Today, institutions of higher education may charge whatever they wish for the education they provide, and the government provides the capital for student's tuition through loans without institutions bearing any meaningful risk if students do not repay. Naturally, this drives up costs and borrowing. On top of tuition and fees, students can borrow…

The federal government's Direct Loan program dominates the student-loan market today, issuing 90 percent of all loans made across the country each year. Students pursuing everything from short-term certificates to master's degrees qualify for nearly $100 billion in loans every year at terms more generous than most private lenders would offer.…