I haven't read through all the other comments here, but attending class and learning the content aren't mutually exclusive.

I sympathize with the reason why students cheat, but I can't see that those reasons are the same as what you say. You don't need to attend classes to learn the content nor display mastery - I appreciate a good syllabus for that reason where you know what is expected and can learn on your own time. I liked the approach the author of the article took for that reason. But none of this requires cheating.

I can see why this would lead students to cheat, but this looks to me like a strawman in addition to victim blaming (on part of the prof).