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Higher Education: More Information Could Help Education Determine the Extent to Which Eligible Servicemembers Serving on Active Duty Benefited from Relief Provided by Lenders and Schools

GAO-07-11 Published: Nov 01, 2006. Publicly Released: Nov 01, 2006.
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Highlights

million members of the armed forces have been deployed in service to the United States. Congress enacted the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students (HEROES) Act to recognize the needs of those servicemembers who are deployed in the midst of pursuing postsecondary education or repaying student loans. GAO was asked to determine (1) how the Department of Education has implemented HEROES, (2) the policies and practices federal student loan lenders have in place to assist borrowers serving on active duty, and (3) the policies and practices postsecondary schools have to assist students who are serving on active duty. To address these objectives, GAO interviewed representatives from the nine largest Federal Family Education Loan program lenders, surveyed a random sample of postsecondary schools, and visited four colleges and universities.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Education To ensure that Congress knows the extent to which the waivers and modifications are being used, the Secretary of Education should undertake the congressionally mandated study to determine the extent to which eligible servicemembers are receiving assistance under HEROES.
Closed – Implemented
In 2007, the Department of Education stated that this recommendation had merit, and that it would explore options for completing the congressional mandated study. However, agency officials had serious concerns regarding the feasibility of conducting a study that would require the exchange of personally identifiable information between Education and DoD (for the purpose of matching deployment and student aid records). Nevertheless, agency staff conferred with DoD staff in 2008 to discuss options for performing the mandated study, including a data match between the two agencies. DoD required that Education certify that no harm would come to any borrowers identified through the match, and Education had concerns about the implications of identifying borrowers who had incorrectly or falsely claimed a deployment to postpone payment on their student loans. In 2008, Education reported that it was preparing a report based on data in the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) on the utilization of the deferments authorized by the Department under the HEROES authority. Using NSLDS data, Education identified about 2,600 student loan borrowers who had claimed deferments for deployed military operations. Absent a match with DoD deployment records, however, it was not possible to determine the extent to which eligible servicemembers are receiving assistance under HEROES.

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Topics

Aid for educationData integrityEducation program evaluationFederal aid programsFinancial analysisHigher educationInternal controlsLoan repaymentsMilitary personnelPolicy evaluationProgram managementStudent financial aidStudent loansWaiversPolicies and proceduresProgram implementation