[houseabsolute]

> circumspect about the value of the degrees they issue

Students are not so naive as to not realize how much their education will be worth when they exit. It is (or was in 2006 at my school) a topic of constant discussion among undergrads. But that knowledge is for some reason not connected with action . . . maybe because these "adults" have never been responsible for or on the hook for anything in their entire lives leading up to this decision.

(Interestingly, I went to the same school as you.)