Until employers start scrutinizing education in terms other than "No degree? No thanks.", then we will continue to have this problem, in my opinion.
To add to this, administrators know if they don't hire extensively they are likely to be replaced by someone who will. There is no control mechanism. Giving students a small periodic vote in respect of their top administration would go a long way towards ameliorating such corruption.
The "Dictator's Handbook" covers such topics https://www.amazon.com/Dictators-Handbook-Behavior-Almost-Po...
There are better options than a lot of people have taken. To me the solution has to involve better financial and career counseling for high school graduates.
That will backfire when enough people have made the wrong choice that the decide to vote someone in office who promises to wipe out the debt.
Problem is many, if not most, incoming students are unable to understand the financial ramifications of student loans. This does not bode well for their futures, especially in technical fields.
David Letterman once joked that "The lotto is a tax you pay for not paying attention in math class." One might say the same about college student loans.
Requiring a degree is fine. Just waive state university tuition. In Germany education is free, for example.