OK, well not to sound to brash here, but that author really does not understand why Colleges and ultimately Universities were formed.
Back in lets say 1901 - who went to college? Namely people interested in science and research. That was the whole point, for the most part, of going to college. Attending a college, was not vocational, it taught you to be a scientist, doctor, lawyer, etc. Think back to your greek history, which ones were educated - the elite.
As time progressed, these colleges formed universities and eventually opened its doors to more of the public as a means to fund their higher level degrees and programs (liberal arts eduction anyone?). Fast forward some more, and you start to see more and more resumes with a Bachelors, so how do you segregate and find smarter and more qualified applicants -- well you need a masters degree of course.
This is perpetuated into today. Everyone expects hands on experience and a 75K/yr job as they exit the university system. These students and much of the populous really have forgotten what the true purpose of higher education was really intended for.
Sure, the university system has evolved, but the biggest issue it faces is giving a quality education to large masses of people. Truthfully, the system does a piss poor job of this. I have a BS and an MS, and I can't say honestly it was money well spent -- it was a means to an end. Ultimately, I treated my role at UND as two fold. One, I worked my ass off to get through my classes, and I worked full-time in an entry level job in a field I was going into the entire time. When I was done, all I had was a piece of paper that said I showed up to class and could take tests - the REAL VALUABLE information that makes me highly marketable today, was learned worked at the job.
Quite frankly, if you are at the top of your class in high school, attending a university will do little more than what you could have taught yourself or learned while performing a job. I think as time goes on, and especially with higher costs of tuition, the higher education system will fold in on itself and people will start returning to the 1900 philosophy of hiring smart hard working individuals for the job. Or, at the very least, dump a liberal arts based education entirely - it is not necessary.