DOE layoffs have disrupted student financial aid – Survey

A large majority of financial aid administrators, 72%, say they’ve experienced “noticeable changes” in the Federal Student Aid office’s communications, responsiveness and processing timelines since the United States Department of Education’s (DOE’s) mass layoffs in March, reports Natalie Schwartz for Higher Ed Dive.

That’s according to a July survey conducted by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).

The results also show that “federal support channels for students are breaking down,” including through issues with call centres, NASFAA said. These disruptions are hampering colleges’ ability to assist students, it said. “Unless federal service channels stabilise, the aid system risks becoming less accessible, less predictable, and less trusted by the very students it is intended to serve,” it added.
Full report on the Higher Ed Dive site