This seems to be apples and oranges. It can simultaneously be true that: * many people want to attend college, given that progs have outlawed IQ tests for employment, so colleges / credentials serve as a proxy * colleges are infantilizing / bad specifically...
... and * petty bureaucratic tyranny As long as colleges don't QUITE eat up all of the surplus value that they generate for customers (leaving SOME on the table), they can get away with quite a lot and STILL have customers thronging for admission.