The total amount of student loan debt has increased to $1.77 trillion. This debt is held by about 45.5 million people. Each of these borrowers is assigned by the U.S. Department of Education to one of eight companies that service student loan debt.

The Oklahoma Student Loan Authority (OLSA) is one of these federal student loan service providers. While it’s based in Oklahoma, it services loans for borrowers across the country.

What is OSLA and what does it do?

The Oklahoma Student Loan Authority (OSLA) has been servicing loans for the U.S. Department of Education for more than 50 years. It’s a third-party company that handles the administrative tasks related to your loans.

If the Department of Education assigns OSLA as your loan servicer, OSLA will handle things like:

Is OSLA a good loan servicer?

OSLA was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an Exceptional Performer for meeting and exceeding the standards the department established for the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). Recently, OSLA’s website was redesigned, making it easier for borrowers to navigate and use.

Through internal surveys conducted by OSLA, 90 percent of the time, its staff received either “Good” or “Excellent” customer satisfaction marks.

What types of student loans does OSLA service?

OSLA handles two types of federal loans: Direct Loans and Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans. OSLA services the accounts of 1.17 million Direct Loan borrowers. Although FFELP loans were discontinued in 2010, OLSA still services the outstanding loans for more than 8,400 borrowers.

How do I know if OSLA is my servicer?

To determine if OSLA is your loan servicer, you can log into your Federal Student Aid (FSA) account, where your loan service will be identified. You can also check your credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com. Your credit reports will list all of the companies that service your student loans. If you’ve taken out multiple student loans, you may have multiple servicers.

How do I make my OSLA student loan payments?

To make your OSLA student loan payments, create an account on OSLA’s website. You can either set up autopay to have your payment automatically deducted from your account every month or login every month to manually make your payment. and sign up with your account information. From there, you’ll be able to log in every month and make payments or sign up for autopay.

How can you contact OSLA?

OSLA has customer service representatives available to assist you on (times listed are ET):

  • Monday — 8:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Wednesday — 8:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
  • Thursday, Friday — 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

You can contact OSLA by phone and email:

  • Phone — 866-264-9762
  • Email — DLcustserv@osla.org

How to file a complaint or settle a dispute with OSLA

If you’re running into problems with your loan servicing, the first step is to contact OSLA directly. They may be able to resolve the issue internally. However, if, after talking with an OSLA representative, you still want to file a complaint, there are several places you can go:

If filing a complaint doesn’t bring you any resolution to your problem, the final step you can take is to file a dispute with the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman Group. This is a neutral agency created to resolve complaints about the federal student aid program.

It can be reached by phone, fax or mail:

  • Phone: 877-557-2575
  • Fax: 606-396-4821
  • Mail: U.S. Department of Education FSA Ombudsman Group, PO Box 1854, Monticello, KY 42633

The bottom line

OSLA is a student loan servicer that handles loans for federal student loan borrowers. If OSLA services your student loans, you can log in to its website to make payments, manage your account and explore different repayment options.

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