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Results reflect ‘widespread disillusionment’ with higher education, pollster says
Many Americans no longer believe that colleges produce enough benefits worth the time, money, and effort to receive a degree, according to a new survey of 1,200 registered voters.
The Overton Insights poll asked respondents if they thought a bachelor’s degree today was worth the cost.
Only 14 percent of poll respondents gave an unequivocal yes, while 43 percent said yes but only for specific degrees (such as doctors, lawyers, etc.). Another 38 percent said no.
However, 67 percent of respondents still hold the belief that a college degree is important for someone to succeed in their career today. Only 30 percent said it was not important.
The CEO of Overton Insights provided further analysis of the results in emailed comments to The College Fix.
Connor Boyack said the survey “reflects widespread disillusionment with the higher education industry as a whole—high costs, low quality, and uncertain ROI (return on investment).”
When it comes to helping colleges revive themselves, he had a few suggestions. He told The Fix:
“Colleges must dramatically lower costs, decrease the amount of time spent obtaining a degree, remove unrelated educational requirements that do not pertain to the student’s chosen field of study, and innovate ways to increase the likelihood that students will obtain a job in their selected field upon graduation.”
As companies increasingly remove their degree requirements from job postings, he believes it will “accelerate the rate at which young people opt out and pursue other educational and training opportunities,” such as the trades or programs that offer practical skills.
When asked about the actions of the current presidential administration to address this issue, Boyack touted President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to force universities to “share the cost of [their] defaulted student loans.” He believes it would “likely lower tuition and put more emphasis on job placement by universities.”
The Fix reached out to various leaders in the field of education for comments.
Other than job placement, colleges often advertise the social benefits they offer to students. Preston Cooper, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow on higher education, told The Fix via email that benefits such as networking and friendship forming are real.
However, they would not be worth it if “their college education doesn’t also help them land a good job and repay their loans,” Cooper said.
Meanwhile, Thomas Lindsay, higher education policy director for Next Generation Texas, shared several ways he believes colleges can increase their value, when asked about the poll.
He told The Fix via email that schools need to start trimming their administrative budgets to help stabilize their price. This would mean cutting expensive amenities and layers of administration that “don’t really change what students learn.”
Lindsay also proposed colleges could make their learning outcomes and job placement rates visible to students. This, plus honest transcripts that expose grade inflation, could potentially “help rebuild trust,” he commented.
When asked about how AI could disrupt college, Lindsay said that it will “put more pressure on colleges to prove they’re offering something students can’t just get from a chatbot or online course.”
He also said that while “AI will automate some tasks,” it “won’t make thoughtful, well-educated people ‘obsolete.’”
MORE: Harvard report warns of ‘damaging’ grade inflation, 60% of grades are A’s
