Head of Federal Student Aid steps down after chaotic FAFSA season

Federal Student Aid (FSA) Executive Director Richard Cordray announced Friday that he is stepping down from his position following difficulties with the first season of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

“I first started at the FSA on May 4, 2021. As my three-year term as Chief Operating Officer comes to an end next week, I have written to the Commissioner and “I have confirmed that I will not continue in my role for another three years. However, as the FSA is taking a long-term view, I have agreed to continue in my current role during the transition period.” stated in a letter to Financial Services Agency officials.

The Department of Education has faced bipartisan criticism for students and colleges struggling with the new FAFSA format.

Republicans have called for Mr. Cordray to resign, while his supporters have called for retaliation against the department for the disorderly rollout.

“If you have a financial aid officer or a university president who delays on-campus financial aid for up to six months, the professional price you pay for that can be quite high,” said National University President Justin Drager. It will happen,” he said. The Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators said this during a House hearing focused on FAFSA implementation.

The new FAFSA form went live in early January, but it took several weeks for people to be able to access the form without any technical issues.

Then there was a delay in the university receiving financial aid information. Schools were originally supposed to be notified at the end of January, but this was postponed to mid-March.

Once the information was submitted, millions of applications encountered processing issues that needed to be fixed. Some schools are not expecting offers of aid until May, when the usual deadline for students to decide which school to attend is May 1.

“As my three-year term as Commissioner of the FSA comes to a close, we have achieved significant milestones for the FSA. We’ve provided student loan forgiveness to families, made it easier to apply for and manage federal student aid, and taken strong action to hold schools accountable for defrauding students. Cordray said in a statement.