Debasement here refers to the educational experience. That doesn't happen at all institutions but it certainly appears common. Debasement at for profit institut

Debasement here refers to the educational experience. That doesn't happen at all institutions but it certainly appears common. Debasement at for profit institutions is obvious to anyone paying attention. Those schools are more frequently than not diploma mills using student aid to extract $$ from the federal gov't. That's evidenced by aggressive marketing, FTC actions, weak admissions policies, low rates of graduation and frequently poor job placement prospects. Debasement at the non-profits and state institutions is running them to the benefit of the administrators, buildings, athletic departments, and even endowments (i.e. alumni development) at the expense of the educational experience. None of that is germane to education. Profit or non-profit doesn't matter. Debasement at state institutions is also legislatures and governors slashing budgets so they can cut taxes to the detriment of the entire institution and students. The administrators and athletic depts can and do lobby effectively but generally faculty and students have little voice in state gov't. All of these tend to make the experience of students and faculty members worse than it might be otherwise. So yes, the oversupply of prospective faculty plays a role but it's only one of the drivers. There are close analogs in the exploitation of post doc researchers and let's face it student athletes.