"for instance, by creating Web sites that permit students to research a wide variety of primary sources in order to create their own solutions to the sorts of problems that animate their courses."

This type of comment is emblematic of the problematic view that would place creativity (temporally) before competence, opinion without expertise, the idea that all intelligent-sounding comments are about equally true, and even, in a broader sense, the notion that there are always two ways to look at any question in any field. Within any field, many, many questions are well settled, and many, many methods are so effective and time tested that they should be studied, practiced, and learned. Undergraduates do not need to "create their own solutions" and engage in research, they need to learn their field (after solid proficiency in logic and English at the least). If a four-year degree in a field still signaled rigor, analytical prowess, and field-specific knowledge and understanding, then the student's subsequent introduction to the field's big questions would be worth something. Stimulation of general creative thinking early in the process is still good, but a Bachelor's degree should foremost signify competence and understanding.