US Education Department expands Ombudsman role amid escalating student loan defaults

The US Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid office has announced a major overhaul of its Ombudsman office, expanding it into the Office of Consumer Education and Ombudsman. The shift, driven by soaring $1.67 trillion student loan debt and rising defaults, aims to improve borrower literacy, introduce a unified servicing manual, and strengthen oversight across the federal loan system.