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Department of Education (ED)
CITIZEN CENTRIC REPORT FY2021
1 WHO WE ARE
Number of Employees: 4,400
Budget: $68 Billion
ED Mission
ED’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global
competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
The Department of Education was created in 1980 by combining multiple offices
from several federal organizations. Currently ED is dedicated to the following:
• Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education, and distributing as
well as monitoring those funds.
• Collecting data on America’s schools and disseminating research.
• Focusing national attention on key educational issues.
• Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education
Four Strategic Goals
1. Support state and local efforts to improve learning outcomes for all
prekindergarten-grade 12 students in every community
2. Expand postsecondary educational opportunities, improve outcomes to foster
economic opportunity and productive citizenry
3. Strengthen the quality, accessibility and use of education data through better
management, increase privacy protections and transparency
4. Reform the effectiveness, efficiency and accountability of the department.
Message from Miguel Cardona, United States Secretary of Education:
“With a great education, children can do and become
anything they choose. That is the American dream
so many of us have experienced, and I am committed to
making sure that all our students can achieve their dreams.
I see this Department as a service agency, devoted to that
goal.”
Page 2 Key Indicators
Accomplishments FY2021
Noteworthy goals achieved in the US Education Department during the past year
Accountability Innovation Excellence
– The Department of Education
completed 9 budget accountability
reports for the FY 2021 federal
appropriations. Budgetary resources
rose by $216.2 from the previous
year due to increased grants for
direct and indirect adjustments due
to COVID-19.
– 5 of the Department’s Agency
Priority Goals were identified for
federal funding appropriation through
FY 2020-2021.
– 6000 discretionary grants awarded
to colleges and universities to
support innovation and enhance
higher learning.
– The Department received a $31.9
billion appropriation in support of this
objective.
– The Department was awarded its
17
th Certificate of Excellence in
Accountability Reporting from the
Association of Government
Accountants and an honorary award
for an Innovative Presentation on a
Topic of Broad Public Interest.
Transparency Professional Development
– Debt owed to the treasury by HBCU
institutions was reduced by 73%. The
Direct Loan Program contributed
93.5% of debt as of September of the
financial year.
– The Department offered mentorship
and discussions with SFS (Scholarship
for Service) about upcoming
internships and employment
opportunities.
– The Department’s total IT spending
rose by $182.5 (million) from FY 2020
(Department of Education, 2021).
US
Department of
Education
The Department was established as a Cabinet-level agency in 1980. Today, the
Department supports programs in every area and level of education from preschool
through postdoctoral research. The Department makes funds and information available to
individuals pursuing an education, colleges and universities, state education agencies,
and school districts by engaging in four major categories of activities:
• Establishing policies related to federal education funding, including distributing funds,
collecting on student loans, and using data to monitor the use of funds.
• Supporting data collection and research on America’s schools.
• Identifying major issues in education and focusing national attention on them.
• Enforcing federal laws promoting equal access and prohibiting discrimination in
programs that receive federal funds.
Financial Highlights
The Department is primarily responsible for administering federal student loan and
grant programs and provides technical assistance to loan and grant recipients and
other state and local partners. The largest portions of the Department’s financial
activities relate to the execution of loan and grant programs.
PAGE 3 FINANCIAL PROFILE
Most significant changes to the Department’s financial statements
resulted from the impacts due to COVID 19 activities.
– Significant increase in Fund Balance with Treasury is due to an
increase in undisbursed COVID 19 funds.
– Significant increase in Net Costs in Higher Ed is due to loan
modification subsidy expense when student loan and interest was
paused.
-Significant increase in Appropriations is due to multiple COVID 19
relief bills to support educational institutions, students, parents and
communities to improve education for all P-12 students, expand
higher education opportunities, and life-long learning for career
development. It includes funding for student loan borrowers by
suspending all federal loan payments until January 31, 2022, interest
free.
For 20 Consecutive Years, the
Department has earned an
unmodified (“Clean”) audit
opinion.
The Department consistently
produces complete, accurate,
and timely financial
information.
Learn more about the financial
information at
https://www2.ed.gov/about/reports
/annual/2021report/index.html
The Department is primarily responsible for administering federal student loan and grant programs and
provides technical assistance to loan and grant recipients and other state and local partners. The largest
portions of the Department’s financial activities relate to the execution of loan and grant programs.
The Department’s net costs of operations are primarily from three major components:
• Credit program revenue and interest
• Credit program subsidy expense
• Grant expenses
FY2021 Department of Education Earned Revenue & Gross Costs
Department of Education
1-800-USA-LEARN (1-
800-872-5327)
Lyndon Baines Johnson
(LBJ)
Department of Education
Building
400 Maryland Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20202
DIRECT LOAN PROGRAM
The Department’s largest program, the William D. Ford Federal Direct
Loan (Direct Loan) Program, provides students and their families with
funds to help pay for their postsecondary education costs. The
following describes (1) the steps the Department has taken to help
make student debt more manageable and (2) the risks inherent in
estimating the cost of the program.
WHAT’S NEXT?
As the nation’s largest provider of financial aid for education beyond
high school, FSA delivers more than $112 billion in aid each year to
students and their families. Through programs authorized under the
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, FSA provides grants,
loans, and work-study funds for college or career school. FSA also
oversees the approximately 5,600 postsecondary institutions that
participate in the federal student aid programs. In every interaction with
students and their families, FSA strives to be the most trusted and
reliable source of student financial aid information and services in the
nation
1. Establish Federal Student Aid (FSA’s) ability to request and
receive certain Federal Tax Information from the Internal
Revenue Service through the FUTURE Act Direct Data
Exchange
2. Update FSA systems and processes to enable the provisions of
the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources
for Education ( FUTURE) Act
3. Work with FSA’s partners—schools, state agencies, and
designated scholarship organizations—as they update their
systems and processes to fully implement the FUTURE Act.
Further Helping
– Extension of Student Loan Payment Relief During the COVID19 Pandemic
– Income-Driven Repayment Plans
– Public Service Loan Forgiveness
