I am on the Air Transport Operations course at CU and would certainly recommend it I'm due to start at OATS in July and the way I (and the other 4 guys on this years course) see it is that you're only really spending one extra year to get a degree.
You're going to end up at OATS anyway so you may as well make it part of the degree. The flight school bit is in the second year and you can apply for a job straight after. Whether you get one or not, you can still finish the degree since it can be done modular.
At the end of the day, I think it's worth spending the extra year with like-minded people, getting a relevant degree for an airline pilots job, living the university life and attending lectures all about planes, flying, meeting pilots etc, etc. Plus getting an ATPL!
What could be better? It obviously won't guarantee you a job...and it'll be just as tough to get an interview as the next Joe Bloggs with an ATPL, but it's still an extra string to the violin...and believe me - it's the best degree in the world!!!!