There is a way to take this head on, but you have to change the equation.
The cost of going to University is going sky high and with credit drying up will soon be out of reach for middle class Americans. Why should taxpayers continue to foot the bill for bloated University campuses, when most classes could be done online?
You really only need buildings to teach the hard sciences. Journalism, law, political science, economics, and sociology could easily be taught online along with all the fluff classes currently offered at most colleges. Once online the taxpayers could monitor what was being taught and the great minds of the nation could weigh in and write counter arguments for the students to read.
The taxpayers save money and education is again balanced - win/win.
I think taxpayers should stay out of it altogether. Many top students would still choose to go to schools with physical campuses, if only because the prestige and connections would help them in ways that the education alone would not. But I agree, it does not make sense for many of the people currently in college to pay what they do for the almost worthless stuff they learn.
You fail to see that through no fault of your own. GIVEN how low university education has fallen -— especially in humanities and social “sciences” -— there appears to be not much difference between that and distance learning.
Proper teaching and learning requires, in part, a discussion and spontaneity that are facilitated only by physical proximity.