The decline represents an erosion of trust in America’s colleges and universities that has been occurring since 2015, when 57% indicated confidence, according to the survey, conducted by Lumina Foundation and global pollster Gallup.
The survey found that the recent decline was driven largely among Democrats, with 50% indicating confidence in higher education – a “new low” for Democrats and down from 61% last year. But the report says Democrats have higher levels of confidence than independents and Republicans, whose levels stood at 39% and 23%, respectively.
The long-term decline is found mostly among Republicans. The 23% confidence level among Republicans is down 33 percentage points from where it stood in 2015 at 56%, according to the survey.
Those who graduated from college had higher levels of confidence than those who did not – 43% vs. 35%, the survey found.
Three themes emerged as the reasons behind the loss of confidence: apparent political agendas on campus; the high cost of college and colleges failing to prepare students well for the workforce.
“Gallup’s numbers are a warning, but they are also a roadmap,” said Julian Thompson, senior director for strategy development at the UNCF Institute for Capacity Building.
“The same research shows nine in ten students believe their degree is building the skills they need, so the confidence gap is with a public that no longer sees the proof,” Thompson said.
Thompson urged institutional leaders to “show your receipts.” He noted that UNCF research has found that HBCUs generate $16.5 billion a year in economic impact, and their class of 2021 alone will earn $146 billion over their careers, 57% more than without their degrees.
“Every institution should be telling its community exactly what it returns,” Thompson said.
Beth Akers, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where she focuses on the economics of higher education, also said colleges must do more to emphasize the role they play in fostering upward economic mobility.
“While colleges are often focused on a wholistic version of education that includes training individuals for participation in civic society, students and their families are most often looking for a pathway to a good-paying career,” Akers said. “Colleges that recognize this preference among their potential students are building better bridges to career after graduation and are doing a better job of making that a focus of their recruitment efforts.”
Colleges with strong brand recognition don’t need to market themselves in such a way, Akers continued. “But the reality for most colleges is they will need to prove to students they can deliver them into economic prosperity after graduation.”
Mike Gavin, President and CEO of the Alliance for Higher Education, said rebuilding public trust in higher education will require more than saying more positive things more frequently to more audiences.
“It is also critical to reject the false narrative regarding elitism, affordability, and access,” Gavin said. He said that the false narrative is being driven by “politically motivated antagonists who are weaponizing a dozen highly selective institutions in order to attack the other 4,000 colleges and universities in the United States.” He said most colleges – including community colleges – offer more affordable paths to a degree and are “trusted and well-liked by those who live nearby.”
Gavin said leaders must “make every effort to be up front about an institution’s operations.”
“This means making financial aid predictable and easy to understand and being candid about student success timelines and support structures,” Gavin said. “Word of mouth is the most powerful tool we have.”
Jeremy C. Young, senior advisor for strategic initiatives at the American Association of Colleges and Universities, or AAC&U, said the affordability issue is not something colleges can easily fix on their own, particularly amid what he referred to as state disinvestment in higher education.
A college slashing tuition, for instance, “doesn't have the kind of market effects that you might want to see,” Young said.
“It doesn't cause all their peers to have to cut their tuition as well,” Young said. “It becomes a sort of gimmick for the individual school.
“So there is a big systemic problem here that needs to be addressed and it is a very serious problem,” Young said. “It's not something that we can give to presidents as a sort of plug-and-play solution.”
The Lumina / Gallup report offers some insights into how to rebuild trust in higher education – particularly at a time when AI is playing a greater role in the workplace.
“Critics of higher education say that it costs too much, that colleges are promoting political agendas and that students are not taught the right skills to succeed once they graduate,” the report states. “The latter criticism takes on added significance with AI emerging as a technology that could disrupt the workforce and make it harder for graduates to find work once they finish their education.
“The challenge for higher education is whether it can adapt its instruction to set students up for success in the future workplace.”
