GDIT Snags $120 Million Contract to Modernize Student Aid Processing System

General Dynamics Information Technology has been awarded a $121 million contract to modernize one of the Department of Education’s key student financial aid systems, the Falls Church, Va.-based contractor announced Tuesday.

Through the Award Eligibility Determination contract, which has an 18-month base period with eight one-year options and one six-month option, GDIT will migrate mission critical legacy applications to a modern, cloud-based architecture.

The current legacy mainframe processing system supports more than 10 million students annually, but the company says the modernized version will improve customer experience, drive down costs and increase operational flexibility to pivot or scale to future regulations or requirements.

“We are proud to continue our support to the U.S. Department of Education, and this modernization contract enables GDIT to further advance FSA’s higher education mission,” Jylinda Johnson, GDIT vice president and general manager for Government Operations, said in a statement. “The new system will allow students to more efficiently receive federal aid to help pay for college or career school.”

The new AED system will be hosted in the Amazon Web Services’ GovCloud.