Every time I read something like this, I feel grateful for my university.
I wrote out code on paper in one class. Other than that, every single CS course was project-based on some level (even the theory courses) and once you got past the theory-heavy Sophomore-level courses most classes were 100% project-based. In the required classes alone I built web apps, android apps, interpreters, DNS clients and servers, static analysis tools, and dozens of other practical/educational projects in C, C++, Java, Python, and JavaScript. We finished off the program with a capstone project, working on a year-long real-world project sponsored by a local company.
Point being: which school you went to seems to make a big difference in your perception of the value of a degree, and some schools' diplomas will have higher signal-to-noise ratio on a resume than others.
I think it also matters what your university considers computer science to be. The more fundamental theory it is, the less immediately applicable it will seem to your day job. What you're describing sounds more like a programming degree and not like a traditional CS degree. For better or worse.
I doubt the professors would want it characterized that way--it's still very much a research university, and the professors are very invested in the theory. As far as I'm aware we covered every theory topic that is widely taught in CS programs nationally, and I've never found my ability to reason about the theory or to read CS papers to be weaker than my peers from other schools.
From what I've observed, the main difference seems to be that we were writing code to apply the theory in every single course, where it sounds like a lot of people didn't touch a keyboard during those classes.
I'd rather not share the school (I'm writing under a pseudonym and don't want to leave more hints than I already have), but it was a Computer Science degree.
I wrote out code on paper in one class. Other than that, every single CS course was project-based on some level (even the theory courses) and once you got past the theory-heavy Sophomore-level courses most classes were 100% project-based. In the required classes alone I built web apps, android apps, interpreters, DNS clients and servers, static analysis tools, and dozens of other practical/educational projects in C, C++, Java, Python, and JavaScript. We finished off the program with a capstone project, working on a year-long real-world project sponsored by a local company.
Point being: which school you went to seems to make a big difference in your perception of the value of a degree, and some schools' diplomas will have higher signal-to-noise ratio on a resume than others.