Wouldn't the whole thing be rather different with the ubiquity of post 3000 AD tech computers? People can be educated from their homes, free traders can study in off hours aboard ship, what not. The system we have now is based on mass-production lecture hall education. With the change in format, will come a change in its outward symbols, including "degrees".
Doubtful. Most non-liberal arts degrees (Engineering, Medical, Physical Sciences, Psychology, even Anthropology, Archaeology, and aircraft repair) have extensive practical factor components that simply can't be done via distance education due to investment cost in requisite tools. These will still require facilities and equipment, and direct instruction using said equipment, such that the degree system will still be valuable in that it proves completion of a supervised practicum.
One can learn all of the book knowledge a doctor needs online easily. One can't carve up cadavers at home, at least not without bothering the neighbors and investing in a walk in refrigerator.
Likewise, one can't do cyclotron experiments in an apartment complex, due to safety and supervision requirements.
The academic institution is still the best method of providing the regulated access, whether that institution is civilian, government, or military.
Further, the academic environment does a LOT more than just present information to students. It forces students to deal with others in a work environment without clear hierarchies. It exposes students to a variety of individuals with idiosyncratic behaviors, especially if the school serves a diverse baseline population. Plus, a degree proves the ability to navigate an administrative maze of requirements in order to obtain the degree.
The other element is that, unless society does away with social interaction, the college experience is quite different by virtue of being a rite of passage, and a semi-autonomous era of life. The scholastic environment provides valuable inculturation and indoctrination services to the government. (Which is part of why homeschooling is discouraged by nearly every nation and state. By not attending the government school, one avoids the nationalist programming.)