Federal Student Aid (FSA) has released the draft goals and objectives for its Fiscal Year 2026–30 Strategic Plan and is inviting higher education institutions, financial aid administrators, financial partners, and other stakeholders to provide feedback.
The five year plan is intended to guide FSA’s priorities and performance as the agency works to improve the delivery of federal student aid, support successful loan repayment, modernize its technology infrastructure, and strengthen its operations. FSA is specifically seeking feedback on the clarity, feasibility, and potential impact of the proposed priorities.
Four Strategic Goals
The draft plan identifies four overarching strategic goals:
1) Ensure aid delivery for every eligible student
FSA plans to improve the access, timeliness, accuracy, accountability, and efficiency of federal student aid delivery. Objectives include:
- Improving the FAFSA experience
- Improving FSA products and services for financial aid administrators
- Improving outcomes for students, borrowers, and taxpayers by holding institutions accountable for compliance with the Higher Education Act and Title IV requirements
2) Increase student loan repayment
FSA intends to improve the borrower experience and repayment outcomes through more accessible and user friendly tools and services. Objectives include:
- Moving toward a healthy federal student loan servicing portfolio
- Strengthening institutions’ knowledge and capacity to support borrowers throughout the student aid lifecycle
- Strengthening loan operations through centralized servicing
3) Modernize technology infrastructure
FSA plans to transform legacy systems and invest in secure, scalable, and interoperable technology. Objectives include:
- Modernizing core systems
- Increasing innovation and efficiency through strategic acquisitions
- Developing an integrated data infrastructure strategy to improve operations and support data driven decision making
- Strengthening cybersecurity and data privacy
4) Empower employees and promote enterprise business acumen
FSA plans to strengthen its workforce through talent development, continuous learning, leadership, and greater collaboration. Objectives include:
- Investing in workforce development aligned with mission critical functions
- Enhancing collaboration, knowledge sharing, and partnerships with federal entities
- Modernizing tools and workflows to improve employee efficiency and capabilities
- Recognizing, retaining, and recruiting top talent
Stakeholder Comments Due September 23
FSA is encouraging stakeholders across the higher education and financial aid communities to review the proposed goals and objectives and provide input that can help inform the final strategic plan.
Written comments may be submitted to FSAstrategicplan@ed.gov and must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
View FSA Electronic Announcement GENERAL-26-51
Review the FY 2026–30 Draft Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives