Federalizing the student loan program under President Obama has contributed to the death spiral many schools will be facing if they aren't already. They were seduced by the easy money just like the students.
The students didn't worry about how much their tuition, room and board would cost nor how likely they were to get a good paying job in some esoteric major because it was easy money. The schools didn't fight their unionized faculty on wages and benefits because they, too, were getting easy money. All the while the Federal government was adding requirements that necessitated reporting or documenting that they were meeting all standards set in new rules or regulations. Think Title IX and the like in many areas besides sports.
Now, students are figuring out they'll never get a decent job or make make enough money with their Master's Degrees in Ancient Egyptian Musical Instruments or African American Studies to repay their loans and, as word gets out, fewer students will make the same mistakes and that will effect enrollment.
My cousin's son-in-law got a PhD in Political Science from a well regarded private New York area university and had a really tough time finding a full time teaching job. He had a wife who worked and two young children but wouldn't look for anything but a teaching job. When I asked my cousin why he doesn't look to get into an organization that runs campaigns or does polling or whatever else he might qualify to do he said he's only interested in teaching. Nice attitude. That didn't fly 30 years ago but that's today's reality and that's what will lead to the demise of more and more schools.
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