schools. These efforts will ensure FSA works better and addresses ongoing management and operational challenges. Specifically, the Department is taking the following steps:
Update about federal student aid
Next week, FSA will begin the next phase in years long work to improve the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. These improvements have been in the making for years and are an exciting and necessary step in transitioning key aspects of the PSLF program, including customer service, to the Department of Education. This will ultimately reduce the time it takes for a borrower’s application to process and provide a better customer service experience for borrowers enrolled in PSLF.
Last Friday concluded the Department’s #FAFSAFastBreak Campaign. This Week of Action was a national effort to drive FAFSA submissions among high school seniors and returning college students.
By: Richard Cordray, Chief Operating Office, Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education
This spring, Federal Student Aid (FSA) will begin improving how individual borrowers manage and repay their federal student loans. Through multiple phases, we will bring online an entirely new federal student loan servicing environment – a goal we have pursued for more than a decade. We are excited to reach this important milestone.
Borrowers Have More Time to Consolidate Loans to Benefit from the Adjustment
By: Federal Student Aid Chief Operating Officer Richard Cordray
Since this summer, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) has approved almost $44 billion in debt relief for more than 900,000 borrowers as part of the payment count adjustment. This is a one-time initiative to address historical failures in administering student loans. It provides much-needed relief to borrowers who have been in repayment for 20 years or more and gives all other borrowers an accurate picture of their progress toward forgiveness going forward. The payment count adjustment is one of several actions that has brought overall forgiveness approved by the Biden-Harris Administration to $132 billion for over 3.6 million borrowers.
By: U.S. Undersecretary of Education James Kvaal
After more than three years, in June 2023, Congress ended the student loan payment pause, which suspended payments and interest for the duration of the pandemic. This fall, more than 28 million borrowers are returning to repayment, an unprecedented challenge for both borrowers and the Department of Education.
By: James Kvaal, Under Secretary of Education
For millions of students like you, federal student loans and grants open the doors to a college education. That critical federal aid must be used at a school that is (among other things) given the seal of approval by an “accrediting agency” or “accreditor” recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. It’s one of the safeguards in the system designed to protect both taxpayers and students.
By: Richard Cordray, Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid
For many, summer is a time for family trips and backyard BBQs, but it is not all fun and games. Before we know it, many students will be rushing to complete summer assignments before heading back to school. Here at Federal Student Aid (FSA), we have had a major “summer school” assignment of our own: we have been working hard to launch a new website that helps financial aid professionals at colleges and career schools prepare for the upcoming school year.
By: Richard Cordray, Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Department of Education’s office of Federal Student Aid
Today, I’m pleased to announce that Federal Student Aid (FSA) posted the solicitation for what we’re calling the Unified Servicing and Data Solution (USDS). The USDS is the long-term loan servicing solution designed to provide federal student loan borrowers with a 21st-century customer experience. Building on lessons learned from past loan servicing efforts, FSA and the U.S. Department of Education are committed to holding USDS servicers accountable for a high level of performance and focusing on key objectives like reducing borrower delinquency and default.
