More than half of adults in the U.S. would change at least one aspect of their higher education experience, according to a new survey from Gallup and the Strada Education Network. Common regrets were choice of institution and major or field of study. Comparatively, relatively few regretted their degree type.
The survey interviewed 90,000 randomly sampled U.S. adults from age 18 to 65, covering people of all educational backgrounds, from those with less than a high school diploma to those with a postgraduate degree, shedding light on how students perceive the value of their education.
While the higher ed landscape is home to a diverse array of institutions of all types and categories, too often institutions do not systematically track the career outcomes of graduates, according to Brandon Busteed, executive director of education and workforce development at Gallup.
“This is a voice that’s missing — and in many ways tragically missing — from the landscape of what we do and don’t know about higher ed,” Busteed said at the Education Writers Association (EWA) meeting on Thursday.
Adults least likely to regret their choices are graduates in the STEM fields, vocational and technical education, and post-graduates. These three types of graduates share a certain commonality, according to Carol D’Amico, executive vice president of mission advancement and philanthropy at Strada.
“They attended with a purpose,” D’Amico said. “They had a plan. They had a path they were going to go down.”
Across degree types, 36 percent of all adults said that they would choose another major or field of study and 28 percent said they would choose another institution. Only 12 percent said they would choose another degree type. Intriguingly, graduates with a bachelor’s who were age 30 or older were less likely to regret their choice of field of study than younger graduates.
