Federal student aid chief leaving after FAFSA flop
Richard Cordray, who has led the Federal Student Aid office since 2021, is stepping down at the end of June, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Friday.
His departure arrives amid withering criticism of his office’s rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which suffered delays and errors that upended the college admissions process for scores of families this year.
Cordray’s contract was set to end in May, according to the department, which said he did not want to continue for another term. Still, at Cardona’s request, he agreed to stay through June.
“As my three-year term as FSA Chief is ending, we have achieved key milestones for FSA,” Cordray said in a statement.
“Over my tenure, we provided student loan forgiveness to more than 4,000,000 borrowers and their families; made it easier for people to apply for and manage federal student aid; and took strong actions to hold schools accountable for defrauding students. I have agreed to stay on for an interim period to help with the transition.”
As the top official in the student aid office, Cordray oversaw the sweeping update of the FAFSA, the federal government’s $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio, the Education Department’s contractors and enforcement of the rules governing federal student aid.
He led the office in cleaning up dysfunctional programs such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness and income-driven repayment, helping hundreds of thousands of borrowers achieve debt cancellation. Cordray also revived the department’s enforcement unit to hold colleges accountable for defrauding students.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that Rich helped change millions of lives for the better,” Cardona said in a statement Friday.
Cordray made a name for himself as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he led the agency’s efforts to rein in consumer abuses in debt collection, student loan servicing and for-profit colleges. His work won the respect of advocates and drew the ire of industries.
Yet he stepped into the role of chief of the Federal Student Aid office with no experience in administering financial aid programs, a key responsibility of his office.
Conservative lawmakers said Cordray was ill-suited for the Education Department role and pounced on the shortcomings of his office as evidence.
They accused Cordray and the Biden administration of being singularly focused on student debt relief to the exclusion of pressing priorities such as the new FAFSA and a smooth return to repayment for millions of borrowers after a pandemic-era pause.
While the FAFSA was beset by one error or delay after another, the return to repayment was marked by student loan servicing errors and missteps.
“Cordray will be remembered for his ineffective leadership, blatant partisanship, and his failures regarding FAFSA rollout and return to repayment,” Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., the chairwoman of the House Education Committee, said in a statement.
“The Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid needs a leader that students, families, and institutions can rely on to put politics aside and faithfully administer the law. Mr. Cordray, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”