This is a good question and an interesting discussion, but I think it might possibly be too limited in scope. If you step back and look at all fields, it seems there is a reduction in the number of thinkers in any field. Most people today appear to be fine with just learning how to do something so that they get the job done. Very few people care anymore about doing something the best or most efficient way. So now we have employers who have this mindset who hire staff with the same mindset.

To further this problem, educators find it difficult to identify objective ways of testing the ability to think through problems. For the most part, our educational system is built around providing a correct answer by following the correct method and thought pattern. This doesn't really teach anyone how to think, so instead of really learning how to think through problems, students are learning how to think through the problem they need to answer for the class they are in and stop there.

So until employers start caring and looking for people who think well and educators figure out ways to teach their students to think through problems and not just recite previously learned thoughts, we will continue to see degree programs, including computer science appear to take a downward turn.