>
Article snippet: The Education Department on Friday took up an Obama-era plan to streamline federal student loan servicing by moving to a new, single platform for managing the loans of 43 million borrowers. The department had indicated it might jettison the previous administration’s initiative, which was intended to simplify a system that consumer advocates have complained is overly complex and rife with poor customer service. Choosing a single vendor to manage the loans also carries risk, as that entity would construct the most visible online government portal since the Affordable Care Act program website, HealthCare.gov. One of the three remaining bidders for the contract is denied any wrongdoing and is fighting the lawsuits. Many students rely on the Education Department, which administers $1.3 trillion in federal student loans, to finance their higher education. The work of servicing those loans — sending bills, collecting payments, guiding borrowers through their repayment options, and handling any problems that arise — is outsourced. Nine vendors currently hold those contracts, which expire in 2019. The Obama administration announced last year that it would replace that patchwork approach with a new, single web portal through which all borrowers would obtain information on their loans. The contract to create the new system is expected to be one of the largest nonmilitary federal contracts. Last month, Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, rescinded key parts of the contract... Link to the full article to read more