Presumedly because the states that do this don’t hold the mortgages and this is an effective lever for compelling payment for the loans they did originate?
I’m ambivalent towards this. Since student loans aren’t dischargeable with bankruptcy, they can be draconian for a fraction* of people and they’ll be underwater forever. That said, nurses are generally stably employed and paid well enough it seems reasonable for states to nudge them to pay their loans.
*according to the federal reserve, mean debt holders own 30156$ with the median at around 12000$ which isn’t onerous unless you’re one of the outliers. Remarkably, graduates seem to have lower debt loads than people who didn’t graduate which I’d argue indicates the value of a college degree is a step function. Only take out a loan if you’re convinced you’ll graduate.