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As campus craziness rages on and tuition continues to climb, Republicans say a college degree isn’t worth it.
Recent polls have shown Republicans are losing faith in higher education, and a new poll provides more evidence. A report from Business Insider highlights the findings of a MSN poll that measured the opinions of Democrats and Republicans on higher education. Chief among the findings is that few Republicans believe a college degree is worth its heavy cost.
From the report:
A poll from Business Insider‘s partner, MSN, showed that families across the political spectrum had similar beliefs when it came to issues like their plans to pay for college and whether they’ve already started saving. Republican and Democrat respondents have differences no larger than the single digits.
But when asked if they believe a college education is worth the cost, respondents split across political lines. Forty-three percent of Democrats responded yes and 44% responded no, compared to 28% of Republicans responding yes, and 62% no.
When asked whether tuition at public colleges and universities should be free, the results were even starker. Seventy-four percent of Democrats answered yes and 19% answered no, compared to 31% of Republicans responding yes, and 62% no.
The MSN poll is the latest in a string of polls that have shown that confidence in higher education is dwindling among Republicans.
In July, a Pew Research Center study found that a majority of Republicans believe colleges have a negative impact on the U.S. In total, 58 percent of Republican respondents held negative views about the impact of higher education, a strong turnabout from just a few years ago.
More recently, Pew reported that data it compiled show Republicans hold a “skeptical view” of college professors. Meanwhile, a report from the Cato Institute showed the majority of Americans says colleges aren’t properly teaching “the value of free speech”
When it comes to winning over conservatives, it’s clear higher education has a lot of work to do.
Read the Business Insider article.
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