U.S. Department of Education Management Priorities (April 2001)

• Be an exemplar of the President's principles of behavior for federal officials
• Implement the President's No Child Left Behind plan
• Support the President's FY 2002 budget for the Department
• Establish the Department of Education's fiscal credibility
  • Strengthen financial management
  • Address audit deficiencies
  • Modernize student aid delivery and management
  • Reduce student loan default costs to taxpayers
• Establish effective and efficient Departmental operations
• Fulfill President Bush's priorities for education
• Promote public confidence in public education

Management Improvement Team Goals

• A clean audit opinion is obtained from the Department's auditors
• Student Financial Assistance Programs are removed from the General Accounting Office (GAO) High Risk List
• Effective systems of internal controls are in place that protect the Department's assets from waste, fraud, and abuse
• Continue efforts to modernize student aid delivery and management, continue efforts to reduce student loan default costs and use IRS data for income verification
• Make accountability for results the primary operating principle for all ED managers, grantees, and contractors

Management Goals in the President's Budget

The Department of Education has long suffered from deficiencies in financial management, particularly in its student financial aid programs. Despite considerable progress in recent years to address problems identified by independent audit firms, the General Accounting Office, and the Inspector General, more work is needed to better protect taxpayer resources and improve customer service. The 2002 budget would support the following improvements:

• Strengthen financial management to address audit deficiencies. The Department has received only one clean audit opinion since independent audits were first required in 1996. Investment in updated financial reporting systems, a new general ledger system, and asset-tracking software will increase the reliability of financial data needed to support a clean opinion and prevent the improper use of government resources.
• Modernize student aid delivery and management. The Department will continue efforts to use technology to simplify business processes and improve coordination with its school and lending partners to ensure the timely and financially responsible delivery of $60 billion in annual postsecondary student financial assistance.
• Reduce default costs. While the Department has slashed the postsecondary student loan default from 22.4 percent to 6.8 percent over the past several years, rapid growth in loan volume has nevertheless doubled default costs over the past 8 years, from $12 billion to $25 billion. The Department will work to reduce these costs through earlier identification of problem loans and implementation of loan management "best practices."