One thing I note that this piece doesn’t mention is that the university system is also the only business that never has to worry about their customers not posting them back. Student loan debt is guaranteed by the Federal government and cannot be discharged through bankruptcy. Imagine car or housing prices if they had that guarantee..
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/opinion/sunday/the-real-reason-college-tuition-costs-so-much.html?mwrsm=Facebook