Report: ED Reduces FSA Staff Who Handle Financial Aid Complaints
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
Amid reports of impending staff restructuring and budget cuts to the Department of Education (ED), the department has reportedly fired eight out of 21 staffers who handled complaints filed to the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), according to Politico.
Politico reports that the eight staffers who were fired in late February were part of a team that handled complaints submitted online to FSA. Additionally, FSA this month started the process of moving the online button that leads users to submit a complaint.
Madi Biedermann, an ED spokesperson, told Politico that the button to submit a complaint will be moved from the top of the webpage to the footer and renamed “submit feedback.”
The “rebranding” of the complaint button was done in hopes of decreasing the volume of complaints to the contact center, according to an email from ED obtained by Politico. According to FSA’s 2024 annual report, FSA received 289,523 complaints in fiscal year (FY) 2024 — over double the amount of complaints received by the agency in 2023, with 122,632 complaints. Ninety-one percent of complaints filed in FY 2024 were submitted through StudentAid.gov.
ED has not yet responded to NASFAA’s request for comment.
The news of the firings comes after multiple reports that the Trump administration wants to eliminate, or gut, ED. Linda McMahon, who was confirmed as secretary of education this week, noted in an email to staff that the department’s efficiency is under review, and that there will be changes that impact ED’s staffing, budget, and operations.
Additionally, the Trump administration offered ED staff a $25,000 cash payout if they voluntarily resigned by Monday, March 3. It is unclear how many staffers have agreed to this condition or if the department has the authority to provide such a payout without congressional approval. In late February, the Trump administration also issued a memo to agency leaders to submit plans by March 13 for laying off employees.
Previously, the Biden administration in its fiscal year 2025 budget request – which was released last year – noted that at current staffing levels, ED doesn’t have “sufficient capacity” to adjudicate a significant number of cases required by the Sweet v. Cardona settlement. Under the settlement, ED must adjudicate over 250,000 borrower applications by January 28, 2026.
In its budget request, the Biden administration wrote it would need to hire 300 attorneys, at an estimated cost of $56 million, and have these attorneys work exclusively on these applications for a full year. If ED does not hire adequate staff, the Biden administration estimated that a significant amount of unadjudicated applications under the settlement could be automatically discharged.
According to Politico, among the eight staffers fired, two staffers reviewed borrower defense applications under Sweet v. Cardona. The two staffers who were fired told Politico that they were reviewing 200-300 cases a week and had a backlog of over 4,000 emails.
Beth Maglione, NASFAA’s interim president and CEO, said it is troubling that ED is firing FSA staff that handles complaints and “burying” the complaint submission button.
“Reducing capacity and accessibility — without addressing the underlying issues raised by students and families — sends the wrong message,” Maglione said in a statement. “NASFAA urges the Trump administration to prioritize student protections and ensure borrowers have a clear, effective avenue to seek help when they need it.”
Publication Date: 3/6/2025
Jeanne S | 3/6/2025 9:5:34 AM
I am not surprised at the number of increased complaints given the FAFSA "simplification" initiative.
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