Department of Education: Gaps in Federal Student Aid Contract Oversight and System Testing Need Immediate Attention. Report to Congressional Requesters. GAO-25-107396
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| Title: | Department of Education: Gaps in Federal Student Aid Contract Oversight and System Testing Need Immediate Attention. Report to Congressional Requesters. GAO-25-107396 |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Marisol Cruz Cain, US Government Accountability Office (GAO) |
| Source: | US Government Accountability Office. 2025. |
| Availability: | US Government Accountability Office. 441 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20548. Tel: 202-512-6000; Web site: http://www.gao.gov |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 62 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Intended Audience: | Policymakers |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials |
| Descriptors: | Student Financial Aid, Financial Aid Applicants, Federal Government, Federal Programs, Usability, Performance Contracts, Program Evaluation, Information Technology, Computer Software |
| Abstract: | The Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) manages the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which students and parents submit to determine a student's eligibility for receiving financial aid. The FAFSA Processing System (FPS)--the system that underpins federal student aid--processes these applications. In December 2023, FSA, the largest provider of student financial aid in the nation, deployed a new system with limited functionality to process student aid applications. However, the system--FPS--had availability issues, recurring errors, and long wait times that affected students' ability to receive aid. Since then, FSA has continued to work to deploy additional functionality. Among other things, this report addresses the extent to which FSA conducted selected contract oversight activities and applied leading systems testing practices. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined how FSA tracked the contractor's progress in meeting contract requirements and compared FSA actions to established contract oversight processes and agency standards. GAO also identified key contract oversight staff for FPS and compared federal certification and training requirements against relevant documentation for these staff. In addition, GAO compared the actions taken by FSA to leading practices for system testing. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | ED676837 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 CustomLinks: – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED676837 Name: ERIC Full Text Category: fullText Text: Full Text from ERIC |
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| Header | DbId: eric DbLabel: ERIC An: ED676837 AccessLevel: 3 PubType: Report PubTypeId: report PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Department of Education: Gaps in Federal Student Aid Contract Oversight and System Testing Need Immediate Attention. Report to Congressional Requesters. GAO-25-107396 – Name: Language Label: Language Group: Lang Data: English – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marisol+Cruz+Cain%22">Marisol Cruz Cain</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22US+Government+Accountability+Office+%28GAO%29%22">US Government Accountability Office (GAO)</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22US+Government+Accountability+Office%22"><i>US Government Accountability Office</i></searchLink>. 2025. – Name: Avail Label: Availability Group: Avail Data: US Government Accountability Office. 441 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20548. Tel: 202-512-6000; Web site: http://www.gao.gov – Name: PeerReviewed Label: Peer Reviewed Group: SrcInfo Data: N – Name: Pages Label: Page Count Group: Src Data: 62 – Name: DatePubCY Label: Publication Date Group: Date Data: 2025 – Name: Audience Label: Intended Audience Group: Audnce Data: Policymakers – Name: TypeDocument Label: Document Type Group: TypDoc Data: Reports - Research<br />Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials – Name: Subject Label: Descriptors Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Financial+Aid%22">Student Financial Aid</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Financial+Aid+Applicants%22">Financial Aid Applicants</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Federal+Government%22">Federal Government</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Federal+Programs%22">Federal Programs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Usability%22">Usability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Performance+Contracts%22">Performance Contracts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Program+Evaluation%22">Program Evaluation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Information+Technology%22">Information Technology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computer+Software%22">Computer Software</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) manages the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which students and parents submit to determine a student's eligibility for receiving financial aid. The FAFSA Processing System (FPS)--the system that underpins federal student aid--processes these applications. In December 2023, FSA, the largest provider of student financial aid in the nation, deployed a new system with limited functionality to process student aid applications. However, the system--FPS--had availability issues, recurring errors, and long wait times that affected students' ability to receive aid. Since then, FSA has continued to work to deploy additional functionality. Among other things, this report addresses the extent to which FSA conducted selected contract oversight activities and applied leading systems testing practices. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined how FSA tracked the contractor's progress in meeting contract requirements and compared FSA actions to established contract oversight processes and agency standards. GAO also identified key contract oversight staff for FPS and compared federal certification and training requirements against relevant documentation for these staff. In addition, GAO compared the actions taken by FSA to leading practices for system testing. – Name: AbstractInfo Label: Abstractor Group: Ab Data: ERIC – Name: DateEntry Label: Entry Date Group: Date Data: 2025 – Name: AN Label: Accession Number Group: ID Data: ED676837 |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED676837 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Languages: – Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 62 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Student Financial Aid Type: general – SubjectFull: Financial Aid Applicants Type: general – SubjectFull: Federal Government Type: general – SubjectFull: Federal Programs Type: general – SubjectFull: Usability Type: general – SubjectFull: Performance Contracts Type: general – SubjectFull: Program Evaluation Type: general – SubjectFull: Information Technology Type: general – SubjectFull: Computer Software Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Department of Education: Gaps in Federal Student Aid Contract Oversight and System Testing Need Immediate Attention. Report to Congressional Requesters. GAO-25-107396 Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: US Government Accountability Office (GAO) – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Marisol Cruz Cain IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 09 Type: published Y: 2025 Titles: – TitleFull: US Government Accountability Office Type: main |
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