Charlie Stross asks what's happening with higher education

Couple the 'certification arms race' with quality of education and you end up having to require experience, even for entry-level jobs just to sort through the applicants.

That's what I do now. If they haven't done -anything- outside of schooling, I have no idea how well they can program. If they have done side projects for themselves or open source, then I can look at that and get an idea of their ability and drive.