Public confidence in higher education has plummeted over the last eight years, a new poll from Gallup has found, as tuition costs rise, enrollments dwindle and universities become increasingly politicized.
Only 36% of Americans have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, according to the June poll. That number is down from 57% of Americans in 2015 and 48% in 2018.
The majority of 2023 respondents, 40%, said they had “some” confidence in higher ed, while 22% said they had “very little” confidence. In 2015, just 9% of respondents had “very little” confidence.
