Not quite fair. HR people have a huge number of applicants. They need something to winnow down the field. They could choose white males, or blue-eyed females, or athletes, or anything really. And still have a pretty good cross-section of candidates, some with skills.

So they choose college degree, for (somewhat) defensible reasons. And they interview those that pass the filter, and choose 'good fits'. Which is what they'd have done if they had used any filter at all.