Getting a university degree doesn't guarantee success in this generation that's the reason why a lot of people don't value it anymore. Acquiring education is an achievement, it improves your IQ and your level of reasoning, it also helps you know how to interact with others. But you need to think of learning a high paying skill to make money, relying on your certificate to get you a job might be disappointing
It depends per culture. In my country, it is the first step and as long as you have a degree, you can get hired by many companies because the hardship of going to a university is one of the factors to get into a white collar job. But it is also true that it won't determine someone's success. And for most graduate students, I will not invalidate their feelings if they think that graduating is a success but that's not the end goal of all. We know the brutality of life now, if you have no job, no money, you're useless and that's why we're striving to succeed and acquiring skills that we like and profitable.