>>wouldn't universities get the most money by lowering standards?
You making the case that they have not done exactly that? That they do not attempt to get as many students through, and put pressure on professors to pass students for the purpose of getting as much tuition as possible?
Given the statics, and the looming student loan debt crisis I am pretty sure the evidence is to the contrary of your statement
Yes, it's currently difficult to sell a degree because you have to fake the whole shebang. There are some institutions that do exactly what you propose, but market forces leave only the ones with zero standards standing. They are called "diploma mills," they have existed for a very long time, and accreditation bodies stripped them of official status long ago.
There are plenty of places that let you test out of individual classes, but testing out of a full degree for a five figure fee is one gigantic perverse incentive.
Instead they have just added attendance requirements to the old school "diploma mill" situation, so now instead of just paying a fee, you have to pay a fee and waste a bunch of time to still not learn anything, and dont have to prove you learned anything
You making the case that they have not done exactly that? That they do not attempt to get as many students through, and put pressure on professors to pass students for the purpose of getting as much tuition as possible?
Given the statics, and the looming student loan debt crisis I am pretty sure the evidence is to the contrary of your statement