Americans’ Confidence in Higher Education Remains at All-Time Low, Poll Says

A little more than one-third of Americans voiced confidence in colleges and universities.

A barricade protects the American flag at Polk Place at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., on May 1, 2024. Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Confidence in higher education remains at a low point for many Americans, a new poll suggests.

Only 36 percent of survey respondents have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the nation’s colleges and universities, according to the poll conducted in June and published July 8 by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation.