(GENERAL-21-78) StudentAid.gov Enhancements and Modifications Starting November 2021

Author
Federal Student Aid
Electronic Announcement ID
GENERAL-21-78
Subject
StudentAid.gov Enhancements and Modifications Starting November 2021

On Nov. 21, 2021, we made additional updates to StudentAid.gov features designed to improve the information and self-service tools available to our customers. These updates continue Federal Student Aid’s (FSA's) commitment to improve customer experiences and outcomes through ongoing modernization of our technology, tools, and resources.

This announcement summarizes updated features that are now available.

Updated Features on StudentAid.gov and the myStudentAid Mobile App

Several features were updated or added with this release.

  • Aidan® Virtual Assistant – Aidan can answer common questions about federal student aid and guide customers to the correct information and resources. With this release, we added or improved responses related to the Federal Student Aid Estimator, loan servicer transfers, total and permanent disability (TPD) discharge, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), and FSA ID.

  • PSLF Help Tool – We updated the PSLF Help Tool to provide additional information and guidance about the limited waiver opportunity. Additionally, we updated the tool so that the “Manually Enter Employer” link appears only on the final page of the employer search to encourage borrowers to view all of the employer search results and select employers that are already in the database; this change will help reduce wait times for borrowers using the tool.

  • Loan Simulator Loan Simulator is updated to provide users with specific repayment details when a user enters a monthly payment amount that is higher than any payment required. Loan Simulator will now recalculate the payoff information (i.e., repayment term and interest paid, etc.) for the Standard and Consolidated Standard plans using the desired repayment amount. Additionally, Loan Simulator’s results page for the “Borrow More” module will display an alert if a borrower has a loan in default that is impacting the amount of federal aid that the borrower is eligible to receive.

  • Customer Surveys – We added opportunities for customers to tell us about their experience and give other feedback through customer surveys that may appear after various customer actions on StudentAid.gov and the myStudentAid mobile app, after interaction with one of our contact centers, and through customer emails.

Financial Awareness Counseling Tool Decommission

The Financial Awareness Counseling Tool (FACT) is no longer available on StudentAid.gov. Instead, the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement provides a simpler and improved experience to assist borrowers with understanding how loans affect their financial future.

Customers can continue to access information about previously completed Financial Awareness Counseling within My Documents, but they will not be able send “notice” of the previously completed counseling to schools.

Important

With the decommission of the tool, schools may need to update their internal processes and procedures, as well as school-produced materials for students and parents. Information about or references to financial awareness counseling or the tool itself and web links to FACT information on StudentAid.gov must be removed from websites, emails, paper letters or correspondence, and other online or printed materials.

Additional Features and Enhancements Continuing in 2022

Looking ahead to 2022, we will continue to add tools and enhance current features to improve our customers’ understanding of and interactions with the Title IV programs. Details about new tools and features will be provided in forthcoming Electronic Announcements posted on the FSA Partner Connect Knowledge Center.

We will also share information about FSA’s modernization efforts through partner emails, social media posts, and targeted outreach campaigns to ensure everyone knows what to expect going forward.

We appreciate your interest and support of FSA’s modernization efforts.