An employee who is 2+ years from a bachelor's degree is a long way from finishing while an employee, and therefore there's a high chance they will leave to attend school full-time in the near future. Companies also justify your hire by not paying as much as somebody with a degree out of principle, and therefore always afraid you might find a higher paying job or start college. Finally, a college educated person will likely have debt to pay off, and is likely to stay with the company for 1-5 years after acclimating to a paycheck in the first 3-6 months.