What really needs to be done, is to generate good-paying jobs, that do not require a college education.
There are lots of them out there. Unfortunately our bureaucracy has deemed most of those careers to require College "Certification" or Training as opposed to "Education".
And the flip side to that curiosity is that College is not at all required in order to achieve a good education. In fact, College can be a detriment to obtaining a good education.
Personally, I'd like to see some fundamental rethinking on the question of higher education that is more fitting with modern economic and social reality. The system has basically degenerated into a toll booth in the game of life and if you don't pay, you can't play.
Absolutely and I have said this before. Our education system needs to be revamped too. And we need quick training type cirriculums so that people can easily adjust to the kinds of job losses and industry losses we are seeing now.
Absolutely. There are already some of these. For example, it takes about two years of vo-tech training to get an AMT degree and be certified as an aircraft maintenance technician. Most airlines have payscales that top out at five years of seniority with an annual salary of about $60,000 or so plus benefits. Not too shabby for someone less than 25 years old without a four-year college degree.
There are other examples like this.
The trouble right now is that everyone wants their kid to go to college. If you took them to task and asked them why, half of the people wouldn't be able to give you a good answer, other than "that's what you do after high school". For the other half, the answer would likely be some variation on "so that he/she can get a good job". Back to your original point - if you could obtain a good job without a college degree, there would be no need for college.
Voila. The liberal, America-hating college campuses of today would be in trouble. College tuition would go down, and some of these ex-hippie commie professors would be prevented from polluting the minds of our youth and actually have to get a real job.