Federal Student Aid's Use of Pandemic Assistance Student Aid Administration Funds (ED-OIG/F21DC0081)
Summary
A U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General Final Flash Report, Federal Student Aid's Use of Pandemic Assistance Student Aid Administration Funds, Control Number ED-OIG/F21DC0081, dated August 1, 2023. The report states that as of November 30, 2022, FSA obligated nearly 100 percent of the $161.1 million in appropriations it received for these funds from the three major coronavirus response and relief laws. It states that nine FSA business units obligated approximately $157.8 million, 98 percent, and that approximately $3.2 million in unobligated ARP funds remained. It states that the funds were used for personnel, information technology systems and contractual services.
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U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
Federal Student Aid’s Use of
Pandemic Assistance Student Aid
Administration Funds
August 1, 2023
ED-OIG/F21DC0081
ED OIG Oversight of Coronavirus Response Funds
FLASH REPORT
NOTICE
In accordance with Freedom of Information Act (Title 5, United States Code,
Section 552), reports that the Office of Inspector General issues are available to
members of the press and general public to the extent information they contain is not
subject to exemptions in the Act.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
Audit Services
August 1, 2023
TO: Richard Cordray
Chief Operating Officer
Federal Student Aid
FROM: Bryon Gordon /s/
Assistant Inspector General for Audit
SUBJECT: Final Flash Report, “Federal Student Aid’s Use of Pandemic Assistance Student Aid
Administration Funds,” Control Number ED-OIG/F21DC0081
Attached is the subject final flash report that consolidates the results of our review of Federal Student
Aid’s use of pandemic assistance student aid administration funds. We have provided an electronic copy
to your audit liaison officer. We received your comments responding to our draft report.
We appreciate your cooperation during this review. If you have any questions, please contact Michele
Weaver-Dugan, Regional Inspector General for Audit, Internal Operations/Philadelphia Audit Team at
(202) 245-6941 or Michele.Weaver-Dugan@ed.gov.
Attachment
400 MARYLAND AVENUE, S.W., WASHINGTON, DC 20202-1510
Promoting the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations.
Purpose
The purpose of this flash report is to share with Federal Student Aid (FSA), a principal
office of the U.S. Department of Education (Department), our observations of its use of
student aid administration funds authorized by coronavirus response and relief laws.
Background
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, three major coronavirus response and relief
laws were enacted in fiscal years 2020 and 2021: the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security Act (CARES Act), in March 2020; the Coronavirus Response and Relief
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA), in December 2020; and the American
Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), in March 2021. The pandemic relief legislation enabled
FSA to provide various flexibilities to help students through the pandemic, which
included the temporary suspension of nearly all Federal student loan payments,
collections, and accrual of interest on most Federal student loans.
To support its efforts in providing relief to student loan borrowers as a result of the
coronavirus pandemic, FSA was provided with $161.1 million under these three major
coronavirus response and relief laws to prevent, prepare for, and respond to
coronavirus, domestically or internationally:
• The CARES Act provided FSA with $40 million in student administration funds with
funds remaining available through September 30, 2021.
• CRRSAA provided an additional $30 million in student administration funds with
funds remaining available through September 30, 2022.
• ARP provided an additional $91.1 million in student aid administration funds with
funds remaining available through September 30, 2023. 1
Student aid administration funds are used to administer the Federal student financial
assistance programs, authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as
amended, which provide grants, loans, and Federal work study funds to help students
and families pay for the cost of postsecondary education. The student aid
administration account provides funding to administer the student aid lifecycle,
including educating students and families about the process for obtaining Federal aid
and repaying Federal student loans, processing student financial aid applications,
1
On June 3, 2023, as a result of the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, unobligated
balances of ARP student aid administration funds were permanently rescinded.
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disbursing Direct Loan, Pell grant, and Federal work study funds, and managing the FSA
loan portfolio.
The Budget Group, located within the Finance Directorate of FSA and consisting of the
Budget Formulation, Budget Execution, and Budget Operations Divisions, formulates
and executes the FSA administrative budget, assists with the development of business
unit budget initiatives, and supports business units in the management of FSA
administrative funds for current year operations.
According to FSA officials and staff, uses for the pandemic assistance student aid
administration funds were identified based on the needs of FSA business units. Requests
for funds were approved by the former chief operating officer, former deputy chief
operating officer, and former chief financial officer prior to being allocated by the
Budget Group for the CARES Act. 2 FSA updated how the funds would be used based on
actual expenditures and when new announcements or extensions of the student loan
repayment pauses were made by the Administration. For CRRSAA and ARP, the Business
Operations Change Management Board, a group consisting of business unit
representatives, identified FSA’s needs and developed requests to be sent to the FSA
Finance Directorate. 3 The Finance Directorate then assessed the requests to determine
whether the needs were pandemic-related and whether pandemic assistance student
aid administration funds could be used to support those needs.
What We Did
The objective of our review was to determine FSA’s progress on spending student aid
administration funds authorized by coronavirus response and relief laws, including how
those funds have been used to date and FSA’s plans for using remaining funds.
To accomplish our objective, we reviewed relevant laws, criteria, and guidance related
to the use and tracking of pandemic assistance student aid administration funds. We
held discussions with FSA staff to obtain an understanding of FSA’s budget process and
oversight for pandemic assistance student aid administration funds. We also reviewed
2
The FSA officials and staff we spoke with noted that they were not present when FSA identified what
areas to spend CARES Act student aid administration funds on, and that the individuals involved are no
longer with the Department. As a result, we were provided with their understanding of the process for
the CARES Act.
3
The Finance Directorate supports FSA strategic objectives and ensures compliance with Federal
financial requirements. The Finance Directorate is comprised of the Financial Management Group,
Budget Group, and Financial Management Systems Group.
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documents provided by FSA to determine how FSA has used or plans to use the
pandemic assistance student aid administration funds. In addition, we corresponded
with FSA staff from select business units that received pandemic assistance student aid
administration funding to obtain additional insight into the business units’ specific uses
of these funds.
What We Found
We found that as of November 30, 2022, FSA obligated 4 nearly 100 percent of the
$161.1 million in appropriations it received for pandemic assistance student aid
administration funds from the three major coronavirus response and relief laws. Nine
FSA business 5 units obligated approximately $157.8 million (98 percent) of the total
pandemic assistance student aid administration funds, with one business unit, the Next
Gen FSA Program Office, 6 accounting for 78 percent of the obligations.
The pandemic assistance student aid administration funds were used for personnel
compensation and benefits, information technology systems and services contracts, and
contractual services contracts. 7 As of November 30, 2022, FSA had approximately
$3.2 million remaining in unobligated ARP funds. As of April 4, 2023, specific plans for
how those funds will be used were still under development. 8
4
An obligation is a legally binding agreement that will result in outlays (e.g., to pay for goods, products,
services), immediately or in the future.
5
Since the enactment of the CARES Act, two of the nine business units have become legacy business
units due to a reorganization.
6
The Department approved the creation of the Next Gen FSA Program Office in January 2020, which
was expected to sunset on or about September 30, 2022. It is responsible for the management of all
aspects of the Next Gen FSA program and will transition Next Gen FSA elements to permanent
organizational units within FSA as they become operational. The goal of the Next Gen FSA program or
initiative is to modernize FSA’s technology, processes, and operations to improve student, parent, and
borrower experiences and outcomes, as well as those of student aid partners.
7
Contractual services contracts exclude advisory and assistance contracts.
8
According to the Department’s Office of Budget Service, FSA had $2,085 (less than 1 percent) of its ARP
student aid administration funds permanently rescinded as a result of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of
2023.
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Progress on Spending Pandemic Assistance Student Aid
Administration Funds
We found that FSA obligated nearly 100 percent of its pandemic assistance student aid
administration funds. As of November 30, 2022, of the $161.1 million in total pandemic
assistance student aid administration funds appropriated, FSA obligated approximately
$157.8 million (98 percent), committed 9 $171,000 (less than 1 percent), and allowed
approximately $58,000 10 (less than 1 percent) to lapse.
FSA obligated approximately 99.9 percent of the $40 million in CARES Act student aid
administration funds it was appropriated prior to the funds expiring on September 30,
2021. FSA was able to obligate the entire $30 million in CRRSAA student aid
administration funds it was appropriated prior to the funding expiring on September 30,
2022. As of November 30, 2022, FSA obligated approximately $87.9 million (96 percent)
of its ARP student aid administration funds and had approximately $3.2 million in
unobligated ARP funds. See Table 1.
Table 1. Status of Pandemic Assistance Student Aid Administration Funds
Unobligated
Obligated Funds as Percentage of Percentage of
Fund Appropriation Funds as of
of 11/30/22 Appropriation Appropriation
11/30/22
CARES Act $40,000,000 $39,942,082 99.9% $57,918 0.1%
CRRSAA $30,000,000 $30,000,000 100% $0 0%
ARP $91,130,000 $87,901,867 96% $3,228,133 4%
TOTAL $161,130,000 $157,843,950 98% $3,286,051 2%
9
Committed funds are amounts that have been earmarked in anticipation of a legal obligation and are
not considered part of a fund’s available balance.
10
According to FSA Budget staff, the lapsed funds resulted from what was left in personnel funds after
all pay for fiscal year 2020 was applied and any pay accruals were reversed, and the deobligation of a
requisition in fiscal year 2022 that was for borrower outreach related to return to student loan
repayment.
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Uses of Pandemic Assistance Student Aid Administration Funds
We found that out of the approximately $157.8 million obligated in student aid
administration funds as of November 30, 2022, nine FSA business units obligated
approximately $11.0 million (7 percent) for personnel uses and $146.8 million
(93 percent) for non-personnel uses.
Specifically, of the $157.8 million obligated as of November 30, 2022, $124.5 million
(79 percent) was for contractual services excluding advisory and assistance contracts,
$22.3 million (14 percent) was for information technology systems and services
contracts, $8.3 million (5 percent) was for personnel compensation, and $2.7 million
(2 percent) was for personnel benefits.
Out of the nine business units, five (56 percent) reported obligating funds for personnel
compensation and benefits, three (33 percent) reported obligating funds for
information technology systems and services contracts, and seven (78 percent) reported
obligating funds for contractual services excluding advisory and assistance contracts.
Contractual services excluding advisory and assistance contracts made up the largest
amount of student aid administration funds. See the figure below for a breakdown of
the number of business units and percentage of obligations reported by spending
category.
Figure. Funds Obligated Reported by Spending Category and Business Unit
8 90%
7 80%
6 70%
5 60%
50%
4
40%
3 30%
2 20%
1 10%
0 0%
Personnel Personnel Benefits Information Contractual Services
Compensation Technology Systems (Non-advisory and
and Services assistance services)
Contracts
Number of Business Units Reporting Percentage of Obligations
Actual Uses of Funds
To obtain additional insight into specific uses of student aid administration funds, we
corresponded with executive officers from the five business units that reported using
funds for personnel compensation and benefits. The five business units are the Office of
Partner Participation and Oversight; the Office of Student Experience and Aid Delivery;
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the Strategic Communications Directorate; the Office of Strategy, Innovation, and
Transformation; and the Office of Strategic Measures and Outcomes.
We also reviewed a nonstatistical, judgmental sample consisting of the two business
units that obligated the most student aid administration funds for non-personnel uses
to determine how the funds were used. The two business units, the Next Gen FSA
Program Office and Business Operations, 11 accounted for 96 percent of the non-
personnel funds obligated as of November 30, 2022. See Appendix A.
Personnel Costs
Approximately $3.6 million (9 percent) of the CARES Act student aid administration
funds and $7.4 million (25 percent) of the CRRSAA student aid administration funds
were used to support a total of 87.1 full-time equivalents (FTE). 12 No ARP funding was
used for personnel costs. The FTEs consisted of both temporary employees that were
specifically hired to assist with coronavirus activities as well as permanent employees
that were completing work related to coronavirus activities that had a portion of their
pay charged to CRRSAA funds.
Five business units accounted for 100 percent of the approximately $11.0 million in
personnel costs obligated:
• Office of Student Experience and Aid Delivery, $4.6 million obligation,
43.3 FTEs. FTEs consisted of 26 temporary employees and 22 permanent
employees. Personnel processed and adjudicated background investigations to
onboard contractor personnel who directly supported CARES Act activities,
assisted with communications campaigns related to the pandemic, identified
and handled customer complaints stemming from pandemic-related policies
and CARES Act relief, provided data analysis on CARES Act related servicing data,
worked with servicers to rectify issues and ensure servicers were in compliance
with contractual standards and requirements, and developed necessary
reporting mechanisms that will be used to monitor loan portfolio health and the
status of borrowers when return to repayment occurs.
• Office of Partner Participation and Oversight, $5.4 million obligation,
37.9 FTEs. FTEs consisted of 17 temporary employees and 40 permanent
11
Business Operations is one of the two FSA business units that no longer exists due to a reorganization
referenced in footnote 5. The other legacy business unit is the Technology Office.
Our review covered a time period of more than 1 year; as a result, a single employee can equate to
12
more than one FTE.
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employees. Personnel worked on policy guidance, inquiries, and development of
various pandemic waivers and relief; reviewed a backlog of audited financial
statement reviews resulting from delayed submissions by institutions of higher
education due to coronavirus related school closings; trained and supervised the
individuals reviewing the backlog of audited financial statement reviews;
provided support to schools and systems related to the implementation of
pandemic-related policies; and provided oversight and monitoring over
activities related to the CARES Act and other pandemic-related policies such as
the pause on collections, refund of interest, refund of payments, and transfer of
defaulted loans to the Department.
• Strategic Communications Directorate, $490,000 obligation, 3.8 FTEs. FTEs
consisted of two temporary employees that supported transitioning aspects of
FSA’s enterprise governance to a virtual or digital footprint due to the
coronavirus pandemic and FSA’s transition to a geographically dispersed
workforce. Activities included developing mechanisms to centrally gather and
standardize a compilation of preparation documents and materials for senior
leaders and stakeholders, developing a virtual mechanism for FSA's Chief
Operating Officer to formally document decisions, and establishing a strategic
framework with metrics to gauge team effectiveness as the enterprise
governance structure transitioned to a virtual environment.
• Office of Strategy, Innovation, and Transformation, $322,000 obligation,
1.6 FTEs. FTEs consisted of one temporary employee that assisted with data
efforts regarding the pandemic and its effect on students, borrowers, and the
Federal student loan portfolio.
• Office of Strategic Measures and Outcomes, $174,000 obligation, 0.5 FTEs.
FTEs consisted of four permanent employees that completed work related to
coronavirus activities and had a portion of their pay charged to CRRSAA funds.
These individuals worked on internal and external data requests pertaining to
the CARES Act, the development of return to repayment reports and related
contingency planning and assessments, and the development of other periodic
pandemic-related reports.
Based on our review, the 87.1 FTEs under the 5 business units worked on coronavirus
activities.
Non-Personnel Costs
As of November 30, 2022, approximately $146.8 million in non-personnel pandemic
assistance student aid funds was obligated: $36.3 million (91 percent) of CARES Act
funds, $22.6 million (75 percent) of the CRRSAA funds, and $87.9 million (96 percent) of
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ARP funds. The funds were obligated across 29 contracts to 21 vendors, 12 of which
were FSA loan servicers. 13
The two business units accounted for 83 percent and 13 percent, respectively, of the
non-personnel funds obligated as of November 30, 2022:
• Next Gen FSA Program Office, $122.3 million obligation. Funds were used for
activities related to administrative forbearance, 14 loan forgiveness and
discharge, return to repayment, servicing system modifications, data reporting
related to the return to repayment, borrowers’ reinstatement of auto-debit
payment, temporary changes to the Income-Driven Repayment application,
borrower outreach, and information technology services.
Servicers used funds for e-correspondence, mailings, mandatory
communications regarding the end of the administrative forbearance, engaging
with at-risk borrowers, and other customer service capabilities. In addition,
funds were used to expand hours of operation for service call centers and add
additional customer service representatives to address significant increases to
contact center volume.
For these additional customer service representatives to be able to support
customers, funds were used to purchase data storage and software licenses for
the customer relationship management tool used to interact with customers.
Additional information technology purchases included web capacity expansion,
web traffic management, and an increase in FSA’s system processing capacity to
meet increased customer interaction volume related to debt relief.
• Business Operations, $18.4 million obligation. Funds were used for a variety of
activities that supported FSA’s pandemic relief actions such as the temporary
suspension of nearly all Federal student loan payments, collections, and accrual
of interest on most Federal student loans. Activities included providing outreach
and communications to student loan borrowers and employers through
mailings, conducting a multi-channel communications campaign informing and
engaging borrowers on what steps to take once administrative forbearance
One of the loan servicers terminated its Federal student loan servicing contract with FSA around
13
October 22, 2020.
14
As used in this report, administrative forbearance refers to the pause on loan payments and 0 percent
interest rate that FSA automatically applied to eligible student loans starting March 13, 2020, in
response to the coronavirus pandemic.
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ends, and purchasing licenses for digital engagement tools to assist in engaging
with borrowers who are currently in administrative forbearance. In addition,
funds were used to incorporate pandemic-related system enhancements and
updates to the Common Origination and Disbursement system and Debt
Management and Collections System. 15
Based on our review, we determined that the Next Gen FSA Program Office and
Business Operations obligations were used for coronavirus activities. 16
Planned Uses of Funds
As of November 30, 2022, FSA had approximately $3.2 million in unobligated ARP funds;
approximately $2.7 million (83 percent) of those funds had not yet been allotted 17 to
FSA, while $171,000 (5 percent) has been committed for non-personnel uses, and
$393,000 (12 percent) is part of the ARP student aid administration fund’s available
balance. 18 According to the former deputy chief financial officer of the Finance
Directorate and acting director of the FSA Budget Group (former deputy chief financial
officer and acting director), 19 FSA plans to obligate the remaining ARP funds in fiscal
year 2023. The former deputy chief financial officer and acting director stated that they
anticipate the funds will be used for student loan servicer activities and outreach and
communication with student loan borrowers in relation to the return to student loan
15
The Common Origination and Disbursement system is designed to support origination, disbursement,
and reporting for Direct Loan, Pell Grant, and the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher
Education Grant programs. The Debt Management and Collections System houses all FSA held defaulted
debt. The system tracks all debts, interest accruals, and payments at the loan level; can associate all
loans to a specific borrower; and sends out bills and correspondence as needed.
16
Based on the information we were provided by FSA, we were unable to determine whether five Next
Gen FSA Program Office requisition line items, accounting for approximately $186,700, were pandemic-
related. We considered this amount to be insignificant as it accounted for less than 1 percent of the
Next Gen FSA Program Office non-personnel obligations.
17
An allotment is an authorization by either the agency head or another authorized employee to their
subordinates to incur obligations within a specified amount. The amount allotted by an agency cannot
exceed the amount apportioned by the Office of Management and Budget.
18
An available balance is the total amount of allotted funding still available for spending minus
commitments and obligations.
19
The former deputy chief financial officer of the Finance Directorate and acting director of the FSA
Budget Group left their position with FSA in May 2023, after the completion of our fieldwork.
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repayment. The former deputy chief financial officer and acting director stated that the
chief operating officer and FSA finance director will have the final approval on all
spending decisions.
As of April 4, 2023, specific plans for how those funds will be used were still under
development. 20
FSA’s Oversight of Pandemic Assistance Student Aid
Administration Funds
According to FSA officials, the Budget Group routinely monitors the status of student aid
administration funds for the coronavirus response and relief laws. The former deputy
chief financial officer and acting director stated that as part of its oversight, the Budget
Group runs periodic reports to determine the available balance of the student aid
administration funds to be obligated for future contracts or services and to check
emerging requests for the funds. The director of the Budget Execution Division clarified
that the Education Central Automated Processing System (EDCAPS) status of funds
reports 21 are run several times a week and COGNOS reports 22 are run daily. The former
deputy chief financial officer and acting director commented that these reports help
determine the actual expenditures and the remaining student aid administration funds,
and that the data gathered from the reports is used to communicate with the business
units about how they plan to use remaining funds before they expire. As the funding
period approaches its expiration, the Budget Group looks at how the funds have been
spent and whether they can repurpose funds for other needs. The acting chief financial
officer of FSA also noted that the team meets with the chief operating officer weekly to
discuss the available fund balances, the expected uses of the funds, and the timeframes
for the uses of the available funds.
20
See footnote 8.
21
EDCAPS is the Department’s core financial system. EDCAPS status of funds reports provide a higher-
level view of the pandemic assistance student aid administration funds appropriated, including
allotments, calculated budget amounts, fund commitments, paid and unpaid obligations, and available
funds.
22
The COGNOS application is the Department's reporting solution for financial systems that may be used
for reporting from the EDCAPS systems. COGNOS reports reflect the general ledger and list
commitments that have been obligated, paid and unpaid obligations, and the FSA business units that
obligated the funds.
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FSA Comments
We provided a draft of this report to FSA for comment. FSA stated that prior to the
enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 it had plans in place to use the
remaining ARP funds to support the end of the pandemic-related pause in repayments.
The full text of FSA’s response is included at the end of the report.
Scope and Methodology
We reviewed the laws, criteria, and guidance related to the use and tracking of student
aid administration funds, including Office of Management and Budget guidance on
tracking and accounting for disaster and emergency funding and Department-provided
guidance on its account classification structure. We held discussions with FSA staff to
obtain an understanding of FSA’s budget process and oversight for pandemic assistance
student aid administration funds. In addition, we reviewed reports provided by FSA
detailing the status of the student aid administration funds and how the funds have
been spent, as well as internal documents FSA used to track employees that were
associated with coronavirus activities.
To obtain additional insight into specific uses of student aid administration funds and
whether the activities were related to the coronavirus pandemic, we corresponded with
executive officers from the five FSA business units that reported using funds for
personnel compensation and benefits. We also selected a nonstatistical, judgmental
sample consisting of the two FSA business units that obligated the most pandemic
assistance student aid administration funds for non-personnel uses to determine how
the funds were used.
We performed the work for this review from September 2022 through May 2023.
Sampling Methodology
We identified a population of business units that obligated pandemic assistance student
aid administration funds for non-personnel uses from COGNOS reports provided by FSA.
From this population, we selected a nonstatistical, judgmental sample consisting of the
two business units that had the most obligations for non-personnel uses of the
pandemic assistance student aid administration funding.
Since we selected these business units judgmentally, results described in this report may
not be representative of the population and should not be projected.
Use of Computer-Processed Data
Use of computer-processed data was limited to identifying the obligated and
unobligated amounts of student aid administration funds under the CARES Act, CRRSAA,
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and ARP, and how the funds were used. We obtained copies of financial budget
execution documents from FSA including EDCAPS status of funds reports and COGNOS
reports of commitments that have been obligated.
To assess the reliability of the data, we compared the data to supporting documentation
we received as part of our review. For the two business units that obligated the most
student aid administration funds for non-personnel uses, we compared the descriptions
and obligated amounts in the COGNOS reports to the requisition files. For the five
business units that obligated funds for personnel compensation and benefits, we
compared data to supporting documentation such as CARES Act and CRRSAA benefit
trackers that we received from the FSA Budget Group and the business units. In
addition, we concluded that the data contained in the EDCAPS reports was sufficiently
reliable as EDCAPS is the Department’s core financial system and provides funds
management functions including budget formulation, budget execution, and funds
control.
To verify the completeness of the data, we reconciled the amount of obligated and
unobligated funds in the EDCAPS status of funds reports with Department of Treasury
appropriation warrants for the CARES Act, CRRSAA, and ARP, and found that they
accounted for the total amount of student aid administration funds FSA received under
the coronavirus response and relief laws. 23 We also verified the completeness of the
COGNOS reports by comparing the total obligations with the obligated amounts listed in
the EDCAPS status of funds reports. While we identified some differences, we
determined that they were immaterial and did not affect the overall findings of our
review.
As a result, we determined that the computer-processed data provided by FSA was
reliable for the purposes of our review.
Compliance with Standards
We prepared this flash report in alignment with OIG’s quality control standards and the
Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency’s (CIGIE) “Quality Standards for
Federal Offices of Inspector General,” which require that we conduct our work with
integrity, objectivity, and independence. We believe that the information obtained
provides a reasonable basis for the conclusions contained in this report.
23
The EDCAPS status of funds reports reconciled to the Department of Treasury appropriation warrants
after accounting for the unallotted ARP funds that were not reflected on the EDCAPS report as of
November 30, 2022.
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Office of Inspector General
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Appendix A. Pandemic Assistance Student Aid
Administration Obligations by Business Unit
Table 2. Distribution of Personnel and Non-personnel Obligations by FSA Business
Unit 24
(Dollar amounts are rounded to the nearest whole dollar and percentages are rounded to the nearest whole percentage.)
Percentage of Percentage of
Personnel Non-personnel Percentage of
Business Unit Personnel Non-personnel Total Obligations
Obligations Obligations Obligated Funds
Obligations Obligations
Next Gen FSA Program
$0 0% $122,324,910 83% $122,324,910 78%
Office
Business Operations $0 0% $18,437,956 13% $18,437,956 12%
Office of Student
Experience and Aid $4,633,685 42% $1,883,797 1% $6,517,482 4%
Delivery
Office of Partner
Participation and $5,379,880 49% $619,301 <1% $5,999,181 4%
Oversight
Enterprise Technology
$0 0% $3,375,871 2% $3,375,871 2%
Directorate
Strategic
Communications $489,793 4% $0 0% $489,793 <1%
Directorate
Office of Strategy,
Innovation, and $322,200 3% $45,282 <1% $367,482 <1%
Transformation
Office of Strategic
$174,187 2% $0 0% $174,187 <1%
Measures and Outcomes
Technology Office $0 0% $101,885 <1% $101,885 <1%
TOTAL $10,999,746 100% $146,789,002 100% $157,788,748 -
24
Information provided in Table 2 was compiled from COGNOS reports since business unit level
information is not available in EDCAPS status of funds reports. The total obligations calculated from the
COGNOS reports differed from the total obligations calculated from the EDCAPS reports as reflected in
Table 1. However, we determined that the differences were immaterial and that they did not affect the
overall findings of our review.
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F21DC0081 13
Appendix B. Acronyms and Abbreviations
ARP American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
CARES Act Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
CRRSAA Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations
Act, 2021
Department U.S. Department of Education
EDCAPS Education Central Automated Processing System
FSA Federal Student Aid
FTE full-time equivalent
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F21DC0081 14
FSA Comments
(b) (6)
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F21DC0081 15
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
ED-OIG/F21DC0081 16
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