^ Who knows (about the positive learning effects).
Germany seems to have done fine as a society and economy with unis that are essentially all no-frills commuter state schools (with quality maintained by weeding-out just like many American state schools still do in STEM subjects).
Their best unis are on the level of GTech/UNC (minus the sports and school pride). Most would not be recognized by people outside of Germany. Most college kids commute to a local uni.