Streamlining financial aid
Feb 16th, 2005Via the Washington Post …
The Federal Student Aid office of the Department of Education has awarded a contract to Pearson Government Solutions to merge processes currently under four separate contracts into a single operation. The new contract will cover Student Loan application processing, written correspondence, a call center, and the distribution of funds under the Direct Loan and Pell Grant programs. Mac Curtis, president and chief executive of Pearson, said that students and parents will be able to access the new system online, by e-mail, or through written correspondence. Pearson has won contracts from several other federal agencies recently to develop similar systems, which Curtis referred to as "customer interaction management" systems. A spokesperson from the
Department of Education said the system will "improve customer service through increased self-service opportunities" and will streamline financial aid functions for participating institutions.
