My S24 and I have frequently discussed how his practice of being prepared and actually attending class is such an advantage. He is at WashU, and although I don’t know any statistics, I know that he knows some students not as committed to doing that as he is. But for both competitive grading reasons and just getting the best possible education reasons, he is convinced he has the better approach (and I agree).
I guess part of the question is how much responsibility does the institution have to make sure students are not shorting themselves in terms of educational quality. I’m not sure I have an automatic answer to that question. I will admit that when I taught my own college classes, I would tell my students that no one was forcing them to attend, that I did not take attendance, but that I also would make it very clear in class what they needed to learn to do well on exams and such, answer any questions about that, and so on.
So I do feel like it is important to treat college students as adults, and explain clearly how the class works and then put it on them to decide what they want to get out of the class.
But that was also a long time ago now, and I don’t pretend to really know what it would be like teaching those classes today.