Coincidentally, I just returned from a trip to Denmark, Russia, Germany, and Sweden. Education was discussed extensively. They are proud and happy with their government (taxpayer) funded educations systems, and they should be.
The U.S. higher education system is fucked up, but we don't have the courage to face the reasons, or accept the solutions.
The European educational systems that we admire have characteristics that we Americans would never tolerate; mainly, they are COMPETITIVE and SELECTIVE. Yes, you get a free university education, but you only get into the university if you are in the top 10-15 percent of your class, as measured by comprehensive, quantitive testing.
In this country, if we implemented such a system, minorities would essentially be SHUT OUT, and 2/3 of our universities would have to close their doors.
Would you accept those two prices for a top-notch educational system? Would you have been able to get in a university on that basis? Didn't think so.
Our universities are a magnet for students from around the world because, basically, if you have enough money you can BUY YOUR WAY IN, and the curricula are infinitely flexible. At the top levels (for the best students), our universities are equal to the best in the world, but most of our university students are marginal, unmotivated, and mainly there to avoid the responsibilities of adulthood.
So if you would be willing to accept a "higher education" system that only accomodates the top ten percent of our student population, and has only a very few "minorities" then by all means, let's do it.
And by the way, there are no college sports in these European countries. When they go to the university their focus in on getting an education. What a concept!
In all honesty, more than half of the people in our university classrooms have no business being there. If they lived in Germany they would be in a trade school or working some government job, but they would certainly not be enrolled in a university.
Is this what we want?