The head of the Biden administration’s Federal Student Aid office, Richard Cordray, is stepping down following the disastrous implementation of the revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) program. The program overhaul led to glitches and delays, preventing millions of students from receiving crucial information about the money they would need for college in the fall. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona announced that Cordray would remain in the position until June, thanking him for his transformative work within the student aid system.
The FAFSA Simplification Act of 2019 aimed to simplify the financial aid application form to help students determine their eligibility more easily. Despite this intention, Cordray’s office missed the October 1, 2023, deadline to implement the new form by three months. When the online form was eventually launched, it was plagued with bugs that hindered students from accessing the application and provided inaccurate financial calculations. These delays and technical issues created uncertainty for millions of students regarding their enrollment status and left families without timely access to important financial aid information.
In response to ongoing issues with the FAFSA, Education Secretary Cardona urged colleges and universities to reconsider their aid application deadlines to ensure that students had enough time to submit and correct their forms. Meanwhile, Sen. Joni Ernst and Rep. Julia Letlow have called for an investigation into the potential misappropriation of funds allocated for the FAFSA form overhaul. They raised concerns that these funds may have been diverted to President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan rather than being used efficiently to improve the FAFSA process, questioning the allocation of the $153 billion in student loan forgiveness approved to date.
FAFSA is used by around 17 million students and over 5,500 colleges and universities across the country. The failures in the implementation of the new FAFSA program have had significant impacts on students and educational institutions, creating challenges in accessing financial aid information and determining enrollment status. Despite Cordray’s efforts to bring transformative changes to the student aid system, the glitches and delays in the FAFSA program have overshadowed his tenure, leading to his decision to step down from his position as the head of the Federal Student Aid office.
Education Secretary Cardona expressed gratitude for Cordray’s three years of service and his commitment to making positive changes within the student aid system. Cordray will continue to serve as the Chief Operating Officer until the end of June, completing his tenure at the Federal Student Aid office. The failures in implementing the revised FAFSA program highlight the challenges of introducing major changes to essential financial aid processes in higher education and the importance of ensuring effective and efficient allocation of resources to support students in accessing financial assistance for their education.
