Schools attempting to respond to borrower defense to repayment claims will find the system is currently unavailable.
In an October 7 Electronic Announcement, Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced that after completing the transition of the Borrower Defense to Repayment functionality from the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system to FSA Partner Connect on October 4, an issue has been identified. As a result, the functionality has been temporarily removed from the FSA Partner Connect while the issue is being resolved. Once the functionality has been restored, an update to the announcement will be made.
It was recently announced that starting in October 2026, schools will use FSA Partner Connect to respond to borrower defense applications received from FSA.
Since schools are unable to access borrower defense functionality, FSA has extended the response deadline communicated for specific borrower defense notifications. No action is required of schools until further guidance is provided.
Technical questions about FSA Partner Connect can be sent via the Customer Support form in the FSA Partner Connect Help Center or by calling the FSA Partner and School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978.
Questions regarding a specific borrower defense application should be directed to the Borrower Defense Customer Support at 1-855-279-6207. Information for borrowers is available at StudentAid.gov/borrower-defense.
