Earlier today, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos delivered prepared remarks at a training conference for Federal Student Aid (FSA). FSA, bureaucratically housed within the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), is the office responsible for doling out “more than $120 billion a year in grants, work-study funds, and low-interest loans to approximately 13 million students,” according to the DOE’s website. According to the site, more than 21 million students last year applied for federal student aid in some form. FSA dates back to 1965, when its mission was established by the Higher Education Act.
In her speech today, Secretary DeVos began by lauding FSA for “com[ing] alongside students who lack financial resources to pursue higher education[and …] expand[ing] access to learning for those who aren’t wealthy, powerful, or well-connected.” But DeVos then observed that “students don’t pursue higher education in the same way they did back” in 1965. And so DeVos said that DOE, under her watch, is committed to “rethinking FSA, … modernizing FSA’s infrastructure, and totally revamping the way [FSA] connect[s] with students.” Hitting a crescendo, DeVos lamented how FSA “cannot fulfill its mission” in its current form.
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