Statecraft – "When FAFSA Broke, They Called This Guy"
Host: Santi Ruiz
Guest: Jeremy Singer (Former and current President, College Board; ex-lead for FAFSA salvage operation, 2024)
Release Date: February 26, 2026
Episode Overview
This episode of Statecraft dives into the high-stakes world of federal policy implementation by recounting the failed 2023-24 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) modernization and the subsequent six-month federal salvage operation led by College Board president Jeremy Singer. Through in-depth discussion, Santi and Jeremy dissect how a bipartisan congressional mandate to simplify FAFSA ballooned into a federal software debacle, why the problem ran so deep, and what it took to (partially) fix. The conversation is peppered with insider stories about government bureaucracy, vendor management, political realities, and lessons for effective software delivery in the public sector.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. The FAFSA Modernization: Plan and Botched Rollout
[01:08 - 09:24]
- Background: FAFSA is the federal linchpin for unlocking college grants, loans, and work-study for millions—data is used by states and colleges too.
- 2019–2020 Push: Bipartisan effort led by Senator Lamar Alexander to simplify FAFSA from ~100 to ~36 questions, make it more user-friendly, and enable automatic IRS data transfer, akin to TurboTax.
- 2023–24 Botched Launch: The new system’s rollout was badly delayed and fragmented; applicants and institutions got stuck, software was buggy, and large numbers couldn't get or offer aid on schedule.
- Jeremy’s role: Invited by the White House in June 2024, after widespread system failure, to run emergency triage and “write FAFSA.”
“It was like jumping into a fire… my six months—I call it the world's worst sabbatical.”
— Jeremy Singer [02:17]
2. Scale and Importance of FAFSA
[03:12 - 04:59]
- ~17 million users (students and family members) access FAFSA annually.
- FAFSA data underpins not just federal Pell Grants and loans, but also many state and institutional aid programs.
“It is sort of the linchpin of financial aid for so many families in the US.”
— Jeremy Singer [03:54]
3. Core Failure Factors
[09:44 - 17:17]
a. Overly Prescriptive Legislation
- Congressional statutes locked in product requirements (e.g., specific user flows for edge cases like unhoused students), stifling iterative improvement and making the system user-confusing.
“They basically hard coded product requirements … Agile starts, instead of trying to define everything, you start iteratively producing code, getting feedback, learning.”
— Jeremy Singer [13:08]
b. Vendor Fragmentation, Technical Debt
- Largest software project ever for Department of Ed—team lacked deep technical background and were over-reliant on contractors (GDIT, Accenture, two others).
- No single product owner; old system built in COBOL/mainframes.
- Weak leadership and coordination: “They had no CTO of FAFSA, only of FSA as a whole.” Vendors communicated via email/text, not modern collaboration tools.
“Even one of the challenges is the vendors did not work well together.”
— Jeremy Singer [21:33]
c. Internal Organizational Issues
- No clear accountability, slow decision rights, risk aversion.
- Lack of technical product leadership; “product people” knew the legacy system, not modern software.
- Department and White House didn’t grasp (until late) the scale of the crisis—vendors claimed progress while foundational work was incomplete.
“I don't think anyone there knew … how screwed they were.”
— Jeremy Singer [27:17]
4. Lessons from Healthcare.gov, Talent Challenges
[29:27 - 33:02]
- Despite the infamous healthcare.gov rescue, lessons on technical project management, agile development, and vendor strategy had not permeated.
- Government struggles to attract and retain product and tech talent; even more acute in high-stakes “modernization” efforts.
“If you're not getting those [top engineers], unless it's someone who's just so civic minded… you're going to get a lower quality of person.”
— Jeremy Singer [31:51]
5. Political and Policy Dynamics
[50:53 - 54:55]
- The episode lays bare the tension between ambitious policy and operational capacity.
- The Biden administration’s focus on student loan forgiveness may have contributed—but Jeremy sees a structural problem with overloading federal agencies with priorities.
“Democrats are more ambitious on the things they think government can do … sometimes have more success in Republican administrations because Republicans have many fewer priorities.”
— Jeremy Singer [52:16]
The Salvage Operation: Insights & Memorable Moments
6. Emergency Intervention: Building the Rapid Response Team
[10:20 - 12:00]
- Singer assembles an eight-person “SWAT team,” including his CTO and outside talent (some via U.S. Digital Service).
- For the first time, FAFSA has its own technical leads and modern software expertise.
7. Politics, Perception & Communication
[36:12 - 44:27]
- Jeremy spends significant energy convincing the White House, Department, and external stakeholders that the only responsible path was to push back launch, beta test properly, and not chase deadlines at all costs (e.g., “no two moms can produce a baby in four and a half months”).
- Political leadership reluctant to acknowledge delays; "a culture...willing to roll the dice" despite disastrous evidence from prior year.
“If it was November 18, which is when we launch, it was. It was a disaster... They told me, hey, if it's not October 1st, we'd much rather know a firm date that you're going to hit and it’s going to be quality software, not buggy.”
— Jeremy Singer [41:02]
8. Product Practices: User Testing & Beta
[44:27 - 48:22]
- Iterative beta tests with hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands of users reveal major usability bugs.
- In one case, a 20-year FSA product manager had never observed a real user interact with FAFSA.
“It was her first time she’d ever been in front of a user, which in 20 years… very upsetting.”
— Jeremy Singer [44:47]
- Politicals wanted to “quick fix” tricky issues right before launch, ignoring product counsel re: regression risk.
“If you want us to do it, all you have to do is send me an email saying that despite our recommendation … you know more about software.”
— Jeremy Singer [47:22]
9. The Limitations of Oversight
[55:18 - 60:05]
- Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a sharply critical report; Singer and his successor refuted it as outdated and fundamentally ignorant of modern software realities.
“If we had followed what they suggested, it would have been a much larger disaster. … It was such a mess and incredibly … process heavy. It was very compliance oriented, which compliance does not lead to successful software.”
— Jeremy Singer [56:43]
10. Political & Oversight Realities
[60:05 - 64:58]
- Congressional oversight in this episode became unusually direct, requiring weekly briefings, often framing issues in partisan terms.
- Transparency efforts (public bug blogs, etc.) were met with resistance because of potential political “weaponization” of information.
“I wish it was less political … but I would have to believe that the GAO could be independent despite whichever administration ... unless there’s some level of impartiality, I don’t even know the function.”
— Jeremy Singer [63:55]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On being recruited for the salvage mission:
“I call it the world's worst sabbatical.” — Jeremy Singer [02:17]
-
On Congress’ desire for rigid prescriptions:
“You could say what you want the software to do, but then let the team figure it out and do it most effectively and test it and iterate ... but not hard code, the actual how the software is going to present.”
— Jeremy Singer [65:21] -
On politics and denial:
“There was almost like I'd rather take that flyer that it may work ... and if it doesn't take the heat then take known heat today even if it's smaller. And that is really problematic because ... that's not how anyone else runs.”
— Jeremy Singer [70:18] -
On encountering oversight for the first time:
“This was like wide-eyed Jeremy going to DC, thinking about how things work and then seeing the reality and being like, oh shit, this is how the sausage is made.”
— Jeremy Singer [56:08] -
On product culture:
“A 20-year FSA product person—it was her first time she'd ever been in front of a user, which was very upsetting.”
— Jeremy Singer [44:47]
Lessons Learned & Prescriptions
[66:07 - End]
- For Congress:
- Write high-level outcome mandates, not line-by-line requirements; allow technical teams space to experiment and iterate.
- For the executive branch:
- Build real technical and product expertise inside government, not just in contractors or on a crisis basis.
- Embrace user testing and incremental beta releases as the norm, not exceptions.
- On vendor management:
- Appoint clear technical leadership. Avoid ill-coordinated multi-vendor structures unless you have the bandwidth and systems to manage them.
- On politics:
- Don’t chase artificial deadlines; communicate timelines transparently and build trust—even if it means taking heat up front.
- On oversight:
- Oversight must be technically informed and flexible, focused on results and context, not just process.
- Transparency and open communication with stakeholders can build resilience—when not weaponized in partisan combat.
“It is much better to have the talent in the government… This [crisis fix] is a measure of last resort.”
— Jeremy Singer [73:22]
Timestamps of Key Segments
- 00:00–04:59: What FAFSA is, why it matters, scale of the aid system.
- 09:44–17:17: Root causes of botched rollout—legislation, vendor management, org structure.
- 29:27–33:02: Lessons from healthcare.gov, government tech talent pipeline.
- 36:12–44:27: Political and communication challenges steering the rescue.
- 44:27–48:22: Beta testing, product management lessons, stakeholder engagement.
- 55:18–60:05: GAO report, frustrations with existing oversight frameworks.
- 66:07–74:00: Prescriptions for future government modernization projects, IPA vs. permanent hiring, and career reflections.
For Listeners New to the Episode
This detailed episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of federal policymaking, government tech failures (and fixes), and the rarely-told backstory of a crisis that affected millions of college students. Jeremy Singer’s candor, and Santi’s sharp, context-heavy questions, offer rare insight into American policy delivery, from congressional intent to street-level administration.