"We appreciate the Department of Education’s response to the concerns of the higher education community by extending the deadline for institutions to provide comments and report on arrangements with third-party servicers under the department's recently released guidance.
As we stated in
our letter requesting the extension, the higher education community supports the department's desire to better understand institutional relationships with outside entities and ensure proper federal oversight. However, identifying which entities meet the new and broader definitions set out by this guidance, as well as meaningfully commenting on the guidance and its implications, will be a complex and time-consuming process.
Extending the guidance's effective date and its related reporting and comment deadlines allows for a better, more fully informed process to enhance transparency in this important area. We look forward to working with the department to accomplish these goals."