Maria Carrasco
September 14, 2026
The Department of Education (ED) on Thursday announced that beginning in October, institutions will use a new Borrower Defense portal to respond to notifications from Federal Student Aid (FSA) related to borrower defense to repayment (BDR) applications.
Specifically, starting in October, institutions will use FSA Partner Connect to respond to notifications from FSA regarding borrower defense to repayment applications filed by former or current student borrowers through a new Borrower Defense portal. This portal is available through the FSA Partner Connect home page, and is meant for institutions to review cases, understand applicable regulation years, and upload evidence.
ED noted that it will update FSA Partner Connect to offer a new summary page for borrower defense cases, search and filter tools, improved functionality to review case details, and a “modernized approach to manage evidence.”