I see two things. One is what I've already discussed. The other is something perhaps just as interesting. Colleges and universities go up for accreditation e

I see two things. One is what I've already discussed. The other is something perhaps just as interesting. Colleges and universities go up for accreditation every ten years (perhaps it varies, I'm not the world expert on this but I've been part of the process). A large part of this process is a self-study conducted by the faculty and staff of the university. In the recent (one-to-two accreditation rounds) past there have been high profile universities that have failed that process. The thing that I find interesting is that the faculty at these universities (to the best of my knowledge) don't particularly give a shit about this process. This accreditation means very little, and is not worth them putting time into. Now, accreditation by their respective professional society is quite important- the Chemistry department cares deeply about what the American Chemical Society (or whomever it is) says, but not about what the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools says. This is exactly the way that certificate programs work: Learning to be a Honda mechanic, for example, requires a program accredited by Honda, not specifically by the NCACS. So it could be that the idea of going to a university and spending $100K on a "broad education" becomes a thing of the past for all but the true scholars, and most people start turning to specialized education for jobs like engineering and computer science. Just a hunch.