The article has some grains of truth but seems to overlook many areas, but the three I'd highlight are that numbers have dramatically increased, facilities / or

The article has some grains of truth but seems to overlook many areas, but the three I'd highlight are that numbers have dramatically increased, facilities / organisation is much improved and students for the large part work very hard now (in higher tier institutions at least). It's such a diverse field I'm sure people could debate over examples for ages but it probably does benefit to try to simplify it this way. Where I'd suggest society might want to look is how we ensure that the overall higher education offering can be optimised to obtain the best outcome for the greatest number of people. Clearly it isn't for all and not treating alternatives (eg apprenticeships and other channels) as interior is a start. Something also needs to be done about the spiralling costs from the arms race between institutions and the increasing portion taken by senior staff at the expense of average staff.