This essay returns to the institution that worried me most in Goodbye Trust. The value of the degree is eroding faster than I expected. Grade inflation weakens it as a marker of ability, effort and achievement. Rising student debt makes the cost harder to justify. Generative AI under mines confidence in the credential as the graduate labour market deteriorates.Universities may keep operating, but survival should not be mistaken for legitimacy, authority or social value

Universities still cultivate outstanding students, yet mass participation, grade inflation, student debt, wider support needs, AI use and uncertain employment prospects have diluted the degree’s meaning. The word “graduate” now conceals wide variation and no longer guarantees the skills and values that were once the norm. This essay calls for honesty: degrees must demonstrate real added value, showing sharper skills, deeper knowledge and greater capability if they are to retain trust and remain relevant

This essay argues that generative AI threatens the MBA’s old labour-market rationale by making polished managerial analysis widely available. It examines whether leading business schools are truly redesigning the degree or merely adding AI to familiar curricula. The case for an AI-native MBA is not about using technology to make assignments faster or easier, but about raising standards: stronger preparation, verification, human-AI teamwork, and judgment. The future value of the degree will depend on whether it can certify something more demanding than fluent output: responsible managerial judgment in a world where clever analysis has become cheap