Wages for college graduates across many majors have fallen since the recession

By your own admission, you've learned little. You've put in just enough effort to pass your classes. You aren't seemingly interested in the field. And you're not motivated to learn more on your own in a field where knowledge is rapidly obsoleted.

The credential of a university degree was previously a signal of having learned about a topic, having worked hard in doing so, having interest in the field, and (at least in this field) being interested and/or capable enough to continue learning as necessary.

If it's no longer a strong indicator of these things, why should employers value it as highly? My own experience mirrors your admission here: fresh university grads frequently lack even the bare minimum ability that would be expected to be productive. Many don't follow this pattern, but they're the exception rather than the rule. And they get hired while the others don't.

It's not the degree that gets you the job, it's the ability. And if you have a degree but little ability, you're not getting the job. The focus on going to university should be about getting the ability, but it's become about getting the credential, even though the credential was never really the valuable part to begin with.

I want to be clear here that there's no judgment on my part of you or your character. You're doing what you think is best and/or necessary in your life and it's not my place to try and find fault with that. I'm only trying to point out that your approach seems symptomatic of a larger problem — and one that I don't have meaningful solutions for. I do worry though that just getting the credential won't be enough to give you the chance of success you're hoping it will, but I wish you luck regardless.

Further, after significant involvement in the interview and hiring process at my last position (a very large technology company), it's my belief that this would be counter-productive to most firms. Finding candidates that have the skillsets necessary, fit the culture, and perform well in the interviews is difficult enough.

Just a guess but I'd say they've been burned in the past by people lying about their transcripts (class/grade history) and as a result they ask for it going forward. Either that or overzealous HR trying creating more work and process.

I've never heard of a company in the USA asking for a transcript. I'm not aware of anyone asking for a copy of a diploma either. Though presumably if you lie about it on your employment application and they subsequently find out about it it'd be grounds for termination with cause.

It's usually called a 'transcript' (in British English at least)

Some people lie about qualifications.

Nor is there a shortage of cultural and intellectual events - there are often free talks from famous authors, different cultural festivals, art exhibits, etc. Or sports, for that matter.

I remember reading on a financial site that bundled products are often a disadvantage for the consumer, since they force you to buy products you don't need. This is how I feel about college. I appreciate that there are many people who don't take advantage of cultural and intellectual events unless pushed, or people who don't want to live in a population dense area outside of a dormitory setting. But there is often a lack of understanding that many of us do take advantage of these things outside of a college area, that the world isn't necessarily an intellectual wasteland outside of the university setting. But when we want the necessary credentials for a career provided by a university (and the somewhat poor training that accompanies it), we're forced to pay for many things we simply don't want or need from the university.

I'm frequently put in situations that draw on social skills that I honed during college, and I'm not just talking about partying. Things like student government or other organizing events help me as a technical consultant.

In an ideal world, I would recommend people to go to university iff they want to do research level work. For everyone else, there should be on the job training and a highschool education which teaches you how to efficiently approach a new subject on your own.

In reality, the undergraduate programs take the place of a proper highschool education and businesses look to degrees for accreditation, so I think it's very dangerous to tell people that there is "no value in universities"... On the other hand, if you happen to live in a country where universities charge you tens of thousands of dollars every year, the situation is entirely different. That is crazy and everyone knows it.