SAVE Award 2011 Department of Education

What's needed? - Consistent definitions of disabling conditions for purposes of federal benefits payments and student loan discharge.

Why? - Several federal agencies, most notably Social Security Administration and Department of Veterans Affairs, determine eligibility for federal disability benefits. The agencies' definitions and processes for establishing disability differ for purposes of paying federal benefits.... more »

Student loans and grants are the subject of fraud. Once a loan or grant is sent to a college/university on behalf of a registered student, the student may drop classes and get a direct refund of money intended for classes. Refunds should be returned to the federal government, not to the "student."

To save postages for mailing out Formula Grant Award and Discretionary Grant. We have a new system called G5 and it was know as GAPS. We can establish by putting in authorized signatures then forward to one person to establish the grants by award numbers, then we set up email for all applications to be forward to each applications and we will printed one copy for our records. We normally printed out two copies to be... more »

In order to save money on cost of ordering supplies from small companies that are far away and also who's prices are much more expensive why not have a Staples or Office Max Card. The credit card holder for the office who places the supplies orders would have this card which would have a predetermined balance on the card. the credit card holder would still have to reconcile the statement with receipts, however, it would... more »

I strongly believe the education reforms that are implemented nationwide are wasteful. The schools are scrutinized by the students test scores, which are not working. Schools are prepping students to take exams, memorization and not enough of thinking skills, writing skills, etc...during the 70's we didn't have state tests to evaluate us, and the country was performing at a higher level than the children now. The time,... more »

Job Sharing:

The government could promote voluntary job sharing as a way to assist the government in retaining talented and experienced employees, while at the same time reducing the number of positions in the government. This approach could assist in training a new workforce as baby boomers retire in mass while minimizing the brain-drain that may occur as vast numbers retire.

If job sharing already exists,... more »

This department is not needed. Education should be handled at the state level. Billions of dollars can be saved.

I heard there are proposals to stop govt student grants. If it happens, why not do like they do in sports, have private companies compete for and adopt prospective high achiever students and fund their education with agreement to work for them for several years. Perhaps the companies can get a tax write-off for training them, and ensure courses were applicable to their needs. Internet could help match student details... more »

I am proposing that we work together to create a Financial Literacy Program that contains standardized guidelines for Federal agencies to use as a way to partner with our communities related to sharing knowledge about the work done in the Federal Government. As a way to give back to the community, it is important to not only share knowledge about our work with young people but also the financial skills needed once the... more »

Our international ranking has droped ever since the Dept of Ed was brought into being. Education standards were higher. Do away with no child left behind.

Why not take the trainers to the employees. Currently for leadership programs, staff must travel to Washington, DC and stay for 1-2 weeks for orientation and then go back 2-3 times during the year long training. The total cost for one person for the training is upwards of $5,000.00. With this in mind, regional employees often do not have the same advantages as their HQ counterparts due to the cost of travel and the status... more »

If you can come up with an idea that saves the government money, a percentage of what the government saves would be applied to repaying your student loans. This would create a powerful incentive for reducing both the government deficit and individual's debt. I envision the contest similar to this one, but on a more regular basis. As an intern with VA and a current student, a program like this would be very, very motivating.... more »

A lot of USAID offices are housed in rented buildings. It would be a great saving if AID built its own buildings. It would eventually save Millions of Dollars.

Stop Foreign aid to these countries that could care less about us.

I am a civilian employee for the Air Force. At present, if I want to receive training I have to fly accross the United States. This costs the goverment money for airfare, meals and lodging as well as the training costs involved.
All of my classmates are from other parts of the U.S as well as overseas. My proposal is to incorporate video classroom where I can attend the class from my computer. This happens in the... more »