Education Department Hiring Hundreds for Student Loan Office After Staff Cuts

The Office of Federal Student Aid is adding around 380 new workers after losing roughly half its staff last year. The office had 731 full-time equivalent staff as of an April internal meeting, down from 1,440 before the current administration. Documents prepared for that meeting stated the office needs to hire an additional 334 full-time equivalent staff to meet its target.

The office has already hired 52 new workers since September.

Officials said none of the new hires are former employees returning to previous positions. A former staff member who was laid off last year said the posted positions closely resemble the jobs that were eliminated. The same person noted new application questions about commitment to the Constitution and advancing administration policy priorities.

The Office of Federal Student

Aid manages communications with 43 million borrowers, repayment plans, and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The office is also implementing new limits on student loans and two new repayment plans. A Government Accountability Office investigation found that before last year's cuts, the office stopped reviewing the accuracy of loan servicers' records and borrower call recordings.

Officials have said the hiring will allow the office to continue managing these programs even as responsibilities shift to other agencies.