Richard A. Cordray, chief operating officer of the Education Department’s Federal Student Aid office, or FSA, will step down at the end of June amid a wave of criticism for the current financial-aid crisis.
Cordray, who was appointed to his position in May 2021, has overseen the calamitous rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. A series of delays, glitches, and technical problems with the form has thrown this year’s enrollment cycle into chaos, leaving many college applicants stuck in limbo while awaiting financial-aid offers from colleges. Just under 30 percent of students in the high-school Class of 2024 had completed a FAFSA as of mid-April, a 36-percent drop from this time last year, according to the most recent federal data.
Cordray on Friday sent a letter to his staff stating that his three-year term would come to a close next week — and that he would not continue for another one. But he had agreed to stay through June at the request of the U.S. secretary of education, Miguel A. Cardona, according to the department.
“As my three-year term as FSA chief is ending,” Cordray said in a written statement, “we have achieved key milestones for FSA. Over my tenure, we provided student-loan forgiveness to more than four million borrowers and their families; made it easier for people to apply for and manage federal student aid; and took strong actions to hold schools accountable for defrauding students. I have agreed to stay on for an interim period to help with the transition.”
In a written statement on Friday, Cardona thanked Cordray for his service and commitment to students, families, and colleges. “He accomplished more transformational changes to the student-aid system than any of his predecessors,” Cardona said. “It’s no exaggeration to say that Rich helped change millions of lives for the better.”
Neither Cordray’s nor Cardona’s statement mentions the FAFSA debacle.
Cordray, who ran unsuccessfully as the Democratic candidate for governor of Ohio in 2018, previously served as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, from 2012 to 2017. In early April, he and his office drew fire during a hearing about the FAFSA fiasco held by the the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Later, the committee posted a pointed message on X, formerly Twitter: “It’s time for Richard Cordray to GO.”
One Washington insider told The Chronicle on Friday, “he’s clearly being looked at, at least internally, as the fall guy.”
In a written statement, Rep. Virginia Foxx, the North Carolina Republican who is chair of the education committee, said Cordray would be remembered for “ineffective leadership” and “his failures” with the FAFSA rollout: “The Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid needs a leader that students, families, and institutions can rely on to put politics aside and faithfully administer the law. Mr. Cordray, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
