As the cost of attending university in the US reaches astronomical levels and culture wars divide campuses, increasing numbers of Americans are expressing scepticism that a college degree is worth the time and money.
Only 36 per cent of respondents in a Gallup poll said they had “a great deal or quite a lot of confidence” in higher education, with 32 per cent saying they had little or no confidence.
This is a steady decline from 2015, when 57 per cent were highly confident in the system and 10 per cent were not.
A key reason for this declining trust is the price American families are being asked to pay to educate their children, with costs doubling in the past decade.
The average annual fees and tuition at a private college in the US reached $42,162 this year, with the range between $10,000 and $23,000 for public colleges.
Advertisement
For elite Ivy League colleges such as Harvard and Yale, annual fees and tuition are about $60,000, and costs can reach nearly $100,000 a year when other expenses such as books and housing are added in.
“Confidence has dropped among all key subgroups in the US population over the past two decades, but more so among Republicans,” a news report accompanying the Gallup and Lumina Foundation research said. “Americans who lack confidence in higher education today say their concerns lie in colleges pushing political agendas, not teaching relevant skills and being overly expensive.”
The US college system has faced increasing criticism by Republicans for perceived liberal bias in recent years and tensions erupted at the end of the term when pro-Palestinian protesters took over public areas at a number of US campuses.
Arguments between college administrations and conservative politicians over the curriculum have become commonplace, with particular flashpoints over the teaching of race, gender and sexuality.
As a result, confidence in higher education among Republicans has fallen from 56 per cent in 2015 to 20 per cent today, with terms such as “brainwash” and “indoctrinate” being used to describe their feelings.
Advertisement
Among Democrats, the decline is less marked, with just over half still having confidence in the system. Their main concern is the cost.
There are similar concerns in the UK. While the £43,000 of average total student debt after graduation may pale in comparison to the US, the tuition fees coupled with rising rents and cost of living are leading to questions about the value of a degree.
