The FAFSA and student loan servicing are two areas left unimpacted by the recent Department of Education layoffs, according to a letter sent out late last week.
In a March 17 Electronic Announcement, the Department published the March 14 letter from Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron, addressing the recent reduction in force (RIF). The letter was sent on March 14 via email to higher education stakeholders.
The Department states in the letter that the reductions are “in line with President Trump’s commitment to return education to the states and are strategic cuts to offices and programs that will not directly impact students and families but rather empower states and localities.”
According to the letter, no employees working on the core functions of the FAFSA or student loan servicing were impacted. Regional offices and staff that manage various functions for higher education institutions including program reviews, changes in ownership, program participation agreements were impacted. Those functions are being transferred to other offices and FSA plans to provide an update soon.
Some staff were not impacted by the RIF include the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) and the Office of Higher Education Programs (HEP), which oversee funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Minority-Serving Institutions, community colleges, TRIO programs, and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). Also, the critical functions for the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education were not impacted.
Institutions with immediate operational impact concerns, are asked to email CaseTeams@ed.gov.
