I imagine that the people in Human Resources simply want to make their own job easier. So instead of trying to find the absolute best person for the job, which might involve detailed background checks, they simply opt to cover their asses by hiring someone they could not be faulted for hiring. If the applicant lies, then they can blame the applicant. If they said they did not do a check, they can say, "there is no money to do this in my budget".
All people with college degrees are clearly not better for all jobs, even all white collar jobs, than all people who lack degrees. But if HR hires only people with degrees, they have covered their butts and have expended less effort in the process.
