Leader of Federal Student Aid Office Steps Down After College Admissions Crisis

The nation’s top student aid official is stepping down, the Education Department said Friday, after the disastrous rollout of a new financial aid form that upended the college admissions process for millions of students this year.

Richard Cordray, who took over as the leader of the Federal Student Aid office in 2021, will hand over his duties in June, Education Secretary Miguel A. Cardona said in a statement.

Mr. Cordray’s departure coincides with a fraught admissions season. College administrators, students and members of Congress across the political spectrum have rebuked the Education Department for mismanaging a redesign of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, throwing the usual college admissions process into disarray.

In his role, Mr. Cordray also oversaw a variety of other programs, including many parts of the Biden administration’s sweeping vision of student debt relief for millions of borrowers through loan forgiveness and income-driven repayment plans.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that Rich helped change millions of lives for the better,” Mr. Cardona said in a statement.

Before joining the department, Mr. Cordray spent six years as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he pursued debt collectors and financiers and helped extract around $12 billion in refunds and canceled debts for nearly 30 million people.