Appendix: Methodology

Study Target Population: General population age 18+

Sample Units: 9,112

Completed Units: 1,631

Expected Eligibility Rate: 100%

Observed Eligibility Rate: 100%

Margin of Error: ±3.23 percentage points (pp)

Design Effect: 1.77

Survey Field Period: March 13, 2025–March 28, 2025

Median Survey Duration (minutes): 23 via web mode, 52 via phone

A general population sample 18 years and older was selected from NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel for this study. An oversample of African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islander Americans, and Hispanic Americans was added to the sample to achieve complete survey targets for these demographic groups. The sample was selected from the AmeriSpeak Panel using sampling strata based on age, race/Hispanic ethnicity, educational attainment, and gender (48 sampling strata in total).

The survey findings reflect the final case set of 1,631 respondents, which includes 1,583 surveys completed by web mode and 48 surveys by telephone interview. The sample design achieved the client-specified demographic targets. The final case set includes non-Hispanic African Americans (n=292), Hispanic Americans (n=384), and non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander Americans (n=248) to ensure adequate sample size of those groups for analysis.

The Varying Degrees instrument collects information about the public’s perceptions of a variety of aspects related to U.S. postsecondary education. The instrument is designed to collect information to serve two purposes. First, the instrument must be able to illuminate findings that are responsive to current contexts that influence public opinion. Second, the instrument must also collect information about the public’s perceptions over time to illuminate trends.

The Varying Degrees 2025 instrument consisted of 11 sections:

• Enrollment and Borrowing Status
• Employment and Financial Security
• Higher Education Quality
• Confidence in Higher Education
• Higher Education Value and Accountability
• Affordability
• Higher Education Funding
• Higher Education Institutions by Sector
• Online and In-Person Education and Artificial Intelligence
• Higher Education Impact
• Respondent and Household Demographic Information

The survey was offered in English and Spanish, and it was administered in two modes, depending on the preference of the respondent: (1) self-administered by the respondent online via the web, or (2) administered over the telephone by a live interviewer.

A small, randomly selected subsample of AmeriSpeak web-mode panelists were invited to the survey as a part of a soft launch on March 13, 2025. The initial data from the soft launch were reviewed to confirm there were no processing or programming errors. Once reviewed, the remainder of sampled AmeriSpeak panelists were invited to the survey on March 14, 2025.

If invited, AmeriSpeak panelists could take the survey online through the password-protected AmeriSpeak mobile app, the password-protected AmeriSpeak web portal, or by following a link in the email invitation sent to them.

To encourage study cooperation, NORC sent the initial invitation and various email reminders to sampled web-mode panelists (i.e., soft launch, total sample, oversamples, and remaining sample) between March 14 and March 27, 2025. Email reminders were sent three days after the initial invite email and then every five days thereafter. A last-chance email reminder was sent the day before the end of the field period, on March 27.

To administer the phone survey, NORC—from March 19 to March 27—dialed sampled panelists who prefer to take surveys on the phone. Panelists were offered the cash equivalent of $3 for completing this survey.