I think it's increasingly obvious that this shift has done NOTHING to benefit students (and the alums they become), but much to help employers heave much of the burden of training off onto applicants.
HowlerKarma, could you further explain the shift you mention? I agree that college these days benefits more the employers than the students, but for reasons that pertain to what college has become. From higher education being about broadening one's education and truly becoming "educated," nowadays, colleges have strict curricula for majors that prohibit students from becoming educated in other areas of interest. For example, science and engineering majors are increasingly pushed further away from liberal arts areas of study, and never get the chance to be exposed to these areas which may or may not have held interest to the student. This seems like a fast track for a student to become specialized to work in a specific field, rather than a true secondary education for a student to experience a variety of knowledge. Being a current student, this is just my opinion, is this the shift you were mentioning?
