What the Public Really Thinks About Higher Education

Americans today believe in the value of a college credential, but they aren’t convinced higher education is fulfilling its promise to society.

That ambivalence toward colleges — general support with some real caveats — infused responses to a national poll by The Chronicle to gauge public perceptions of higher education. The goal was to probe attitudes about the value of a degree and, beyond educating individual students, institutions’ broader activities and goals. This is the first of several stories that will explore the poll’s findings and the issues they raise.

Most people, whether they have a four-year degree or not, would advise others to pursue one, our poll found. Yet many don’t think institutions do a great job educating their students — or that they are of great benefit to graduates. Alternatives like trade school strike many Americans as just as good a path to a successful livelihood. And colleges’ value to communities and to society also draws skepticism.

Growing dissatisfaction with higher education has been a common concern in recent years, as some polls sound a drumbeat of doom — that confidence is falling, that institutions are moving in the wrong direction, that more people think they have a negative effect on the nation.

At the same time, conservative politicians have heightened attacks on colleges, claiming that institutions further progressive agendas and indoctrinate students. Many Democrats still voice support for higher education, though often with demands to improve graduation rates and limit student debt.

Caught in the middle, college leaders are under pressure to defend their institutions’ value, and often argue that wide access to higher education is essential to the nation’s civic and economic fortunes.

Respondents to The Chronicle’s survey do reflect partisan divides. On many counts, Republicans and conservatives express deep reservations about higher education, while Democrats and liberals are mostly supportive.

But taken as a whole, the survey draws an important distinction: People view higher education as an important means for individual attainment, but not necessarily for the greater good.

Continue reading here.