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Department of Education: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Accountability in Higher Education. Testimony before the Committee on Education and Workforce, House of Representatives. GAO-26-109069

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Title: Department of Education: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Accountability in Higher Education. Testimony before the Committee on Education and Workforce, House of Representatives. GAO-26-109069
Language: English
Authors: Melissa Emrey-Arras, US Government Accountability Office (GAO)
Source: US Government Accountability Office. 2026.
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: 14
Publication Date: 2026
Intended Audience: Policymakers
Document Type: Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials
Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Accountability, Higher Education, Student Loan Programs, Quality Control, Loan Repayment, Income, Family Size, Colleges, Educational Finance, School Closing, Federal Aid, Accuracy, Job Layoff, Job Performance, Program Administration, Agency Role, Federal Government, Public Agencies
Abstract: In fiscal year 2025, about 10.5 million students received over $131 billion in federal student aid to help them pursue higher education. Education is responsible for maintaining accountability and protecting the federal investment in higher education. Education's responsibilities include overseeing colleges, federal student aid, and the servicers that help administer the student loan program. Education's responsibilities have grown substantially in recent years based on changes to the size and complexity of the federal student loan program, which now exceeds $1.6 trillion in outstanding loans. This testimony summarizes the findings and recommendations from key Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports issued from 2016 through 2026. It includes recent work examining the impact of staffing reductions on Education's oversight of student loan servicers (GAO-26-108534) and other prior work examining higher education accountability issues (GAO-19-347, GAO-17-555, and GAO-16-523). GAO also updated the status of related recommendations. GAO made 10 recommendations in the reports included in this statement. Education has not yet fully addressed seven of these recommendations.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: ED680606
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Department of Education: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Accountability in Higher Education. Testimony before the Committee on Education and Workforce, House of Representatives. GAO-26-109069
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  Data: US Government Accountability Office. 441 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20548. Tel: 202-512-6000; Web site: http://www.gao.gov
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  Data: In fiscal year 2025, about 10.5 million students received over $131 billion in federal student aid to help them pursue higher education. Education is responsible for maintaining accountability and protecting the federal investment in higher education. Education's responsibilities include overseeing colleges, federal student aid, and the servicers that help administer the student loan program. Education's responsibilities have grown substantially in recent years based on changes to the size and complexity of the federal student loan program, which now exceeds $1.6 trillion in outstanding loans. This testimony summarizes the findings and recommendations from key Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports issued from 2016 through 2026. It includes recent work examining the impact of staffing reductions on Education's oversight of student loan servicers (GAO-26-108534) and other prior work examining higher education accountability issues (GAO-19-347, GAO-17-555, and GAO-16-523). GAO also updated the status of related recommendations. GAO made 10 recommendations in the reports included in this statement. Education has not yet fully addressed seven of these recommendations.
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      – SubjectFull: Accountability
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      – SubjectFull: Higher Education
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      – SubjectFull: Student Loan Programs
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      – SubjectFull: Quality Control
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      – SubjectFull: Loan Repayment
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      – SubjectFull: Income
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      – SubjectFull: Colleges
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      – SubjectFull: Educational Finance
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      – SubjectFull: School Closing
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      – SubjectFull: Federal Aid
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      – SubjectFull: Accuracy
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      – SubjectFull: Job Layoff
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      – SubjectFull: Job Performance
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      – SubjectFull: Program Administration
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      – SubjectFull: Federal Government
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