You know, I actually agree, it should be more about than just that...but the reality is we are having a great deal of college graduates in certain majors (in the liberal arts/humanities mostly) who not only have poor employment prospects, but evidence from Academically Adrift and many other sources suggesting colleges are failing to teach critical thinking skills like they once did. https://www.amazon.com/Academically-Adrift-Limited-Learning-Campuses/dp/0226028569
Unfortunately, according to evidence in "Academically Adrift", colleges are failing in teaching critical thinking skills, especially for those in Education, Social Work, and General Business majors. https://www.amazon.com/Academically-Adrift-Limited-Learning-Campuses/dp/0226028569
I searched what you said and came across Academically Adrift
I haven't read it, of course, but it is worth noting that it only tested their first semester and the end of their second year. Also, it's worth noting that there's "no significant improvement" in abstract things like critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing. Of course, I am interested in what other categories they tested for, and what the test looks like.
Which is not to say they learned nothing or the degree is worthless. Just that perhaps it's not good at improving those qualities. But it might still be good for testing and practicing the application of them.
I'm not necessarily disagreeing, since I sure as hell don't study the stuff, just providing skepticism to the claim. I do think university has flaws, especially for certain disciplines.
>A college degree shows knowledge of content matter, AND that you're committed.
As for the first part of your argument, quantitative data is showing the opposite. College has a negligible impact for most, and is of questionable value for many—especially given the costs.
See: Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses
Oddly enough, Arum and Roska's findings support more emphasis on the humanities and liberal arts, whose students show far more impressive gains than the most popular majors, specifically those in business.
As for the latter point, about the character of the individual, you're implying that college, in and of itself, had something to do with that.
People who are motivated and intelligent now go to college—it's self-selecting. Remember the first lesson of stats: correlation != causation.
Time spent in the workforce with performance reviews and people who can actually attest to how you interact with colleagues, customers, bosses, etc., is more valuable to employers than grades in college, most of which don't matter. Few will care about your GPA once you land that first job.
>"soft skills" are very important to employers, and a college degree shows that you are likely to have many of them
Have you never read business journals or spoken to someone who has owned a business or manages? College completely fails as a heuristic for assessing "soft skills."
That's why unpaid internships and other character assessments are important—because employers can't know what "soft skills" you have from recommendation letters or your transcript alone.
>It's a lot easier to employ someone with a college degree that already learned a lot
"Learned a lot" about what?
Does that require a 4-year degree in most cases? Why require 120 credit hours for all majors, regardless of difficulty?
The modern degree system is an outdated IQ assessment and increasingly expensive for individuals.
Many people have a tremendous ego stake in their degrees and what they "feel" it taught them; it's an important social experience and class distinguisher; it side-steps the problem of "disparate impact" and claims of discrimination; it provides countless jobs in academia; and many implicitly favor the ceiling it places on those lacking credentials.
College will always have a place, but requiring such a large percentage of the population to obtain degrees for basic entry into many fields is directly responsible for declining academic standards and ballooning student debt levels.
The government gravy train of student loans fuels it, and its legal system strengthens its "value," so it's not going to end any time soon.