I think the problem is fundamentally that two separate concerns are entangled: education, and certification.
There's actually one or two other concerns, too: networking and fun. Some of the value I and many other people got from college is meeting others with similar interests.
There's actually one or two other concerns, too: networking and fun. Some of the value I and many other people got from college is meeting others with similar interests.
Regarding fun (and parties), I get the sense that most HN readers probably aren't or weren't party animals, but that's actually a pretty common reason for people to go to college, per Sperber's Beer and Circus (http://www.amazon.com/Beer-Circus-Crippling-Undergraduate-Ed...) and Armstrong and Hamilton's Paying for the Party (http://jakeseliger.com/2014/04/27/paying-for-the-party-eliza...).
I don't really have a sense of how the university bundle really breaks down into core value.