Student loan borrowers gather near The White House to tell President Biden to cancel student debt on May 12, 2020.
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The Education Department could begin beta testing the student debt forgiveness application as soon as Friday night, The Washington Post reported.
The portal will be open for a short window to test its viability and collect data on the site’s functionality, the newspaper reported, citing three federal officials with knowledge of the plan.
The White House and the Education Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A preview of the application earlier this week suggested a full rollout of the application could come as soon as next week, higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz told CNBC.
Kantrowitz said he had no firsthand knowledge of the Education Department’s test, but noted that “beta is a slow launch, making sure they get all the bugs out before they release it to everybody.”
“As soon as [the application] goes live to everybody, it’s going to be overwhelmed,” he added. “Just the announcement of forgiveness caused [site] slowdowns.”
Borrowers who happen upon the beta test link could be able to successfully submit their forgiveness application.
“If you do see the beta, there could be little glitches,” Kantrowitz said. “But if you successfully submit your application for forgiveness, you’ve submitted it.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
