I’m wondering if neighboring competitor schools who offer python classes are the reason for the change since more students would actually consider attending a different school due to having a stronger post experience and skills gained.
My biggest worry is that maybe the co-op program for CS became a "low interest rate" phenomenon over the years from ~2009-2020 and now they don't want to take gambles on students that likely need to grow into the role. It's not enough, and they treat it like a regular internship program.
I don't think Northeastern is worried about attracting applicants, they were the 8th most applied-to school in the US last year, with nearly 100K applicants. And CS is one of their most popular programs.
I think the more likely cause is pressure from their co-op program's partner employers to make the intro curriculum more 'practical' (i.e. outsourcing training from the employer to school). It's beneficial in the short-term but IMO a loss in the long-term, Northeastern is a university not a bootcamp.