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| Gallup poll |
Higher education has an imagine problem, a new Gallup poll conducted between June 1-22 found that Americans’ confidence in higher education has fallen to 36%, sharply lower than in two prior readings in 2015 (57%) and 2018 (48%). The poll consisted of 1,000 respondents.
"There isn't a clear reason why confidence is declining,” said Zach Hrynowski, a senior education researcher at Gallup.
The poll showed the decline in confidence in higher education is highest among Republicans, which fell from 56% in 2015, when the question was first asked, to 19% in 2023, a drop of 37 percentage points. The second-highest confidence drop is among those without a college degree, which fell from 54% in 2015 to 29% in 2023, a 25 percentage point drop.
Among Democrats, the poll found, confidence has declined from 68% in 2015 to 59% in 2023.
Why is this important?
The poll is a troubling sign that could foreshadow further erosion of colleges’ enrollment, funding, and stature in the coming years.
We have seen signs of this continued erosion of confidence as the public and policy makers have shifted from the notion of college access, to college completion, to entirely questioning the return on investment of a college education all in last decade.
