RFI: FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FSA) TECHNOLOGY MODERNIZATION INITIATIVE

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gain a better understanding of—and potentially leverage current and emerging industry capabilities to modernize FSA’s technology while enabling the successful implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. More specifically, FSA aims to gather insights from industry on solutions to achieve a modern, integrated, and secure FSA systems ecosystem that addresses the shortcomings of our current state of technology. To this end, FSA is seeking innovative approaches to:

· Modernize or replace FSA’s legacy systems;

· Integrate siloed data across multiple systems;

· Consolidate or coordinate disparate vendor solutions; and

· Improve services to students and borrowers.

Additionally, FSA seeks input on whether a “greenfield” rebuild (i.e. developing a new system landscape from scratch); incremental improvements to existing systems; or a hybrid of both approaches will effectively meet the evolving demands and needs of students, parents, borrowers, and our partners.

It is important to note that lessons learned from past efforts and audit findings including the need for comprehensive planning, realistic cost/schedule estimates, robust testing, and strong oversight should inform FSA’s approaches. Hence, FSA encourages Respondents to reference these findings and propose solutions that address the documented weaknesses in FSA’s current technology environment.

Please see the following attachments:

1. FSA Modernization RFI
2. Attachment 1: Context Diagrams
3. Attachment 2: FSA Modernization RFI Q&As