When Trisha Volosin enrolled in a college as a single mom, she hoped to become the first in her biological family to earn a bachelor’s degree. Little did she expect that experience to saddle her with thousands of dollars in student-loan debt 20 years later.

At the age of 24, with a newborn in hand and as the sole breadwinner for her family, Volosin enrolled in a for-profit online college, the now-defunct Kaplan University, with the goal of earning her accounting degree and securing a full-time role as an accountant at her…