the Evil Line

Most college students aren't learning very much:

The rest—most college students—start underprepared, and go to colleges that ask little of them and provide little in return. Their learning gains are minimal or nonexistent. Among them, those with a reasonable facility for getting out of bed in the morning and navigating a bureaucracy receive a credential that falsely certifies learning.

A lot of this commentary rings true. But there's always a crisis. That's how you sell books and get page views and attract attention - "Universities chugging along basically as they always have" is not a headline that gets noticed.