The article mentions "loose student loan underwriting standards." Here's what's going on:

The people originating the loans have no skin in the game. So, they don't call NYU or even Northern Essex Community College and say, "look, here's a student who wants to be a social worker, asking for 100K in loans to get the degree. We don't think they'll be able to repay that debt on a social worker's wages. So, no loan."

If the lenders WERE calling the colleges saying that, the colleges would not be escalating tuition as radically as they are.

It's not realistic to expect the kid who just got in to NYU or a community college to play that kind of hardball in negotiating tuition rates. But when the lenders don't play that hardball, it leaves higher-education executives trucking to the bank on the proceeds of those loans.