Student loan, grant programs suffer outages after Education Department cuts - The Washington Post

Key Issues: Outages and Delays in Federal Student Aid

The U.S. Education Department's financial aid systems have experienced frequent and prolonged outages following staff cuts implemented by the Trump administration. These outages are affecting student loan disbursement, grant processing, and access to crucial information for both students and college aid officers.

Impact on Students and Colleges

Colleges are reporting disruptions in calculating financial aid offers and obtaining timely answers about federal aid eligibility and program additions. The delays in accessing vital portals like the Student Aid Internet Gateway are hindering efficient processing of financial aid applications.

• Delays in processing FAFSA records, loan records, and Pell grants.
• Difficulty accessing student loan information databases.
• Challenges in contacting the Education Department for assistance.

Government Response and Concerns

While the Education Department spokesperson denies prolonged outages, college officials and former employees express deep concerns about the impact of staff reductions. The loss of experienced technical staff has significantly slowed the response time in resolving technical issues. The reduction in staff also created a huge backlog of applications.

• Significant reduction in staff of oversight group, responsible for monitoring colleges' participation in aid programs (from 142 to 35).
• Backlogs in applications for college eligibility (1600) and financial analysis (800).

Long-Term Implications

Experts warn that the current disruptions are likely to worsen, impacting students' access to financial aid, particularly given a previously troubled FAFSA rollout. The long-term effects of staff cuts on the stability and efficiency of the federal student aid systems remain a major concern.