You can make the student loans dischargeable in the event of a bankruptcy, but at that point their risk profile is no different than unsecured personal loans. Which for a person with low or non-existing credit history (i.e. any 18-year-old) would likely result in:

* requirement for high down payment - perhaps 50 to 75% of the tuition being covered by student or his parents (through home equity loans or retirement account loans)

* frequent and aggressive repayment schedule, starting perhaps 30 days after originating the loan

* high interest rate, perhaps front-loaded into repayment schedule due to higher than normal default rates

* aggressive monitoring of the events related to debt performance, where missed class, late homework, substandard grade or a behavioral citation could result in interest rate boost

* incentives and price control mechanisms enforced by the lender - your computer science class will have a low interest rate, but that music appreciation class or gender studies gotta be out-of-pocket

I think overall that would lower the enrollment rate and force the unbundling of academic offerings. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I can see some people being against it.