Six years after 2U was riding high on a $5 billion-plus market cap and a fistful of contracts, the debt-laden education-technology company's valuation has plunged and it faces an existential crisis.

Six years after 2U was riding high on a $5 billion-plus market cap and a fistful of contracts, the debt-laden education-technology company’s valuation has plunged and it faces an existential crisis.