Susan Dynarski’s New York Times article, “We’re frighteningly in the dark about student debt,” was cited by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) during the May 6 committee hearing, “Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act: The Role of Consumer Information in College Choice.”
Hosted by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the hearing focused on the collection and dissemination of education data that would help students better choose from the more than 6,000 colleges available to them.
“Researchers, policymakers and students can’t get answers to even the most basic questions,” said Warren, referring to Susan Dynarski’s article. “In a recent New York Times column, one researcher asks some pretty basic stuff: How many borrowers are delinquent on their loans? How does delinquency differ by level of education or amount of debt? Which colleges are doing a good job of graduating students who can pay their debt? And which are leaving students under water?”
“This is nuts,” Warren continued. “The data are already collected and the education department won’t turn them loose.”