Are colleges living up to expectations for serving students and society? We asked, the public answered. Opinions differed, and a few surprises surfaced.
Explore the nuances of public confidence and doubt in higher education by walking through several striking data points from The Chronicle’s random-sample national survey of more than 1,000 American adults.
What Americans have to say about higher ed depends a lot on what you ask them.Overall measures tend to be positive, but specifics on individual and societal benefits generally draw more skepticism.
I would advise a friend or relative to pursue a bachelor's degree.
78%
College is a good or great benefit to pursuing a fulfilling career.
65%
Colleges do a very good or great job developing a skilled work force.
38%
Perspectives also vary a lot depending on which Americans you ask.Conservatives, men, and white Americans all tend to be more negative about higher ed.
Colleges’ research on society, culture, and how people think is very or extremely important.
Conservatives42%
Liberals77%
College is a good or great benefit to pursuing a fulfilling career.
Colleges do a very good or great job educating students.
White31%
Total minority56%
Still, nearly 4 in 5 people feel their degree was worth it.The result of the cost-benefit calculation was similarly positive across groups.
All associate- and bachelor's-degree earners
79%
Total racial-minority respondents
78%
Political conservatives
76%
Associate-degree earners
76%
While people generally see clear benefits of attending college …They say it helps a good amount or great deal in:
Building a personal or professional network
70%
Achieving personal growth generally
69%
Getting a good paying job
66%
… many don’t feel higher ed is within reach.People with no or some college said each of these was at least a reason or major reason for not going or returning.
I don't have enough time.
52%
It's not for people like me.
29%
Reasons for not enrolling differed greatly depending on people’s experience.People with different levels of experience with college indicated that each of these was a factor or major factor.
I can't afford it.
Some college42%
No college66%
I don't need it or have a job I like.
No college34%
Some college57%
It's not worth the money.
No college32%
Some college47%
The application or enrollment process seems too complicated.
Some college6%
No college26%
Americans are at least somewhat skeptical of the educational influence of institutions.
Colleges are a positive influence on their students' overall thinking.
65%
College is a good or great benefit to becoming a good thinker.
62%
Colleges do a very good or great job educating students.
40%
Colleges do a very good or great job developing a well-informed citizenry.
31%
And those results vary widely based on political ideology.
Colleges are a positive influence on their students' overall thinking.
Conservatives50%
Liberals87%
College is a good or great benefit to becoming a good thinker.
Conservatives55%
Liberals73%
Colleges do a very good or great job educating students.
Conservatives31%
Liberals51%
Colleges do a very good or great job developing a well-informed citizenry.
Conservatives24%
Liberals40%
Across 43 questions, political ideology was the starkest difference the most times.
But race and ethnicity were also a major dividing line.Minority respondents were more likely to welcome federal influence and to see the positive impact of colleges on various counts.
Colleges’ contributing to local economic development is very or extremely important.
White55%
Total minority72%
The federal government should have a good amount or great deal of influence over what is taught.
White21%
Total minority49%
Colleges do a very good or great job leveling the playing field for success in society.
White25%
Total minority41%
Hispanic Americans are especially positive about college.
I would advise a friend or relative to pursue a bachelor's degree.
I plan to take courses at some point*.
College provides a great deal of benefit to its graduates.
College is a good or great benefit to students who don’t graduate.
*Includes respondents without a college degree
Beyond educating students, people see these as the most important things colleges do.Large shares of people said that the following activities are very or extremely important.
Conducting research into science, technology, and how things work
79%
Developing a skilled work force
79%
Operating medical centers
77%
Developing a well-informed citizenry
68%
What people consider important isn't necessarily what they see as effective.People don’t think colleges are doing a very good or excellent job of some activities that are rated very or extremely important.
Developing a skilled work force
Well performed38%
Important79%
Developing a well-informed citizenry
Well performed31%
Important68%
Leveling the playing field for success in society
Well performed30%
Important57%
Operating college sports
Important25%
Well performed52%
While more than half the population thinks colleges are a major benefit to the public …
Benefit to your state
57%
Benefit to your local community
54%
… these opinions also show a distinct ideological split.
Benefit to your state
Conservatives50%
Liberals67%
Benefit to society
Conservatives55%
Liberals69%
Benefit to your local community
Conservatives47%
Liberals62%
Is confidence in higher ed falling? It depends. Explore and filter our survey data on what different segments of the American public actually think of college.
Methodology
The Chronicle commissioned a representative, random-sample national survey of 1,025 adults produced by Langer Research Associates. Field work was conducted in July and August 2023 via the probability-based SSRS Opinion Panel, in which participants are randomly recruited via address-based sampling to take surveys online or by telephone. Results have an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points; error margins are larger for subgroups.
Not all bars of a given set are significantly different to one another, but all indicated comparisons are statistically significant.
