Conduent (ACS) Education: What Is It?

When it was called ACS Education Services, Conduent Education Services was a company that took care of private, government, and campus-based student debts. It went out of business on September 1, 2019, and its loans were given to other services. If Conduent used to take care of your loan, here's what you need to know.

What did Conduent do, and what was it?

Conduent was a company that helped people with their student loans. It did this by working as a go-between for the original investor and the client. Conduent sent student loan bills to borrowers, received payments, helped borrowers sign up for payment plans and hardship programs, sent information to credit bureaus, and took care of customer service.

But the company has changed many times over the years. In 2009, Xerox bought Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), a company that offered different business and IT services. ACS Education Services was the part that took care of both private and government student debts.

In 2013, the Department of Education ended its deal with ACS to handle student loans. However, ACS continued to handle some Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), Perkins Loans, and private student loans. In January of 2017, ACS Education Services became a part of Conduent Business Services.

Conduent lawsuits

Over the years, both ACS and Conduent have been the subject of a number of cases, complaints, and fines. In 2016, the attorney general of Massachusetts fined ACS $2.4 million for not enrolling borrowers in income-driven payback programs, charging too much in late fees, and using unfair debt collection methods.

In January 2019, Conduent reached a deal with the office of the New York attorney general. The state's complaints included directing borrowers toward more expensive loan choices, giving the credit companies wrong information, and using payments for the wrong things.

In the same year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said that Conduent would pay $3.9 million to settle unfair borrowing practices.

In 2022, the company also reached a settlement with the Department of Education. They agreed to pay $7.9 million to settle charges that they had given the department false information.

Where are my student funds from Conduent?

If Conduent Education Services used to handle your student loans, the company moved them to a new loan servicer. When your loan is moved to a new servicer, the terms and amount of your loan don't change. But you might have to change how you pay.

Find out who is taking care of your student loans so you can pay on time and keep your account in good shape. If you don't make payments on time, it can hurt your credit and make it hard for you to get financial goods in the future.

How can I find out who handles my student loan payments?

On the website for Conduent, you can find out how to find out who handles your student loans. It depends on what kind of loan you have:

• Perkins Loans and other campus-based loans: The school that gave you the loan in the first place should have told you about the change in loan servicers. But if you didn't get the letter, you can call the college that gave you the loan and ask who is taking care of your account and how to get in touch with the new servicer.
• Federal student loans: If you have a Federal student loan, you can use your FSA ID to log in to the Federal Student Aid page and find out who services your loan. You can also log in to the National Student Loan Data System and look under "Financial Aid Review" to find the contact information for your present servicer.
• Private student loans: There is no national record for private student loans, but you can check your credit report to see which company is mentioned as the loan provider. The company that gave you the money in the first place might also know who is currently taking care of your account.

In short, Conduent Education Services no longer takes care of student loan accounts. If the company used to take care of your loan, you'll need to know where to send your payments now. To find out where your loans have been moved, you can log in to the Federal Student Aid website, check your credit record, or call your original lender.