Education enrolls help for student aid programs

The department has tapped Pearson Government Solutions to support student financial-aid programs under a 10-year contract worth up to $800 million.The Arlington, Va., company will perform two primary functions for the Federal Student Aid Office: processing financial-aid applications from students, and originating and disbursing grants and loans. Pearson will design, build and run a new system that brings together services now delivered through four separate contracts.The aid office provides more than $69 billion in postsecondary financial aid to more than 10 million students every year, including more than $51 billion in new student loans and more than $11 billion in Pell Grants.In all, the office directly manages or oversees approximately $357 billion in outstanding loans for more than 25 million borrowers.The contract has one base year worth $80 million and nine one-year options.