>> If families were less focused on the degrees, graduations, and prestige of the colleges, there would be more actual education going on in higher ed.
Of course!
I read somewhere not long ago that what you describe is actually happening — more high school graduates choosing technical and trade education over college, as well as more of the college-bound opting for state colleges — perhaps less prestigious, but definitely cheaper and likely better at educating.
Sadly, the state colleges are down to, on average, teaching at what would have been the middle-school level a couple of decades ago. They are taking pretty much any body they can attach a loan from Uncle Sam to at this point.