CBA Advocates for Department of Education Enterprise Complaint System Model

On Monday, February 8, 2016, CBA responded to a request for comment by the U.S. Department of Education regarding their forthcoming Enterprise Complaint System, which is mandated by the White House Student Aid Bill of Rights Presidential Memorandum.  CBA advocated that the Department follow the Federal Trade Commission model and keep complaints private and only conveys information to the government or law enforcement entities necessary for complaint resolution.  This way, consumers’ sensitive information remains confidential, while the issue can be properly resolved.  If, however, the agency decides to publish the information, CBA asked it to promote the utility of the Enterprise Complaint System by protecting confidential consumer information, validating the facts of the complaint (or establishing an appeal process), contextualizing the information and adopting informed disclosures to promote transparency.

 

In related news, the Department of Education announced the creation of a new student aid enforcement unit to "more quickly and efficiently" respond to allegations about colleges breaking the law.  In addition to enforcement, the new unit will analyze borrower defense claims and investigate institutions in connection with claims of students being defrauded by their colleges.