States hold universities accountable for graduation rates

I feel like Alaistair Cooke, reporting on US news to people outside
the US.

There are a lot of colleges controlled by state governments. They're
called "public universities."

Sometimes this is good. For instance, in regards to First Amendment
rights. The First Amendment protections applied to Federal Government
actions. A subsequent Amendment extended these rights or protections
to State and Local government actions. Court decisions have broadened
the protections to include public universities. So, a student
attending a public university in the US has First Amendment
protections.

The bad side of this is that public universities are subject to the
whims of government actions, which are often put into place without
considering the unintended consequences. It's not tough to imagine
what the unintended consequences of this action (http://n.pr/fRHgdn)
will be.

Aren't students responsible for their own graduation?

Brad