FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Allie Arcese
Sr. Director, Strategic Communications
[email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C., NOVEMBER 18, 2025 — Today, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced plans to enter into agreements with four other federal agencies to redistribute its work, effectively dismantling the department from within. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said that the ultimate goal is to have Congress codify these changes. 

Among the interagency agreements is a plan to move the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) to the Department of Labor, which ED said “will take on a greater role in administering most postsecondary education grant programs authorized under the Higher Education Act.” No plans were announced to move the work of the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) to another federal agency. 

In response to this news, NASFAA President & CEO Melanie Storey released the following statement:

“Today’s news raises significant concerns for institutions, students, and families that rely on the seamless delivery of federal student aid programs. While ED has the authority to pursue internal restructuring, any changes must be handled with extraordinary care to avoid disrupting programs that are essential to student access and institutional stability.

Institutions depend on reliable access to federal partners who understand the intricacies of these longstanding higher education programs and can resolve urgent, complex problems. Transferring these responsibilities to agencies without deep experience in higher education programs or policy risks creating new obstacles for students and the institutions that serve them. Just as we would not expect ED staff to have a comprehensive understanding of employment law, for example,  we can’t assume that employees in other agencies would have — or could quickly acquire — the specialized knowledge required to administer these programs effectively.

These concerns are heightened by the fact that our own survey results show that earlier staffing reductions have had a measurable, negative impact on financial aid services. While there are many questions that still need answers, including the timeline for initiating a change of this magnitude, it seems highly unlikely that untangling and redistributing major functions of the Department would proceed without disruption for our nation’s students and colleges.

There is also the question of public trust and clarity. Any reorganization must ensure transparency, accountability, and continuity of service.  As this process moves forward, our priority is ensuring that students and institutions are not caught in the uncertainty of structural change. We urge ED and the administration to proceed with extreme caution and to engage closely with the higher education community before implementing any moves that could compromise the effective delivery of federal student aid.”

NASFAA policy experts are available to speak to members of the media about the impact of dismantling the Department of Education on college and university financial aid offices. To set up an interview, please email [email protected].

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About NASFAA

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is a nonprofit membership organization that represents more than 29,000 financial aid professionals at approximately 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country. NASFAA member institutions serve nine out of every 10 undergraduates in the U.S. Based in Washington, D.C., NASFAA is the only national association with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators.