I'm pretty sure my teachers in the 90s were teaching properly.

I also don't see what's "on the contrary" there.

On the contrary, your OP claims that dissertations require a rehash of the references cited in class. A real dissertation exercises logic and requires mobilizing facts and verbal precision to ground arguments. It is also highly teacher-dependent: if the correction is lax or not properly explained, you won’t understand what the exercise really is or how you are supposed to think in order to succeed.