I think her analysis is wrong in that regard. American puritanism is more to blame. French universities do not suffer from the current campus hysteria.
Having students pay for everything (e.g in US) makes their education into a product and they are the consumer. Students can then demand to have certain conditions met. The consumer knows best, is king.
Whereas in the US, college attendance generally* is determined by ability to pay, and a student who can pay will almost certainly be able to find some college that will let them attend, whether they take their studies seriously ("value their education") or not.
*Of course achievement still matters if you want to get into the most selective institutions ... but I gather you can do that with (a lot) of money, too.