More Americans than ever are questioning the value of higher education, and college presidents are worried about that.
In a survey of 380 college and university presidents released Thursday, trade publication Inside Higher Ed found 66% reported being “very” or “extremely” concerned about public confidence in postsecondary education.
Another 26% were “moderately” concerned, 8% “slightly” concerned, and just 1% said they were “not at all” concerned.
The presidents said “lack of affordability” and worries about preparing graduates for the workforce were the top two reasons, respectively, for public confidence declining.
They identified ideological bias on campuses, a sense of higher education being “disconnected” from society and racial equality as the next-biggest reasons, in descending order.
“A quarter of presidents (26%) say they’re extremely concerned about the state of public confidence in higher ed today, while the largest share (40%) say they’re very concerned,” Inside Higher Ed said in a report on the findings.
On the positive side, 82% of presidents agreed “strongly” or “somewhat” that their institution will be financially stable over the next five years, and 80% said the same about their 10-year outlook.
Campuses have struggled for decades with four-year enrollment declines, dwindling revenues, rising costs and shrinking pools of applicants.
Other recent issues include student protests against the Israel-Hamas conflict and an uptick in companies eliminating college requirements for technology and office jobs in a tight labor market.
The nonprofit Strada Institute for the Future of Work and the Burning Glass Institute reported last week that 52% of bachelor’s degree graduates had “underemployed” jobs in food service, hospitality, retail sales, office administration and other fields a year after earning a sheepskin. Ten years after graduation, 45% still didn’t hold a job requiring a four-year degree.
In the survey published on Thursday, campus leaders also weighed the validity of public concerns about higher ed.
Other key findings included:
• More than half of the presidents deemed “lack of affordability, including high tuition prices,” as a “very or extremely valid” concern about higher education.
• More than a quarter of presidents said “equity, including access and outcomes for historically underrepresented groups,” is a “very or extremely valid” complaint. However, only 2% believed it was driving waning public confidence.
• About a quarter of presidents described concerns about “whether or not institutions are adequately preparing graduates for the workforce” as “very or extremely valid.”
• Around two in 10 college presidents judged the concerns about ideological bias and higher education being “disconnected from society” to be “very or extremely valid.”
• Most of the presidents expressed greater confidence about their handling of race relations, free speech and the rise of artificial intelligence than about the ability of higher education in general to address those issues.
On behalf of Inside Higher Ed, Hanover Research surveyed the presidents of 206 public and 174 private institutions in January and February. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.66%.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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