March 17, 2025

Manager of the Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and Strategy Division
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave SW, LBJ, Room 4C210
Washington, DC 20202-1200
Submitted via electronic portal

Re: Borrower Defense to Loan Repayment Universal Forms (Docket No. ED-2025-SCC-0002) Comment Request 1/14/2025

To Whom It May Concern:

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed Borrower Defense to Repayment application form.1 Veterans Education Success works on a bipartisan basis to advance higher education success for veterans, service members, and military families, and to protect the integrity and promise of the GI Bill and other federal postsecondary education programs. We have helped hundreds of veterans who are burdened by student loan debt after attending schools that defrauded them or made misrepresentations to them. Borrower Defense to Repayment is a critical resource for these veterans.

We have recommendations for the proposed form that we think will provide clarity for borrowers completing applications. In our work, we advise many student veterans as they attempt to complete the application form, and we have learned that there are areas that commonly cause confusion. That work informs these recommendations.

A. Recommendations for streamlining questions and clarifying instructions

1. Section 3’s instructions on the PDF form could be improved to make it clear that all categories do not need to be completed

We appreciate the instructions, both at the beginning of Section 3 and following the checkbox list in each category of Section 3, that let borrowers know how to complete Section 3. The instructions at the beginning of the section would strongly benefit from including an explicit acknowledgement that not all of the categories need to be completed in order to have a complete application. We also think that the categories should be numbered or otherwise divided (such as with letters or Roman numerals) on the PDF form in order to clearly distinguish each category as set off from the others. For instance, the instructions could read as follows (italics indicate our suggested additions to the instructions):

The following categories (A through G) are common categories of misconduct alleged by borrowers, including some specific examples. Categories H and I can also give rise to claims. You should only complete the categories that apply to you. Please complete all categories that apply. If none of the categories A through I apply to you, there is an “Other” category, category J, at the end of Section 3.

We propose no changes to the next paragraph of instructions, which begins, “You must write out answers…”

As currently written, borrowers may interpret the instructions as letting them know that they do not need to check all the boxes in each category, rather than letting them know they do not need to complete all the categories. Lettering the categories would also make it more obvious to borrowers completing the form that the categories are separate and discrete sets of questions.

2. Section 4 could be further differentiated from the questions about harm in Section 3

We appreciate the language at the start of “Section 4: Harm,” which helps make it clear to borrowers that the section may require some overlap with the questions about harm in Section 3. However, the Department could consider stating more directly how the information in this section may be different from or in addition to the information already provided in Section 3, as that is not readily apparent with the current instructions. We think more clarity here would remove some confusion for borrowers who might not know what to write in this section, since they already described their harm in Section 3. If there is no distinct information about harm being captured in Sections 3 and 4, the Department should consider asking the questions about harm in only one section.

B. Recommendations for improving the user experience with the online application tool

We also have comments regarding the experience of using the online version of the application. We hope the online application can be improved with the implementation of the proposed changes to the Borrower Defense to Repayment form.

1. Borrowers should be able to save their work and come back to it later

We have heard from borrowers, and have experienced ourselves, that the “save” feature on the online application does not always work. This means that users either have to finish the application in one sitting or risk losing all of their work and needing to start over. If the “save” feature is available, it must work reliably, or else students may be discouraged from completing applications because they need to duplicate their work. This is especially important since the form is quite long and requires many long-form responses.

2. The online form should exactly match the PDF version of the form

All of the questions on the Borrower Defense to Repayment form should appear on both the online version and the PDF version, in the same order. Currently, Section 2 in particular is in a very different order on the online version vs. the PDF version. The two forms should be identical, in part so that borrowers have the option of taking their time to prepare their answers on the PDF form in advance – or seeking pro bono help from legal aid organizations – and then filling out and submitting the online form, which is easier for borrowers to track for status updates. This is especially important since, as stated above, the save feature on the online form does not always work.

3. The online form should allow borrowers to see a preview of all the questions that will be asked

The online form should allow borrowers to see a preview of all of the questions on the online form or point borrowers to the PDF version of the form for review in advance of filling out the application. Currently, borrowers cannot move on to the next page of the online application without fully answering all the questions on the current page, which means that borrowers who only see the online version of the form do not have any idea what questions are coming up next or what information it would be useful for them to gather to assist them in filling out the questions. Providing an easily accessible preview would allow borrowers to prepare their application in advance of beginning the submission process while also allowing the Department to mark required fields.

C. Conclusion

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the Borrower Defense to Repayment application form. We hope that you will consider the changes we have raised above.

Sincerely,

Allison Muth
Director of Veterans Services and Civic Engagement
Veterans Education Success

1 1845-0163 Individual Application 83C 20230711, available at https://www.regulations.gov/document/ED-2025-SCC-0002-0003.

Borrower Defense Comments March 2025