The article shows a drop in the generic trust that "a 4-year degree" will return more than it costs.

For the majority of degrees this is probably true when compared to alternatives like trade schools.

The cost of a college degree has been inflated to the breaking point.

Personally, I know several college graduates working at menial jobs like retail or delivery driver alongside non-graduates who don't have their student loan debt. Which is better off?

A recent think tank article is "Higher Education and the Law of Diminishing Returns: Shortening the average time-to-degree makes economic sense." https://www.jamesgmartin.center/2023/03/higher-education-and...

Four year engineering programs should be shortened to three.

You can lop off a semester's worth of classes by removing general education requirements. You've already had 13 years of general education.

And then another semester by removing technical electives and such. Save it for the master's program. An MS is the new BS, anyway.

This was my biggest complaint about college. There's no reason a bachelor's degree should take 4 years.