WASHINGTON— Delivering on U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' promise to improve customer experience with the federal student aid process, the Department debuted today a new, centralized hub for customers to access student aid information. The new http://StudentAid.gov is now the singular place where students, parents, and borrowers can learn about available types of student aid, find the right repayment plan, complete loan counseling, and fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form. The new http://StudentAid.gov consolidates into one singular location the student-facing portions of http://StudentLoans.gov, http://fsaid.ed.gov, and http://nslds.ed.gov.

In addition to the revamped website, borrowers can now access all the loan servicer contact centers through one phone number: 1-800-4-FED-AID. This number includes a new interactive voice response function to direct customers to the appropriate place, eliminating confusion and frustration for borrowers. The myStudentAid mobile app has also been updated and enhanced so that customers can seamlessly switch between completing tasks on the app and the web.

"Federal Student Aid's customers visit our websites more than 120 million times each year," said Secretary DeVos. "By centralizing the information they need on one website, providing one singular phone number to call, and continually improving our mobile app, we can better serve students and cut down on the confusion of navigating the federal student aid process."

As Secretary DeVos promised at this year's Federal Student Aid Conference, Aidan, FSA's new digital assistant, is also making its debut. Ten percent of federal student aid borrowers now have access to Aidan. The online virtual assistant can answer questions borrowers may have as they navigate the student aid experience. Aidan can already answer more than 800 questions about federal student aid and is learning more from feedback submitted by users during this pilot program. Aidan will be available to additional customers on a rolling basis.

The improvements announced today are another major public-facing step in the Next Gen FSA transformation the Secretary announced in 2018 with the goal of modernizing the federal student aid process from application through repayment.   back...