The university from which I graduated provided more value than I can express. But out of necessity, I held a full-time job while going to school. I learned from both experiences but learning from school was distinctly different from what and how I learned from work. That gets me wondering about the dollar value of higher education.

It’s an irony that my higher education, combined with real-world commercial experience provided me the opportunity to teach and speak at top-rated private universities where I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sharing my expertise. I even had the opportunity to teach a unit in a prestigious university’s Intensive MBA for Physicians program. That’s a wonderful story unto itself.

I do have objections that center around most universities’ propensity to present themselves as something they’re not. We think of them as institutions with missions to make the world a better–and more educated–place. But, in fact, they are tax-advantaged corporations seeking to accumulate funds for equity investments and to purchase and develop investment real estate. As one professor once told me over lunch, “It’s all about the endowment.” At a typical university, providing quality education is not a high-ranking goal. Contributions and research grants are the top priorities. Universities do good work but like any business, they exist, primarily, to make money.

Faculty, regrettably, isn’t among the primary beneficiaries. Faculty members benefit from short business days, many scheduled vacations/days off, robust health insurance, opportunities to operate businesses outside their university roles (few take advantage), the support of their colleagues, and relatively low-pressure environments.

Tuitions have skyrocketed an average of 300% in the last 10 years. Such institutions are able to do so since Americans have been convinced a university education is required to land a good job. University- and textbook publisher-conducted research indicates college graduates tend to get jobs (note the sponsors have much to gain by those results). But, the Washington Post reports only 27 percent of college grads land jobs related to their majors.

Since most every university administrator and educator will admit the purpose of university education is not to provide workplace skills but, instead, to administer academic rigor, one might wonder why they offer majors such as hospitality, criminal justice, advertising, broadcasting, graphic arts, etc. The reason is to attract market share.

Universities are not structured to provide vocational training or to teach workplace skills. Yet they are willing to accept contributions intended to enhance student workplace skills. It makes good press for corporations to make tax-deductible contributions to universities.

On the other hand, academic rigor, exercises in challenging students’ ability to think better and think critically are what a university education is excellent at delivering. And nearly everyone with the intellect and interest in doing so benefits. But I’m unable to calculate the percentage of our population with the intellect, financial strength, and interest to justify such exercises.

Universities receive their tax-exempt status as the result of endorsements from a few accrediting bodies staffed heavily with Ph.Ds. Those accrediting bodies audit universities at great expense every few years to certify the “right” number of Ph.Ds are on staff and that academic, not occupational, courses are offered. It sounds like an exercise in self-survival, doesn’t it?

We misunderstand the place of universities in our society. I scanned some job listings online the other day and was surprised to see that qualifying for a job as the manager of a Kroger supermarket requires a bachelor’s degree. Kroger is able to stipulate that requirement because today, so many have higher education under their belts.

But more important to a successful career at Kroger is methodically rising through the ranks of the Kroger organization. Learning the operations of each supermarket department on the job and mastering a few accounting and leadership skills will deliver a more useful skillset to manage such an organization than will a degree.

We all know of people who have excelled in their careers with a partial or nonexistent university experience.

Overall, a university education is an asset when it appears on a resume thanks to the myth that’s been propagated. But, at what cost does a degree pay-out? It certainly isn’t worth starting a career in debt. That debt is nondischargeable, takes years to repay if it can ever be repaid, and can serve as a back-breaking burden during the graduate’s initial earning years.

There are university experiences available at many price tiers and unless the student qualifies to attend an Ivy League School, the benefits for which include a powerful and supportive network of colleagues, the most meaningful educational investment is one in which the student doesn’t incur debt. And learns simultaneously from a job. A real job that pays a real salary (receiving payment is part of the learning experience).

It’s time we challenged the brilliant minds who award accreditation to universities. They won’t like it, but times are changing. And some kind of hybrid institution is sorely needed now.