Each year, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) administers programs that disburse more than $70 billion in financial aid to help students pay for college. Just a decade ago, the 13 million students applying for federal student aid had to use a cumbersome, complicated and sometimes confounding paper-based process. Now, with help from Vangent, a leading global information management company, FSA has a modern, almost paperless system—making life easier for students, cutting costs, streamlining a cumbersome process, and increasing efficiency and accuracy.
When FSA turned to Vangent as a private sector partner, it got results. The online system they designed, built, and continue to operate allows students and parents to apply for federal student aid via a secure, user-friendly web site, thereby nearly eliminating the complex, paper-based form that required considerable time to complete and a costly, labor-intensive data collection system to process.
Much like the security for filing taxes online, the web site, commonly referred to as FAFSA on the Web, allows for secure transmission of data directly from the applicant’s computer to FSA’s Central Processing System, also designed by Vangent. FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This new system calculates the student applicant’s eligibility for federal aid in as little as 24 hours, compared to the 7 days under the paper-based system.
Electronic applications now account for more than 98 percent of all applications—substantially decreasing FSA’s processing and printing costs. The site has won numerous awards and accolades—including the Excellence.gov and the E-Gov Pioneer awards, and Government Executive and Federal Computer Week gave it similar praise.
FAFSA on the Web consistently has received American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) ratings in the mid-80 percent range, which are generally higher than other sites measured in the E-Gov index. The FAFSA on the Web ACSI rating for 2008 is currently 84. The ACSI is a uniform and independent measure of customer experience.
In a March 2008 letter from the U.S. Department of Education, Vangent was cited as an important partner in the first step for students and families applying for financial aid. “This application process is critical to ensure that students and families receive financial aid in a timely, efficient, and accurate manner,” DoEd said. “Vangent again played an invaluable role in this peak-processing season.” The department commended the company “for the outstanding teamwork with our Federal Student Aid resources and the other contractors who play a critical role in the application process.”
In addition, Vangent has continually improved the website to reduce operational costs for FSA. For example, it has combined a technical help desk with a general information contact center serving the same population; the cross-trained telephone and correspondence staff; implemented workstation and equipment sharing; streamlined correspondence processes; and cut the amount of time required to generate correspondence.
When FSA turned to Vangent as a private sector partner, it got results. The online system they designed, built, and continue to operate allows students and parents to apply for federal student aid via a secure, user-friendly web site, thereby nearly eliminating the complex, paper-based form that required considerable time to complete and a costly, labor-intensive data collection system to process.
Much like the security for filing taxes online, the web site, commonly referred to as FAFSA on the Web, allows for secure transmission of data directly from the applicant’s computer to FSA’s Central Processing System, also designed by Vangent. FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This new system calculates the student applicant’s eligibility for federal aid in as little as 24 hours, compared to the 7 days under the paper-based system.
Electronic applications now account for more than 98 percent of all applications—substantially decreasing FSA’s processing and printing costs. The site has won numerous awards and accolades—including the Excellence.gov and the E-Gov Pioneer awards, and Government Executive and Federal Computer Week gave it similar praise.
FAFSA on the Web consistently has received American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) ratings in the mid-80 percent range, which are generally higher than other sites measured in the E-Gov index. The FAFSA on the Web ACSI rating for 2008 is currently 84. The ACSI is a uniform and independent measure of customer experience.
In a March 2008 letter from the U.S. Department of Education, Vangent was cited as an important partner in the first step for students and families applying for financial aid. “This application process is critical to ensure that students and families receive financial aid in a timely, efficient, and accurate manner,” DoEd said. “Vangent again played an invaluable role in this peak-processing season.” The department commended the company “for the outstanding teamwork with our Federal Student Aid resources and the other contractors who play a critical role in the application process.”
In addition, Vangent has continually improved the website to reduce operational costs for FSA. For example, it has combined a technical help desk with a general information contact center serving the same population; the cross-trained telephone and correspondence staff; implemented workstation and equipment sharing; streamlined correspondence processes; and cut the amount of time required to generate correspondence.
