Americans’ Confidence in Higher Education Remains at All-Time Low, Poll Says

A barricade protects the American flag at Polk Place at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., on May 1, 2024. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Confidence in higher education remains at a low point for many Americans, a new poll suggests.

Only 36 percent of survey respondents have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the nation’s colleges and universities, according to the poll conducted in June and published July 8 by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation.

The result is unchanged from a year ago, and is down sharply from 48 percent in 2018 and 57 percent in 2015.

Compared to last year, fewer respondents in June 2024 reported having a mixed view, while more expressed “very little” to zero confidence. The share of respondents who said they have little or no confidence (32 percent) is at an all-time high since 2015.

In addition, more than 67 percent of respondents said they believe college is headed in the “wrong direction,” compared with just 31 percent who feel it’s going in the right direction.

When respondents were asked to explain their lack of optimism, many voiced concerns that colleges are pushing political agendas (41 percent), failing to teach students skills they need to succeed (37 percent), and are too expensive (28 percent).

For those confident in higher education, the top reasons they cited include the importance of having educated citizens (28 percent); the opportunities to have better-paying jobs (24 percent); and the training higher education provides, such as thinking for oneself and respecting different points of view (19 percent).

Partisan Divide

While the decline in confidence is observed across all groups, there are noticeable gaps along party lines.

Confidence in higher education among Republicans today is nearly a mirror image of what it was nine years ago, Gallup noted. In 2015, more than half (56 percent) of Republicans had strong confidence, and 11 percent had little or no confidence. Now, less than a quarter (20 percent) are confident and half expressed little or none.

Democrats also reported reduced confidence, with 56 percent saying they trust higher education, a 12-point drop from 2015.

Similarly, confidence among independents has fallen, from 48 percent to 35 percent since 2015.

A majority of Republicans (53 percent) who lack confidence in higher education pointed to political bias, according to the Gallup analysis. Meanwhile, Democrats who are not confident in higher education mostly focused on affordability, while independents are divided about equally between cost, political agendas, and misplaced teaching focus.

According to Jeffrey Jones, Gallup’s senior editor, the diminishing confidence in higher ed reveals more than just political motives, since it involves questions such as whether the outcome of a college education is worth the price.

“To the extent these views are held by parents and young adults, it could lead to drops in college applications and enrollment,” Mr. Jones said.

The Gallup poll was conducted between June 3 and 23 via telephone among a random sample of 1,005 adults living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It has a 4 percentage point margin of error on a 95 percent confidence level.