[chii]

i think it's because it's not designed to have this outcome - it's emergent upon the rules and incentives of the system.

There's advertising/marketing incentive to make the college experience like a resort on campus. There's bureaucracy in administration that just grows because it's in the interest of each department lead to manage more people under themselves (think office politiking).

There's perceived prestige of the students from brand name colleges similar to Veblen good (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good) which makes charging more acceptable.