This report examines issues relevant to establishing an Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) ombudsman office within the Department of Education. The OSFA ombudsman office came out of the need to improve student lending program services and to mitigate the impact of loan default on students. It was determined that students involved in lending disputes and loan repayment problems needed a source of assistance at the Department of Education. A development team was assembled to examine the issue and formulate recommendations. The team recommended that the ombudsman office should quickly and informally resolve borrower complaints, work with schools and the lending community to achieve solutions that are fair to all parties, promote easy access for borrowers, establish a complaint-cherishing system, and improve services to borrowers. It was also recommended that the Department of Education hire the best possible candidate to become the OSFA ombudsman. Two appendixes contain a complete list of the team recommendations and a list of participants. (MDM)