That&#x27;s the theory.  The practice as I can observe at my state school is that the administration asks &quot;how many students did we graduate this year&quot; when they should be asking &quot;how rigorously were the students taught&quot;.  It would be in the students&#x27; best interest if there was presssure for the faculty to do an acceptable job, but since tuition constitutes a substantial part of the university&#x27;s operating income the focus is on recruitment and retention, where it really doesn&#x27;t belong.<p>There are some Young Turks protesting the <i>status quo</i> amongst the faculty, but none amongst the administration, the students or their parents.<p>On the other hand, if the university was tax-funded, then the interests of faculty, administration and well-performing students would be aligned.  At the moment they are not.