 Nelnet NYSE: NNI announced today that the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid Department has notified the company that the companys proposal in response to the Business Process Operations BPO component of the Departments Next Generation Financial Services Environment NextGen contract procurement process has been determined to be ineligible for award, claiming the companys response did not meet certain requirements related to small business participation. BPO is the back office and call center operational functions for servicing the Departments 43 million student loan customers. Nelnet has requested a debriefing by the Department, and the company is considering its legal options, including filing a protest challenging the decision. 