Marian Wang

NY State Official Raises Alarm On Charter Schools — And Gets Ignored

A top official in the New York State Comptroller’s Office has urged regulators to require more transparency on charter school finances. The response has been, well, nonexistent.

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang
Grannis

New York State's First Deputy Comptroller Pete Grannis, shown in April 2010, has contacted regulatory agencies and the mayor's office about charter-school finances and says he has gotten "no response whatsoever." (Photo: Mike Groll/AP) Add another voice to those warning about the lack of financial oversight for charter schools. One of New

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How College Pricing Is Like Holiday Retail Sales

College pricing discounts can persuade students to invest – whether or not the savings are real.

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang

You know all those seemingly great sales during the holidays? It turns out, they are often a “carefully engineered illusion.”  A recent piece in the Wall Street Journal defines what it calls “retail theater,” noting that often the discounts being offered to bargain-conscious consumers are carefully planned out by retailers from the start: The

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After Years of Troubles, Largest Student-Loan Servicers Get Stepped-up Oversight

After a “recent uptick in delinquency rates” student-loan servicers will soon be getting regular oversight from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang

Sallie Mae and other large student-loan servicers – the companies that act as a go-between for borrowers and lenders – will soon be getting some regular oversight from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the watchdog agency announced this week. ProPublica and others have long documented student borrowers’ troubles with the companies that

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Breaking Away: Top Public Universities Push for ‘Autonomy’ From States

Oregon’s three largest state schools are breaking away from the rest of the public system for greater freedoms.

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang

  The chancellor of Oregon’s higher-education system currently oversees all seven of the state’s public colleges and universities. But as of July next year, she’ll be chancellor of four. The schools aren’t closing. Rather, Oregon’s three largest state schools are in the process of breaking away from the rest of the public

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The Admission Arms Race: Six Ways Colleges Game Their Numbers

As college-bound students weigh their options, they often look to the various statistics that universities trumpet 2014 things like the high number of applications, high test scores, and low acceptance rate. But students may want to consider yet another piece of info: the ways in which schools can pump up their stats. “There’s no question […]

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang

As college-bound students weigh their options, they often look to the various statistics that universities trumpet 2014 things like the high number of applications, high test scores, and low acceptance rate. But students may want to consider yet another piece of info: the ways in which schools can pump up their stats. "There's no question

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Course Load: The Growing Burden of College Fees

At the University of California Santa Cruz, where tuition runs to nearly $35,000 for non-residents, students every year pay more than 30 additional fees 2014 including a small charge for what’s billed as “free” HIV testing. Students at Oklahoma State University pay a handsome sum to attend one of the state’s flagship schools, but they are also […]

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang
college student

At the University of California Santa Cruz, where tuition runs to nearly $35,000 for non-residents, students every year pay more than 30 additional fees 2014 including a small charge for what's billed as "free" HIV testing. Students at Oklahoma State University pay a handsome sum to attend one of the state's flagship schools, but they are also

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Another Way Student Loans Are Like Mortgages: Subpar Servicing

The parallels between the mortgage market and the student loan industry have been frequently noted. Both involve big borrowing and have a history of lax underwriting by lenders. But the two are also strikingly similar in another way: When it comes to both mortgages and student debt, the servicers, or companies that handle loan payments, sometimes add […]

Marian Wang
By Marian Wang
college student

The parallels between the mortgage market and the student loan industry have been frequently noted. Both involve big borrowing and have a history of lax underwriting by lenders. But the two are also strikingly similar in another way: When it comes to both mortgages and student debt, the servicers, or companies that handle loan payments, sometimes

Read Full Article