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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

Protection of Personally Identifiable Information in Oregon’s Statewide Longitudinal Data System

2016
A02P0007
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

Our audit found that the Oregon Department of Education (Oregon) Consolidated Collection System, Oregon’s Statewide Longitudinal Data System, had a lack of documented internal controls in the system that increases the risk that Oregon will be unable to prevent or detectunauthorized access and...

Protection of Personally Identifiable Information in the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Longitudinal Data System

2016
A02P0006
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We identified internal control weaknesses in the system that increase the risk that Virginia will be unable to prevent or detect unauthorized access and disclosure of personally identifiable information. Specifically, we found that although Virginia classified the Single Sign-on Web System as a...

Functionality of the Debt Management Collection System 2

2016
A02N0004
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We reported that FSA did not always accurately assess the operational status of the fully or partially operational functions, processes, and subprocesses. We also noted that FSA did not sufficiently document its validation assessments. As a result, there was a risk that FSA did not accurately assess...

Nationwide Assessment of Charter and Education Management Organizations

2016
A02M0012
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

we determined that that charter school relationships with charter management organizations posed a significant risk to Department program objectives. Specifically, we found that 22 of the 33 charter schools in our review had 36 examples of internal control weaknesses related to the charter schools’...

The Department’s Implementation of the DATA Act

2017
X19Q0001
Other
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We found that the Department was complying with appropriate guidance and requirements and appeared to be on track for meeting its milestones. We did not find any evidence to indicate that the Department was not on track for implementing DATA Act reporting requirements by the May 2017 deadline. We...

State Oversight of Local Educational Agency Single Audit Resolution

2017
X09Q0006
Other
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We issued a management information report to the Department to highlight several areas of concern and some positive practices identified through our audits of SEA oversight of LEA single audit resolution. The results of our audits in the three States (Illinois, Massachusetts, andNorth Carolina)...

The Institute of Education Sciences’ Contractor Personnel Security Clearance Process

2017
A19R0002
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We found that the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) did not effectively implement Department requirements for the contractor personnel security screening process. We specifically noted weaknesses in IES’s development of internal policies and procedures, designation of contractpositions and...

Protection of Personally Identifiable Information in Indiana’s Statewide Longitudinal Data System

2017
A06Q0001
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We reported that the Indiana Department of Education did not provide adequate oversight to ensure that its system met minimum security requirements that included a creating System Security Plan, completing a compliance audit and risk assessment, and classifying its security level. We also reported...

Final Independent Auditors' Report - FSA's 2016 Financial Statements

2017
A17Q0002
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

The OIG’s contracted auditors found that the FY 2016 financial statements for the Department and FSA were presented fairly in all material respects, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. However, the auditors identified two significant deficiencies in internal control over...

Federal Student Aid’s Processes for Identifying At-Risk Title IV Schools and Mitigating Potential Harm to Students and Taxpayers

2017
A09Q0001
Audit
Department of Education OIG
Department of Education

We determined that FSA had adopted and implemented new tools and processes in this area in response to the April 2015 closure of one of the largest for-profit education companies in the United States, but further improvements were needed. We reported that FSA needed to improve its processes for...

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