It’s a serious question.

Here’s a perspective on the worth of these institutions in 21st century America from Silicon Valley investor Michael Moe:

Satisfaction with the college degree has dropped like a stone over the past decade.

In 2011, 86% of young people thought it was worth it, compared to only 42% in 2023. If you have to take on debt? Only 22% said that was worthwhile in 2024. While AI might be the convenient scapegoat, this dissatisfaction was swelling long before ChatGPT hit the scene in November of 2022.

There are lots of challenging inputs at play: soaring tuition prices, rising debt, and plummeting half-lives of skills…not to mention that many institutions have simply lost the plot of what higher education means. Add it up and it looks like an industry ripe for major disruption.