Americans’ confidence in higher education declines: Gallup

Americans’ confidence in higher ed down from 48% in 2018, 57% in 2015
Only 36% have “a great deal” of confidence in higher education
Democrats are the only major subgroup that had majority confidence

Updated: Jul 12, 2023 / 10:42 AM CDT

The image shows a view of the architecture of the Shelby Quadrangle at the University of Alabama

(NewsNation) — Americans are continuing to lose confidence in higher education, declining to a new low point, according to a Gallup poll.

The results from a June 1-22 Gallup poll found that 36% of Americans have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education institutions in American society, which is down from the 57% reported in 2015 and 48% reported in 2018.

The report also found that 17% of American adults have a “great deal” or “quite a lot of confidence,” while 40% say they have “some” and 22% have “very little” confidence.

Though faith is declining, higher education was in the fourth-most trusted spot among the institutions polled, behind the military, police and small businesses.

The poll also found that Democrats are the only subgroup that still had majority confidence in universities at 59%, while Republicans had the largest drop in confidence from 2015-2023, declining from 56% to 19%.

Gallup noted it didn’t ask questions to determine the cause of the drop in confidence, but, “The rising costs of postsecondary education likely play a significant role.”