I agree with the bulk of your post, but one part is false.

Self-expression may be a part of a college course, but the school has absolute discretion to decide how much latitude is allowed.

This is not true in a public university (such as UCLA) in the United States, which is bound by the First Amendment. I won't get into the details, but UCLA can restrict self-expression in some ways, but not others - it definitely does not have absolute discretion. Similar rules apply in many other jurisdictions.