Our confidence in college is plummeting to a shocking degree. Here are likely reasons why

The number of Americans who feel confident in higher education has fallen by a shocking amount since 2015, a new Gallup poll reveals. Overall confidence in higher education stood at 57% in 2015. That fell to 48% in 2018. But in 2023, Americans’ confidence in higher education stands at just 36%.

When you break the 2023 numbers down by the level of confidence that people have, you can see the stark changes: 40% of those polled say they have “some” confidence in America’s higher education institutions, while 22% say they have “very little.”

But just 17% say they have a “great deal” of confidence in higher education—a number that stood at 28% in 2015.

So what’s happened that has reduced Americans’ confidence in higher education? Gallup’s poll didn’t ask respondents for their reasonings, but the firm said that the rising costs of secondary education “likely play a significant role.” Those costs have resulted in Americans having a combined $1.78 trillion in student loan debt as of March 2023, according to NerdWallet.

But it’s not just the cost of higher education in America that has caused a loss of confidence in the institution. As Gallup reveals, political affiliations matter. Specifically, Gallup said “Republicans registered concern about politics in higher education.” In other words, Republicans are more concerned about perceived ideologies that are taught on college campuses.

In 2023, only 19% of Republicans had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, according to Gallup. That’s a 37-point fall from 2015. Meanwhile, in 2023, 59% of Democrats had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, though that number is still down 9 points from 2015.

Check out the full poll and analysis here.