I got a BA from Durham in 1986. At that point 5% of kids who stayed in school until 18 went to University.
I got an MA from "somewhere second-rate in the USA" in 1996.
I got an MSc from the "University of Abertay" in 2004.
In 2004 the "University" of Abertay was at 103 out of 105 "universities" in Britain. Now there are about 130 something "universities.
At that point 80% of those who stayed in school until 18 got into University.
I got fed up at Abertay as the lectures consisted (as Masters degree level) of stuff I had done at High School when I was 14.
When I got my Mickey-Mouse degree I phoned my father,
and he said, "Congratulations, I suppose you'll go and get a doctorate from a telephone booth next."
He was exactly right.
I worked as a Phonetics lecturer at the University of St. Andrews and found out
that all Japanese, Korean and Chinese students who studied in the "EFL tank" for
18 months were guaranteed a place at St. Andrews if they didn't get high enough
grades as the IELTS exam to get into another British University.
This has made me extremely cynical about Universities.