The confidence level in the value of a college education has steadily declined over the past decade, with polls showing that Americans feel the higher education system is heading in the wrong direction.
Only 36% of adults say they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, while 32% say they have “some” confidence and 32% say they have “little to no” confidence, a report from Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found in July.
The same question found that 57% of Americans had a high confidence level in higher education in 2015.
“It is sad to see that confidence hasn’t grown at all,” said Courtney Brown, vice president at Lumina, an education nonprofit focused on increasing the numbers of students who seek education beyond high school. “What’s shocking to me is that the people who have low or no confidence is actually increasing.”
For the roughly one-third of Americans who have little to no confidence in the college system, 41% say colleges are “too liberal,” or trying to “indoctrinate” or “brainwash” students. Another 37% believe colleges don’t teach relevant skills, graduates struggle to find jobs and the degree doesn’t mean all that much. Some 28% said the cost concerns them, along with student debt levels.
Americans don’t believe colleges are on a positive path, either. A whopping 68% believe higher education is heading in the wrong direction, while 31% say it is heading in the right direction.
Michael Itzkowitz, founder of HEA Group, a research and consulting firm focused on college, argued that “overall, college is still very much worth it.”
“We know that those who obtain an associate’s degree generally earn more than those high school graduates, and those with a bachelor’s degree go on to earn more than those with an associate’s degree,” Mr. Itzkowitz said. “In fact, bachelor degree holders now earn nearly $3 million more than someone with just a high school diploma.”
Still, he acknowledged that the cost is what is driving people away from college.
“While employability and a financially secure future is the number one reason why students go to college, we know that concerns about affordability are the number one reason why they’re hesitant to obtain more post-secondary training,” he said. “So these two factors together are really crucial in terms of making sure that college continues to be worth it for those who choose to see that cost.”
Peter Wood, president of the conservative National Association of Scholars, said the answer isn’t that simple. When asked if he thought college was worth it, he said “no.”
“But, of course, the more complicated answer is that it’s certainly worth it for some students, if ’worth it’ implies a monetary evaluation of how much their college degrees pay off in the marketplace afterwards,” he said.
Mr. Wood, a former associate provost at Boston University, said whether someone has a beneficial college experience “depends on the student and their ability,” and that the idea that going to college means a guarantee of a well-paying job after graduation has “evaporated.”
“Now we see large numbers of Americans who look at the cost of college and say that the risk is too great, at least for themselves or maybe their children,” he said.
In a video explaining the findings, Ms. Brown said there are four things that need to do be done to get the confidence level back up: make sure college campuses are “comfortable for everyone,” no matter their political affiliation; fix the price of higher education; provide better support for students, and make sure what’s offered aligns with what’s needed in the workforce.
“People today value a credential because they know it will lead to a better job, more pay and a better life,” she said. “However, if that credential is not aligned with what the workforce needs, then they feel like they’re not getting anything for their money.”
Mr. Itzkowitz said there is still room for “significant improvement” within higher education, like making sure there are “safeguards in place to ensure that all institutions are providing economic opportunity” and that students “feel more confident in their educational investment.”
“I think it’s critical that we encourage post-secondary education as one path to create economic opportunity for individuals, but also to ensure that we remain globally competitive,” he said. “It’s critical that we provide students with the right skills to be able to enter and succeed in the workforce.”
Mr. Wood said colleges need more law and order, especially after the pro-Palestinian protests that took over college campuses across the country in response to Israel’s retaliation to the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, demonstrations that disrupted learning and made some students feel unsafe.
He also said colleges should be presenting themselves “as places where, yes, it’s going to be hard to get an education.”
“The challenge is one that you have to internalize and decide if it’s something you really want to do,” he said. “Education definitely is a good thing only if you’re actually doing it, rather than pretending to.”
• This report is based in part on wire service reports.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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