2021 School Partners Survey

Federal Student Aid
Schools Partners Survey
Introduction
The U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid (FSA) seeks to continuously improve its
interactions with its valued business partners in the schools’ community in the administration of Title IV
programs. To that end we are conducting a brief survey to assess our performance and provide you with
an opportunity to share any ideas or feedback you may have to help us better serve you. Your
participation in the survey is voluntary. This survey should take you approximately 5 minutes to complete.
The survey is conducted by the CFI Group, a Michigan-based consulting company, with all data hosted
on secure servers. Your responses will remain anonymous and will only be reported to FSA in aggregate
form. We hope this will allow you to feel free to be candid in your feedback to us.
Please click the “Next” button below to begin the survey.
PRA Burden Statement
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information
unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information
collection is 1845-0045. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 minutes
per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining
the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The obligation to respond to this
collection is voluntary. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this
survey, please contact Federal Student Aid/Office of Student Experience and Aid Delivery/Customer Analytics Group
at 830 First Street, NE Washington, DC 20202 or [email protected] directly. [Note: Please do not return the
completed survey to this address.]

Rating Questions
Please think about your experiences interacting with Federal Student Aid (FSA) in the Title IV
administration process in the past three months (unless otherwise indicated), and rate the following
items using a scale of 1-10 with 1 being “poor” and 10 being “excellent.” If a question does not apply to
your recent experiences with FSA, please click “Not Applicable/Did not use”:
EDEXP
The ease of using EDExpress
FAAAC
The ease of using FAA Access
COD
The ease of using Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system
NSLDS
The ease of using National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)
IFAP
The ease of searching the FSA Partner Connect Knowledge Center to find the information
you need (Knowledge Center was formally known as IFAP (ifap.ed.gov))
ASSIST

The assistance you received from FSA or one of its vendors when you last called or
contacted us for help regarding a system or process

WHOLAST [if answered ASSIST] Who did you last call or contact at FSA or its vendors for assistance?
[randomize choice list]
1 REACH FSA phone line (855-FSA-4FAA)
2 COD School Relations Center or FSA Partner Connect
3 Loan Servicing Centers (for Schools)
4 National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Customer Care Center
5 CPS/SAIG/Two-Factor Authentication Technical Support (includes EDExpress/FAA
Access/EDConnect)

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6 Default Resolution Group (DRG), Greenville Center
7 eZ Audit
8 Total and Permanent Disability Discharge and Veterans Disability Discharge
9 FSA staff member (email or phone calls directly to an individual staff member or
office)
10 [email protected]
11 Other (Please specify)
TRAIN The knowledge you acquired from attending your last training session presented by an FSA
trainer (not the Fall 2020 FSA Training Conference)?
CONF The helpfulness of the Fall 2020 virtual FSA Training Conference (if attended; please choose
“N/A” if you did not attend)
OVRASST The quality of assistance you received from FSA to address your last eligibility or oversight
issue
OVRFAIR [If answered OVRASST] Extent to which you believe your eligibility or oversight issue was
resolved in a transparent and fair manner (i.e., consistent with Title IV Regulations)
IFAPCOM The usefulness of FSA provided communications on the Knowledge Center of FSA Partner
Connect (formerly known as IFAP)
CALLWHO Extent to which you are clear about who to call if you are having a problem
EASEBUS The overall ease of doing business with Federal Student Aid
POLICY

On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being “not at all impactful” and 10 being “very impactful”, to what
extent has your ease of doing business with FSA been impacted by policy
or regulatory changes?

POLAFF

[If answered POLICY 5-10] In what way have policy changes affected your interactions with
FSA?
(enter verbatim response)

FSACON In a few sentences, what features do you like about FSA Partner Connect, what would you
improve, what would you add or remove? (enter verbatim response)
Closing

C_FREQ How often do you typically contact FSA (e.g. FSA contractor, FSA Call Center, or program

participant) for assistance with a system or process related to Title IV administration? [choose
one]
1
2
3
4

Never
Less than 5 times per year
5-10 times per year
More than 10 times per year

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EXP

How long have your work duties included activities related to Title IV loan administration?
1 Less than 6 months
2 6 months to less than 2 years
3 2 years to less than 5 years
4 5 years to less than 10 years
5 10 years of more

CLOSE1.

Finally, what is the most urgent improvement (that is not statutory, nor regulatory) that you
would like FSA to make in the Title IV administration process?
(enter verbatim response)

Thank you again for your time. To complete the survey and submit the results, please hit the “Submit’”
button below. Have a good day!