On the other hand most other lending is collateralized, or even where not collateralized, the lender has a reasonable expectation of repayment or positive net worth.
Maybe the answer is you can't discharge it through bankruptcy for a certain number of years (e.g. 10?). But also, it shouldn't be 6 figures.
Certainly removing this protection would likely reduce the number and/or size of loans that are approved, and other risk reduction methods applied.
As it is , tuitions are being driven more by ability to pay than by costs, and ability to pay is being driven by this loan status. The system has terrible incentives for lenders and institutions.
If someone has a job they have no need to do so. If someone doesn't, then assuming that person went to school with the intention of getting a job afterwards, then it seems the school failed (either in educating the student or choosing to accept a student who is unlikely to accept a job).
It seems utterly bizarre to me anyone besides the university should be on the hook for this. If they're accepting the money, they should also be accepting the risk. It feels like nobody is willing to be held accountable for anything anymore and push the risk off onto those who are most vulnerable. This is a cancer in modern capitalism.
Employers don't care that your "has_degree" field is set to true in the college's database. They care that you demonstrated a sufficient level of IQ+conscientiousness by showing up and passing tests for several years, and in some cases they may care that you acquired relevant knowledge. Universities can't revoke either of those things because they're historical facts.
But a lot of degrees aren't like that, and a lot of places don't care which degree you have once you've had a similar job. Why would all employers buy into this? They can get someone with equivalent knowledge a little cheaper. It's a pain, but the graduate can certainly still launder their lack of degree into a job (or even just lie about it! people do that all the time, and are only sometimes caught).
The idea you're suggesting sounds something like an ISA: no cost upfront, X% of your income when you get the job. Those have other problems: universities will be incentivized to get the most employable students. They're also more expensive (since the downside risk is all on the university).
No, other unsecured loans that are neither federally-backed nor endowed with harsher bankruptcy discharge terms exist.
the same things as any other debt that is dischargeable?