Head of federal student aid to step down amid FAFSA delays

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 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.