[tcbawo]

It's extremely difficult to judge a software development candidate's abilities from a short interview. Every company I've worked for has used the school/degree/GPA as filtering criteria. Otherwise, it would be impossible to interview every candidate that applies for a job. This is most true for candidates without experience -- a university degree essentially becomes a proxy for ability.

[sonabinu]

With programming,the self-taught are wonderful. MOOCs are a place for those with motivation to start their learning journey. The continuity and application of that learning comes from individual drive.