Rising uncertainty of college impacts college planning and career planning

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I'm reading more and more about the next bubble is higher education. There are multiple bubbles, in fact: first, we are approaching $1 Trillion in student debt in this country, and the level of debt per student has increased significantly in the last decade - with a much bleaker job outlook for graduates who need to pay off those massive students loans.

Another bubble is the perceived and actual value of a college education, in its capacity to increase the chances for employment, provide relevant skills, and prepare young people for the working world.

Career planning, college preparation, and college planning are about to change big time. Youth preparing for college, high school career planning programs, parents planning for their kids' college, college planning and career planning services -- when these bubbles burst, the needs, goals, perspectives of all these groups and processes will change permanently.

I have two boys in college, and fortunately, we'll be able to pay for most or all of their education with savings and out-of-pocket. So they'll avoid that debt bubble directly, though they'll certainly experience the fallout of it in some way. On the other hand, at least one of them is significantly questioning the value of the education he's getting. It's hard to tell how much is youthful cynicism and arrogance, and how much is real.