"Paul Aker was arrested after he failed to appear in court over repayment of a $1,500 student loan he received in 1987." I always tell people, don't blow off a summons. Creditors are using the possibility of your failure to appear to get you locked up indirectly regarding a due loan.
As you duly noted, the headline is incorrect e.g. the defendant was not arrested for failing to pay a student loan, but he was arrested for refusing a judge's order to appear before him in court.
Interesting. The tuition rates have been climbing faster at private institutions than at public institutions despite the overall funding for public institutions significantly decreasing during the Great Recession. If I recall correctly, spending on higher education is still less than what it was in the 1980s when adjusting for inflation.