Sounds like jamais vu[1]. French for "never seen", opposite of deja vu (already seen). Most common in words as you mentioned, however, I often experience it in places I know I've been before, yet for some reason feel new and unfamiliar.
I wrote this high-level overview of how my team does code review, with an emphasis on knowledge transfer: http://engineering.zesty.com/code_review/. Hope you enjoy.
The main benefits he reaped from CC are an atmosphere of learning and growth, and the ability to engage with interesting people, not the degree itself.
Both of those things can be obtained outside of college(community or otherwise). Too many people will get the degree for its own sake and simply coast by for this program to be worth it.