U.S. Education Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron on Friday sent a letter to education stakeholders addressing concerns over the massive layoffs — officially called “Reductions in Force” (RIFs) — that occurred at the Education Department (ED) earlier in the week.
Bergeron has served in a variety of higher education policymaking roles in Washington, D.C., and has been designated ED’s deputy under secretary. The essential message of Bergeron’s communication was that college officials should not panic about the dramatic slashing of ED personnel and the consequences it might have for their students and campuses. Some of the points included:
- The operations of the Federal Student Aid office are a statutory and “critical” function of ED. The RIFs did not affect any employees working on the FAFSA or loan servicing. Some of the “important” functions currently undertaken by the department’s regional offices will transfer to other offices. Further updates in this area are expected this week.
- Employees at the Office of Postsecondary Education, which administers key institutional aid programs such as TRIO, institutional aid and Minority-Serving Institutions, were not impacted by the personnel reductions. “Funds for these programs will continue to flow normally, and program functions will not be disrupted for current grantees,” according to the letter.
- “Critical functions” at the Office of Career Technical, and Adult Education, which administers the Perkins Act, were also not affected by the RIFs.
Given the sheer numbers involved, it is hard to imagine the reductions will not significantly impact ED’s service delivery. Furthermore, there is no question that, in many areas, ED was already significantly understaffed. However, the RIFs clearly were applied in selected areas (“strategic” was the word used by Bergeron), with an eye towards the reorganization of functions. ED’s statement reflects its recognition that stakeholders are anxiously awaiting what comes next.
