Rose-Hulman:
https://www.rose-hulman.edu/I've crossed paths with a number of people who are self-educated and have a mature understanding of engineering - and I wouldn't hesitate to work with them. Sadly, there are also quite a few who think they can learn everything they need to know about engineering by wiring a few pre-designed circuits together. Having started out by doing just that, it was an interesting step when I started learning the fundamentals of physics, electronics, etc. There is quite a bit of content involved in laying the foundation of engineering; math first of all, then a basic knowledge of the physics of electricity: conductors, semiconductors, magnetic and electric fields - all essential if you are to see engineering as a discipline rather than a collection of assorted skills.
One of my friends pointed out that we attend a higher institute of learning not just to acquire knowledge, but to learn
how to acquire knowledge. That's a skill of its own, and much harder to get by following other peoples' instructions in a DIY book. A mark of a good engineering education is that you can teach yourself things instead of needing a mentor or instructor; this is not something that most secondary schools emphasized - and certainly not today. If you are well grounded in the basics, you can often build on top of that. A good university/college level framework makes the path much easier. I know, there were people who graduated with me who never really "got it" either, but they were at least exposed to the fundamentals.
And yes, "education" is a slightly different concept from "the courses you took in school". The biggest part of my education came from being surrounded by people smarter than I was. Being able to absorb the collective "cloud" of knowledge and abilities, and to get answers from people who were where you are years ago, is the true advantage of that environment. Except in the very best jobs, you get more of that opportunity in school than anywhere else - and the better the school, the more you absorb.
And again, not to criticize the very capable technicians I worked with, but I could always tell when someone had engineering training (not necessarily schooling). There was an overriding awareness of the full design evident in every aspect of their work - rather than just sticking together a bunch of working circuits. I had the opportunity to chat with Steve Wozniak (the real brains behind Apple) a few times; while not formally trained in engineering at the time, he had a mature grasp of what engineering was about, at an early age. His designs are efficient, complete and thoroughly debugged because he was capable of seeing the big picture before he started the design. A good engineering program should endeavor to produce people like Woz, instead of people like Steve Jobs (met him too, not impressed).