Skip to main content
Abbreviation
ED
Agencies
Department of Education
Federal Agency
Yes
Location

United States

What to Report to the OIG Hotline
Violations of Federal laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to U.S. Department of Education programs and funding, including complaints involving U.S. Department of Education employees, recipients of Department of Education funds, schools, school officials, other educational institutions, contractors, lending institutions, collections agencies, or public officials. This includes, but not limited to: • Embezzlement, bribery, or other public corruption involving U.S. Department of Education funds • Serious mismanagement involving U.S. Department of Education programs or funds • Theft or misuse of Federal student aid • Knowledge of fraud, waste, or abuse involving a financial aid administrator or other school official(s) • Knowledge of fraud, waste, or abuse involving a student loan servicer or collection agency • Knowledge that your school is not complying with regulations or laws involving Federal student aid or other U.S. Department of Education program or operation • Whistleblower reprisal (if you are a U.S. Department of Education employee, also report reprisal to the Office of Special Counsel) • Conflicts of interest • Contract and procurement irregularities • Theft or abuse of government property • U.S. Department of Education employee misconduct • Ethics violations by U.S. Department of Education officials • Unauthorized access to U.S. Department of Education Information Technology systems or Information Technology systems that involves administration or disbursement of U.S. Department of Education funds.
What Not to Report to the OIG Hotline
If your complaint or allegation does not involve fraud, waste, theft, mismanagement, public corruption, or abuse involving U.S. Department of Education programs or funds, you may need to contact another U.S. Department of Education office or Federal or State agency for assistance. If your complaint or allegation falls under one of the categories below, please contact the agency or organization listed for assistance. If you have been unable to solve a problem that is not a result of theft or fraud involving your Federal student loan: • Please contact the FSA Ombudsman’s Office at 1-877-557-2575 (TDD - 1-800-848-0983) or https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/disputes/prepare/contact-ombudsman. The FSA Ombudsman’s Office is a neutral, informal, and confidential resource to help resolve disputes about your Federal student loans. If you have an issue with your private student loan, or another private financial product or service: • Please contact the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at 1-800-411-2372 or http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/#student-loan. You can submit a complaint about private student loans, which are often issued by a bank, a credit union, your school, or another lending institution. If you believe an improper accounting error occurred on your student loan involving a collection agency or loan service center, or if you disagree with your loan servicer about the balance or status of your student loan: • Please contact the FSA Ombudsman’s Office at 1-877-557-2575 (TDD - 1-800-848-0983) or https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/disputes/prepare/contact-ombudsman If you require technical assistance regarding your student loan, mediation between your loan servicing center, or problems receiving student loan documents from your loan servicer, disability forms, or loan cancellation: • Please contact the FSA Ombudsman’s Office at 1-877-557-2575 (TDD - 1-800-848-0983) or https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/disputes/prepare/contact-ombudsman If the Internal Revenue Service has or will offset income tax returns, or if you believe that there has been an improper garnishment of your wages for the repayment of student loans: • Please contact the Office of Debt Collection Services at 1-800-621-3115 (or 1-202-377-3373 or 1-202-377-3374), or find more on what you can do if you defaulted on your student loan repayment here: https://myeddebt.ed.gov/borrower/contactusSubLinks If your school closed or your loan was cancelled as a result of a school closure: • Please contact the FSA Ombudsman’s Office at 1-877-557-2575 (TDD-1-800-8480983) or https://studentaid.ed.gov/repay-loans/disputes/prepare/contact-ombudsman If you have questions concerning the quality of education you received while attending a college, university, or trade school: • Please contact your local Better Business Bureau, the school’s accrediting agency, the State licensing agency, or the State Board of Higher Education. If your complaint involves a Head Start Program: • Please contact the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) OIG at 1-800-424-9121 or https://oig.hhs.gov/ If your complaint involves a school lunch program: • Please contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) OIG at http://www.usda.gov/oig/ If your complaint involves discrimination on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or sexual preference: • Please contact the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights – 1-800-421-3481 or http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/complaintprocess.html If you are a U.S. Department of Education employee and your complaint involves discrimination on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual preference: • Please contact the U.S. Department of Education Equal Employment Opportunity Service Office - 1-800-872-5327 or https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/om/fs_po/om/eeo.html If your complaint involves a scholarship scam—someone calling to offer you a scholarship and requesting your bank or credit card account number for a processing fee—do not share any information and immediately • Contact the Federal Trade Commission - 1-877-FTC-HELP or http://www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams

Pell Grant Lifetime Eligibility Limit

2015
A06O0002
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

Our audit to determine whether FSA had controls in place to ensure that students who had met or exceeded the Pell grant lifetime eligibility limit did not receive additional Pell grants found that FSA had those controls in place. We found no errors when testing the accuracy of the Lifetime...

The Higher Learning Commission Could Improve Its Evaluation of Competency-Based Education Programs to Help the Department Ensure the Programs Are Properly Classified for Title IV Purposes

2015
A05O0010
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We concluded that the Higher Learning Commission did not establish a system of internal control that provided reasonable assurance that schools’ classifications of delivery methods and measurements of student learning for competency-based education programs, including direct assessment programs...

SOLEX College’s Administration of Selected Aspects of the Title IV Programs

2015
A05O0007
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We found that SOLEX College did not disburse Title IV funds only to eligible students enrolled in Title IV-eligible programs. We found that SOLEX College’s two English as a second language programs were not Title IV-eligible programs because SOLEX College did not admit only students who needed...

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Administration of its Race to the Top Grant

2015
A05O0005
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We found that the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction could improve its administration of its Race to the Top grant by strengthening its system of internal control over contracting and by more closely monitoring the fiscal activity of participating local educational agencies and charter...

Federal Student Aid’s Oversight of Schools’ Compliance with the Incentive Compensation Ban

2015
A05N0012
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We found that FSA did not revise its enforcement procedures and guidance to ensure that they facilitated and did not hinder enforcement actions after the Department eliminated the incentive compensation safe harbors in 2010 and did not develop procedures and guidance instructing employees on how...

U.S. Department of Education’s Implementation and Oversight of Approved Elementary and Secondary Education Act Flexibility Requests

2015
A04N0012
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We found that the Department established and implemented an extensive and effective process for assessing SEA’s compliance with approved ESEA flexibility requests based on the information the SEAs submitted during monitoring. However, we noted that the Department could improve its oversight of SEAs...

Review of Debt Management Collection System 2 (DMCS2) Implementation

2015
A04N0004
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We found that FSA could not ensure that the original DMCS2 contractor, delivered a fully functional system, because FSA did not develop an adequate plan, did not ensure that the contractor met milestones, did not hold the contractor accountable for missed milestones, and did not ensure that system...

U.S. Department of Education's Compliance with Improper Payment Reporting Requirements for Fiscal Year 2014

2015
A03P0003
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We found that the Department did not comply with IPERA for FY 2014 because it reported an improper payment rate that did not meet its reduction target for the Direct Loan program; its improper payment estimates and estimation methodologies were inaccurate, incomplete, and unreliable; and its...

Federal Student Aid’s Oversight of Schools Participating in the Title IV Programs

2015
A03L0001
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We found significant weaknesses in the processes for performing program reviews. We also found a weakness in selecting schools for program reviews. Program review specialists did not always conduct program reviews in accordance with FSA’s program review procedures. Specifically, required forms and...

Misuse of FSA ID and the Personal Authentication Service

2016
X21Q0001
Other
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

In September 2016, we issued a Management Information Report that informed the Department of our concerns regarding how the FSA ID and the Personal Authentication Service were being misused by commercial third parties to take over borrower accounts. The OIG identified this problem through various...

Subscribe to Department of Education OIG