Much of this power shift has resulted from the misuses and abuses of student evaluation of teaching data. Students punish difficult professors on their evaluation forms.
Professors engage in impression management.
There has been massive grade inflation and coursework devaluation in higher education. My compliments on your letter in Forbes regarding teaching evaluations. You are absolutely correct in your contention that evaluations lead to grade inflation and the dumbing down of course work. I taught for many years at a university in Texas beginning in the 70s before course evaluations were widely used. The professor was freer to present more difficult material and to demand higher caliber work without the fear of being penalized by students whose egos or GPAs were deflated.