Americans’ Confidence In Higher Education Sinks To A New Low

Americans’ confidence in higher education has sunk to a new low, according to a just-released Gallup poll.

According to the poll, conducted between June 1-22, just 36% of American adults expressed “a great deal” (17%) or “quite a lot” (19%) of confidence in higher education; 40% said they had “some” and 22% expressed “very little” confidence. The 36% level is down sharply from prior surveys in 2015 and 2018, where the comparable levels were 57% and 48%, respectively. And the 22% expressing “very little” confidence is more than double what was reported in 2015 (9%).

Of particular concern for higher education leaders was the poll’s finding that confidence in higher ed was plunging across all major subgroups.

• Political identification. In 2015, majorities of Americans in all key subgroups expressed confidence in higher education, with the exception of political independents (48%). By 2018, confidence had fallen across all groups, with the largest drop, 17 percentage points, occurring among Republicans. The new survey shows those declines to be continuing or even accelerating. Compared to 2015, confidence in higher education dropped by 37 percentage points among Republicans to just 19%, the lowest of any group. But confidence also slipped among Independents (-16 percentage points) and Democrats (-9 percentage points).
• Education. Compared to 2015, confidence in higher education plunged 25 percentage points among those adults without a college degree, but it also dropped among those with an undergraduate degree (-10 points) and those with a postgraduate degree (-17 points).
• Gender. Males (-19 percentage points) and females (-22 percentage points) showed similar reductions in confidence compared to 2015.
• Age. The largest decline in confidence was among older adults, aged 55 and older, where there was a 24 percentage point drop since 2015. Across the same time period confidence among young adults (18-34 years) declined 18 percentage points, and it dropped 16 percentage points among those 35-54 years of age.

If it’s any small consolation, Gallup found that the latest decline in the public’s trust in higher education was not unique. Faith in several other American institutions has sunk to historic lows, according to Gallup’s survey of 16 other institutions, such as Congress, the military, organized religion, the Supreme Court, public schools and newspapers.

Many of these institutions are now at, or near, their lowest points in public confidence, according to Gallup’s tracking. In fact, higher education ranked fourth in confidence among the 17 institutions measured, with small business (65% reporting a great deal or quite a lot of confidence), the military (60%) and the police (43%) in the top three spots. The bottom three were TV news (14%), big business (14%), and Congress (8%).

Gallup did not ask respondents about the reasons behind this recent drop in confidence, but it speculated that “the rising costs of postsecondary education likely play a significant role.” That may be, but it certainly is not the whole story.

Years of attacks against colleges, universities and public education in general by right-wing politicians has taken a toll, particularly among political conservatives. The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has also played a role, disrupting many aspects of campus life for at least two years. And highly publicized controversies and scandals involving college admissions has also tarnished the image of higher education in the public’s eyes.

The Gallup poll results were based on phone interviews with a random sample of 1,013 adults; it had a percentage point margin of error, with a 95 confidence level.