[rtperson]

This is such a shallow mush of generalities, that it's pretty much worthless as a critique of higher education.

"these benefits cannot completely justify a system where creativity and genuine learning isn't properly rewarded."

Anyone who has ever taught at the college level will quickly realize how wrong that sentence is. Any undergraduate who shows the slightest amount of spark, imagination, initiative, and hard work gets rewarded (as they should) with good grades. The ones who get punished are those who game the system by trying to get the highest mark for the least amount of work. These latter are usually the ones who complain that creativity (i.e., their own rank laziness) is not being "rewarded properly" (because, ummmm..., the school isn't making the next Steve Jobs... or DaVinci, or someone like that...).

You want your creativity crushed and your initiative smothered? Try working in a job. School is an absolute blast compared with what the rest of your life will feel like.