Federal Student Financial Aid
Federal Student Financial Aid
In 1998, the U.S. Department of Education established an ombudsman to address Federal student financial aid concerns. The Federal Student Aid Ombudsman’s primary objective is to resolve disputes surrounding federal student financial aid. An ombudsman in general researches a situation and provides an independent viewpoint with recommended solutions to fix the problem at hand.
The FSA Ombudsman’s office provides student’s service free of charge. If you have ran into a situation with your federal student financial aid, you have the ability to contact the ombudsman for help. Again, the ombudsman only reviews the situation and does not have the authority to reverse decisions made regarding aid. However, the office can and will contact the U.S. Department of Education, your loan guaranty agency, servicing agency, collection agency, or private lender to help resolve a dispute.
The ombudsman should be considered a last resort to use when the student has nowhere else to turn. This means, the individual must first try to resolve the issue with the agency by contacting them directly. If a customer service representative is unable to assist with the problem, the office recommends asking to speak with a supervisor to work out the concern. During this time, it is important to stay calm and fully explain the situation. If, however, the problem remains after the student has made a reasonable effort to solve it, the ombudsman can step in.
To retain the ombudsman’s services, the student should contact them and describe the situation surrounding the federal student financial aid problem. The office will determine if the complaint is justified. If not, the office will take the time to explain why. If the complaint is justified, the office will research the problem and report results to the student on a regular basis.