OIG Conducts Review of Department of Education Program for Ensuring Compliance with SCRA

SCRA Department of Education

On February 29, the Department of Education Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a response to a congressional request that the OIG conduct a review of student loan servicers’ compliance with the SCRA. The OIG analyzed SCRA reviews performed by the Department of Education (Department), obtained relevant documentation, and met with officials involved in planning and conducting SCRA program reviews. The OIG found that the Department’s sampling design for SCRA reviews did not accurately identify borrowers eligible for SCRA benefits. Specifically, the OIG found that the Department’s May 26, 2015 press release claiming 99% compliance with the SCRA was unreliable; of the 597 loans that the OIG reviewed, only 55 requested SCRA benefits and only 37 were eligible. The OIG also noted that the Department “did not make any effort to require the TIVAS [Title IV Approved Student Loan Servicers] to identify and correct all potential instances of incorrect denials of the SCRA interest rate cap.”