Today President Biden signed an Executive Order, Transforming Federal Customer Experience and Service Delivery to Rebuild Trust in Government. The Order will aim to improve fiscal stewardship and improve citizens’ interactions with the Federal Government. A fact sheet is available here.
Specifically, the Order calls for the below improvements in higher education. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona’s statement is available here.
“For the 1 in 6 Americans, or approximately 45 million people, who are managing their student loans:
- Direct Loan borrowers will need to navigate only a single repayment portal on StudentAid.gov, so that they can apply for, manage, and repay their loans without having to visit multiple websites and manage multiple sets of credentials for different aspects of their student loans.
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness candidates, including civil servants and active-duty service members, will be able to apply for the program with less paperwork than currently and without having to fill out forms with information they have already provided to the Federal government previously.
- Students and borrowers can receive relevant recommendations for other benefits and services they may qualify for, like health care subsidies, broadband support, and food assistance, in order to connect them with support to lower additional economic barriers to post-secondary education completion.”