The collapse of 2U and its subsidiary edX has put Sallie Mae (SLM) on the radar. Many of those elite brand certificate programs (under the name Harvard, MIT, Cal Berkeley) were propped up by Sallie Mae private student loans.
When the adult learners who took these certificate courses from edX did not get better jobs that they were promised, some ended up struggling to pay their loans. Some have defaulted on their loans. And a ripple occurs. As part of a larger edtech meltdown, and with IT jobs being lost each month, the situation promises to get worse.
As a hedge for SLM, most of these loans are processed into Student Loan Asset-Backed Securities (SLABS) and sold off as assets. Large investors, including pension programs are invested directly or indirectly in this mess.
https://www.highereducationinquirer.org/2024/08/2u-collapse-puts-sallie-mae-and-slabs.html