Good points, but the author is missing the other major problem in universities: that they've become for-profit centers. "Butts-in-seats" is the number one priority according to the last college president I worked for. Headcount means tuition and funding and grants. The kids be damned, they're not interested in their success. In fact if a sophomore or freshman drops out, that's room for a new incoming student with new loans they'll take out.
No interest in the transition from functional educational institutions into luxury lifestyle resorts, nor the accompanying "bleed 'em to death" increases in educational costs, nor the protection of on-staff sexual predators, nor the ongoing destruction of humanities/history/etc. departments, nor the ... ???
The title should have "in America" at the end.
At least for Europe it is applicable too. The Bologna process aligned the whole landscape with the very basics of the US system.
At least the student loans aren't quite as bad... for now