The Partisan Split Over Higher Ed? Maybe It’s Really About Who Should Pay for It

In a nation that seems to split more and more along party lines, it hardly comes as a surprise to learn that the way Americans think about higher education is swayed by partisan affiliation.

And in recent years, research has typically supported that hypothesis, painting a portrait of growing distrust of higher education — particularly among those on the right.

But according to a report released on Tuesday by New America, opinions on higher education may not be as polarized and partisan as they’re often made out to be. The main division, the report suggests, is over who should foot the bill.

“We can see that Americans strongly agree on their perception of colleges and universities, especially their local colleges,” said Clare McCann, an author of the report. “And they believe in the value of higher education. But it’s clear that how to finance that and who finances it and for which students is still a significant area of disagreement.”

This is the third year the public-policy think tank conducted its “Varying Degrees” survey, which polled 2,029 Americans online and over the phone. With the 2020 election looming, this year’s report paid particularly close attention to the role political affiliation plays in shaping how Americans think about and value higher education.

Some of the report’s findings, however, stand in contrast to the Pew Research Center’s recent report on higher education.

Pew’s latest report, released on August 19, homed in on a “growing partisan divide” in how Americans think about higher education. And while the Pew report concurs that most Americans value higher education, regardless of party identification, it cites an “undercurrent of dissatisfaction — even suspicion” — about the societal role colleges and universities play.

According to the Pew findings, that dissatisfaction is chiefly on the right, with nearly 60 percent of Republicans agreeing that colleges have a negative effect on the country. The reasons cited by those respondents for their negativity include a growing suspicion of the college-admissions process, campus battles over free speech, and professors bringing their political views into the classroom.

But while Pew found that only half of Americans think higher education has a positive impact on how things are going in the country, the results of the New America report weren’t nearly as drastic, with 70 percent of Americans taking a positive view of colleges and universities.

“In general, we see a lot of alignment on their opinion about higher education when we ask questions about value,” said Sophie Nguyen, an author of the New America report.

The differing responses on higher education’s impact were particularly striking because the questions in the surveys were nearly identical. In most cases, though, Pew and New America tended to differ in how they asked questions.

The New America report found that the average American, regardless of party alignment, views higher education as a worthwhile investment for students. Democratic respondents were more likely to hold positive views of higher education, with 79 percent stating colleges and universities have a positive impact on the country, but Republicans weren’t far behind, with more than 50 percent agreeing with the sentiment.

The parties also found common ground on questions of accountability. Eighty percent of Republicans and 80 percent of Democrats agreed that colleges should lose at least some access to taxpayer dollars if they have low graduation rates.

The most significant splits down party line centered on one question: Who should foot the bill for higher education?

About 80 percent of Democrats who responded to the survey said the federal government should assume much of the funding of higher education “because it’s good for society.” A majority of Republicans, however, said students and their families should be responsible for paying for their own education.

And when it comes to affordability, the survey found that only 49 percent of Americans think they can get a high-quality education that is also affordable.

“When we look at that number for these different demographic groups — let’s say, for Republicans versus Democrats — 55 percent of Republicans say that Americans can get high-quality higher education that is also affordable,” Nguyen said. “But only 45 percent of Democrats say that.”

The issue of free or debt-free college, a pillar in the campaigns of several Democratic presidential candidates, was also a divisive topic. About three-quarters of Democrats and more than half of independents said they support candidates who favor free college, while over half of Republicans said they oppose the idea — many of them “strongly so.”

With economic uncertainty and political cynicism feeding growing distrust of many of the nation’s foundational institutions, including higher education, the authors of the New America report hope to shine light on topics of common ground.

“As we’re heading into the 2020 election and seeing some pretty tectonic shifts in the politics of the U.S., it’s pretty important to think, as we’re going through that, about how party opinions might be changing and what might be feasible in terms of moving forward,” McCann said. “With such significant political shifts, I think we’re hoping to keep an eye on where there are areas of agreement, and where the areas of disagreement exist.”

Lauren Fisher is an editorial intern at The Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter @lauren__fisher, or email her at lfisher@chronicle.com.