Federal Student Aid Chief Steps Down After Chaotic FAFSA Season

Federal Student Aid (FSA) office chief Richard Cordray announced Friday that he would leave his position following difficulties with the first season of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms.

“My first day at the FSA was on 4 May 2021. Next week my three-year term as Director of Operations will come to an end and I have written to the Secretary to confirm that I will not continue for another three years. deadline of the year. We have agreed, however, that I will continue to perform my current duties during a transition period as the Department considers the long term,” Cordray said in a letter to FSA employees.

The Department of Education has faced bipartisan criticism for the struggles students and colleges have had with the new FAFSA forms.

Republicans pushed for Cordray’s resignation, while advocates called for consequences against the department for the chaotic implementation.

“If there were a financial aid director, or even a college president, who delayed financial aid on their campus for up to six months, the professional price that would be paid for that would be quite high,” Justin Draeger, president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators said at a House hearing focused on FAFSA implementation.

The new FAFSA forms were released in early January, but it took several weeks before people were able to access them without technical difficulties.

There were then delays in colleges receiving financial aid information. While schools were originally supposed to receive it at the end of January, it was delayed until mid-March.

After the information was submitted, millions of applications experienced processing issues that had to be fixed. Some schools don’t expect offers of aid until May, when the normal deadline students have to decide which school to attend is May 1.

“As my three-year term as Head of the FSA comes to an end, we have reached important milestones for the FSA. During my tenure, we have provided student loan forgiveness to more than 4,000,000 borrowers and their families; made it easier for people to apply for and administer federal student aid; and took strong action to hold schools accountable for defrauding students. I have agreed to stay on for an interim period to help with the transition,” Cordray said in a statement.