Ensuring Accountability and Effectiveness at the Office of Federal Student Aid

Abstract

As student loans become an increasingly common tool that Americans use to finance higher education, there are significant worries about the management and oversight of the federal financial aid programs. Watch Dogs within the government have raised concerns about a range of issues in the aid program. This report examines whether students are sufficiently protected from low-quality institutions of higher education; whether there is enough accountability around the private companies that service federal student loans on the U.S Department of the Treasury’s behalf; whether the amount of transparency around loan repayment outcomes is sufficient; and how the cost of loan repayment plans is estimated.