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A Timeline of Public Opinion on Higher Education: Is Higher Education Failing?

By: Nikki Marrone ’20

BIPP Survey Research Laboratory Intern

The field of higher education continues to adapt to the new demands society is putting on it. With the emergence of the “non-typical university student,” higher education has changed in order to attract different types of students and continues to provide a “quality” education to those enrolled. Higher education has come to the forefront of political discourse in the past few years as new Title IX guidelines have emerged and Secretary of Education Betsy Devos has made significant strides to affect higher education policy. In a nationally representative survey conducted by YouGov.com, the Bucknell Institute of Public Policy asked respondents what letter grade they would ascribe to higher educational institutions. The results below are from surveys conducted in the fall of 2017, spring of 2018, and fall of 2018.

When examined by partisanship, the surveys show that in the fall of 2017 47% of Democrats gave higher education an A, in the spring of 2018 37% of Democrats gave higher education an A, and in the fall of 2018 52% of Democrats gave higher education an A. In the fall of 2017 22% of Republicans gave higher education an A, in the spring of 2018 31% of Republicans gave higher education an A, and in the fall of 2018 22% of Republicans gave higher education an A.

Juxtaposed to these findings, the surveys show that in the fall of 2017 8% of Democrats gave higher education a F, in the spring of 2018 22% of Democrats gave higher education a F, and in the fall of 2018 26% of Democrats gave higher education a F. In the fall of 2017 27% of Republicans gave higher education a F, in the spring of 2018 34% of Republicans gave higher education a F, and in the fall of 2018 29% of Republicans gave higher education a F.

The Bucknell Institute of Public Policy also examined how varying levels of education affect public opinion surrounding higher education.

When examined by education level, in the fall of 2017 47% of those with a high school degree gave higher education an A, in the spring of 2018 32% of those with a high school degree gave higher education an A, and in the fall of 2018 43% of those with a high school degree gave higher education an A. For those with four-year degrees, in the fall of 2017 11% of those with a four-year degree gave higher education an A, in the spring of 2018 23% of those with a four-year degree gave higher education an A, and in the fall of 2018 16% of those with a four-year degree gave higher education an A. As for post-grad degrees, in the fall of 2017 13% of those with a post-grad degree gave higher education an A, in the spring of 2018 12% of those with a post-grad degree gave higher education an A, and in the fall of 2018 10% of those with a post-grad degree gave higher education an A.

For those who gave the higher education system a F, the surveys show in the fall of 2017 34% of those with a high school degree gave higher education a F, in the spring of 2018 44% of those with a high school degree gave higher education a F, and in the fall of 2018 33% of those with a high school degree gave higher education a F. For those with four-year degrees, in the fall of 2017 14% of those with a four-year degree gave higher education a F, in the spring of 2018 14% of those with a four-year degree gave higher education a F, and in the fall of 2018 12 % of those with a four-year degree gave higher education a F. As for post-grad degrees, in the fall of 2017 10% of those with a post-grad degree gave higher education a F, in the spring of 2018 8% of those with a post-grad degree gave higher education a F, and in the fall of 2018 9% of those with a post-grad degree gave higher education a F.

As the field of higher education continues to expand and introduce new policies, the opinion of higher educational institutions is subject to change. Why is it that individuals with more education have less favorable views of higher educational institutions? What does this mean for the future of higher educational institutions? Those within higher education need to pay attention to public opinion as it changes from positive to negative in order to protect their livelihoods and continue to adequately educate the citizens of America.

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