Americans' confidence in higher education has fallen sharply, according to a new Gallup poll, reports Hechinger's Jill Barshay. Yet most still feel a college degree has value.
Only 36 percent said they had a “great deal” (17 percent) or “quite a lot” (19 percent) of confidence in higher education. That's down from 57 percent in 2015. The number with "very little" confidence more than doubled, going from 9 percent to 22 percent.
Confidence was lowest among Republicans, but also dropped among independents and Democrats, said Stephanie Marken, who oversees education research at Gallup. People “feel like the system is unaffordable and rigged against most Americans,” she said.
President Biden's attempt to cancel student loan debt reminded people that a degree doesn't always pay off.
Other Gallup polls show that 71 percent of current college students believe the degree they are pursuing is worth the cost, writes Barshay. In 2019, the last time Gallup asked all Americans about the importance of a college education, 88 percent said it was very (53 percent) or fairly (35 percent) important.
Overall, Americans' confidence in major institutions is low, reports Gallup. Confidence in public schools fell to 26 percent, down from 32 percent in 2021. That includes 9 percent of Republicans, 25 percent of Independents and 43 percent of Democrats.
Small business and the military rate the highest. The media -- newspapers and television news -- are below 20 percent. Only 8 percent have confidence in Congress.