Maybe, but shouldn't they be valuable because it's graduates have proven themselves to be well educated and well balanced people? Should education be valuable because there is so little of it?
What I found most valuable during my university days was easy access to great professors. Many of my peers learned more outside the classroom in this way than during lectures.
With more students it becomes difficult to foster this type of one to one relationship. Those less motivated to get to know professors become more likely to fall by the wayside.