NASFAA Statement on U.S. Department of Education and Treasury Partnership
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Allie Arcese
Sr. Director, Strategic Communications
[email protected]
WASHINGTON, D.C., MARCH 19, 2026 — The U.S. Department of Education (ED) on Thursday announced a partnership through which the U.S. Department of Treasury will assume the operations of collecting on defaulted federal student loans and, subsequently, may provide “operational support” over other federal student loans and other functions of the Office of Federal Student Aid.
In response to this news, NASFAA President & CEO Melanie Storey released the following statement:
“Regardless of which entity is servicing student loans or collecting on defaulted loans, what’s most important is that students and borrowers have frictionless service and maintain access to the information they need to make progress on repaying their loans. That means providing clear communications on the status of their loans, information on how to rehabilitate defaulted loans, and who they can reach out to for assistance.
Making a transition of this magnitude would require significant time and careful planning to avoid potential disruption to borrowers — an undertaking that could be challenging given the steep staff reductions that have taken place across the federal government.
And while Treasury officials have experience collecting debt, transferring other responsibilities that come with servicing federal student loans to agencies without deep experience or knowledge of those programs could pose new obstacles for students and borrowers.
As this partnership develops, we urge our partners in the federal government to establish and communicate clear timelines for execution, engage with stakeholders — including financial aid professionals — along the way, and be transparent about any forthcoming changes before they are enacted.”
NASFAA policy experts are available to speak to members of the media about changes to the federal student loan portfolio. To set up an interview, please email [email protected].
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About NASFAA
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is a nonprofit membership organization that represents more than 29,000 financial aid professionals at approximately 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country. NASFAA member institutions serve nine out of every 10 cavaundergraduates in the U.S. Based in Washington, D.C., NASFAA is the only national association with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators.
Publication Date: 3/20/2026
