With approximately nine million student loan borrowers in default, the Department of Education is urging schools to act to help their former students return to repayment.
In a September 2 Dear Colleague Letter, Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced two upcoming webinars, which are a part of their initiative to assist schools in reducing student loan delinquency and default while maintaining eligibility for federal student aid programs.
According to the Department, the effort is part of the initiative to improve the overall health of the $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio. The initiative also includes regional workshops, conference sessions, and one-on-one consultations.
The Department said as a part of the initiative, an emphasis will be given to institutions with elevated delinquency, nonpayment, or cohort default rates, particularly those schools required to develop a formal default prevention plan.
Registration is required for the live Zoom webinars, which will accommodate up to 10,000 attendees per session. In order to consolidate similar questions and answer as many as possible, FSA is requesting that questions be submitted in advance.
The webinars include:
Default Prevention: NSLDS Reporting Tools
- Tuesday, September 29, 2026, 1:15–2:15 p.m. (Eastern)
- This webinar introduces NSLDS resources designed to help with default management and prevention. Attendees will learn how to use the Delinquent Borrower report, the 24/36 Month Repayment report, the Loan Record Detail report, and the draft cohort default rate calculation will also be explained.
Default Prevention: Institutional Strategies for Success
- Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 1:15–2:15 p.m. (Eastern)
- This session highlights the importance of managing and preventing loan defaults for campus leaders, showing how they affect daily operations and eligibility for federal student aid. It also offers practical resources to improve borrower communication and support students as they repay their loans.
A PDF version of the presentation will be available for download the day before the live webinar in the “Upcoming Webinars” section of the FSA Training Center. The webinar recording and transcript will be posted in the FSA Training Center the week following the webinar by logging in, going to “Recorded Webinars and Training” on the main menu bar, selecting “Webinars and Training Videos,” and then selecting “School Eligibility.”
Questions should be directed to the Default Prevention Team at DefaultPreventionAssistance@ed.gov. Questions specific to the FSA Training Center, can be sent to helpdesk.fsatraining@ed.gov.
