The Data Liberation Project — Student Loan Data Documentation

The Department of Education recently published “system of records notices” relating to four key databases that track information about student loans:

Our FOIA request 📄 seeks all records that document these systems, such as database diagrams and user guides. This differs from the other requests in our initial batch of FOIAs, which also seek the database contents themselves. Ultimately, we’d like to file requests for specific student loan data, but these systems are so sprawling that at first we’re just seeking to better understand what’s possible.

We also hope that these documents will shed light on important technical aspects of how the government undertakes its student loan operations and oversight.

Updates

20-Day Notification • On October 31, 2022, the Department of Education emailed a 20-day-notification letter 📄 regarding this request, noting that “we are unable to provide an estimated completion date, but intend to provide records on a rolling basis as they become available.”
Request Acknowledged, Fee Waiver Granted • On September 29, 2022, the Department of Education emailed an acknowledgment letter 📄 regarding this request and has granted the Data Liberation Project a fee waiver: “You have asked for a waiver of all fees, including duplication fees, associated with processing your request based on your requester category as News Media requester. Based on the information you submitted for a fee waiver, that request is granted.”