Yep. And it is a national phenomenon. Colleges adapt to their level of academic involvement and functioning because it’s really just a big business.
If they’re not reading books at the Ivy League level, just imagine the rest of higher ed. We’ve also now graduated a generation of teachers with close to that level of education themselves.
I believe it all started with my generation in the 1980s.
My parents’ generation made a good living without college; many people their age didn’t even graduate high school. Yet, they went on to build businesses and successful careers. Many men learned a skill in the military and then used that skill in their careers as civilians.
In my grandparents’ generation, many people didn’t even finish grade school, yet they went on to run businesses and/or buy and sell property. Many of them became wealthy.
Those were the people I looked up to. But, in the 1980s, more and more people started going to college. I ended up spending all my savings on part-time college for years and never finishing.
Now, it’s reached the point where everyone is expected to have a bachelor’s degree.