Checking for attendance requires a lot of bureaucracy.
This is a good point.
So a
policy of optional attendance saves time and money.
Thus they are able to save precious study time and dive into the course syllabus independently.
Good sentence.
...escape bad teaching. ---- Hmmmm... alright, after reading this essay, I came to a conclusion. A higher quality university can have smaller class sizes, good teaching, and carefully kept attendance records. If more money is invested by the school, the school can raise its standards. I bet a lot of organizations would be more impressed with applicants who attended a college where showing up for class was mandatory. I think that when people don't go to class it shows that education has become undermined as degrees are bought and sold.
In your conclusion, you express the opposite view. You argue that it is good for classes to be optional. I guess that is good if the classes are challenging enough; if classes are challenging enough, then the student will indeed have to work hard regardless of whether or not he attends class.
Anyway, I guess I agree with you, but I think it really is best if students respect the teacher-student relationship and show up to class so that the teacher has a chance to really give an inspiring experience. It is rough for a teacher to be treated like a television program that you can ignore if you want to. :-)