This is a variant of 'kids these days', that we've documented all the way back to Plato. If I buy a thing at Wal-Mart or Bezosmart, and it doesn't work, I can

This is a variant of 'kids these days', that we've documented all the way back to Plato. If I buy a thing at Wal-Mart or Bezosmart, and it doesn't work, I can get my money back. If I pay for service, like dry-clean my clothes, and its not done right, I can get my money back, or they offer to redo it. In academics, none of this applies. Garbage professor? Too bad. Professor grades on curve? Too bad. Professor doesn't teach and just reads from book? Too bad. Professor does (bad but not illegal thing)? Too bad. And failures are always assumed to be the students pure responsibility, and none of the professors' responsibility. Combined with 'you will pay this and all other classes back up to when you're 50', and 'you need a diploma to be able to pay it back', the situation is set. As I said, its a mixture of these premises is what leads to this situation. And there's no good answer here. Well, I guess de-capitalizing universities could work, along with jobs no longer demanding a 'degree', would go to that direction as well. But I am not hopeful.