Executive Summary

Varying Degrees is New America’s annual effort to gauge opinions about education after high school. In the four years since we began to publish the survey, we have seen an economic boom. This year, that boom came to an abrupt and tragic end. Unlike previous recessions, this one has been caused by a global pandemic, and it is unclear how our economy will be able to restart with so many Americans social distancing. As restrictions are loosened, surely some of the tens of millions of people who have lost their jobs will be able to go back to work. Others, however, will have no job to go back to, as months of sheltering in place will close many businesses for good.

What will this mean for colleges and universities? It is too soon to say. Most had to shut down their campuses to stop the spread of COVID-19 and rush to remote learning only. While there is hope that some students will be able to return to physical campuses in the fall, many institutions are planning for a fall semester that will be mostly online. No one knows what this will mean for enrollments, which usually peak anytime a recession occurs. Institutions that have been on the financial brink since the last recession will now face closure either over loss of revenue or enormous growth in tuition to cover funding gaps.

Just before the national emergency, Varying Degrees 2020: New America’s Fourth Annual Survey on Higher Educati­­on surveyed 1,512 Americans ages 18 and older to better understand their perceptions of education after high school.¹ It provides an important baseline to judge how attitudes and perceptions change in the face of this public health and economic crisis. As in previous years, the survey shows unifying themes, as well as differences, among various demographics when it comes to our questions about value, funding, and accountability. Since the United States is gearing up for a presidential election in the fall, we paid special attention to the political affiliations of respondents.² Our data will provide a chance to learn how the crisis will change people’s opinions of education beyond high school when we poll Americans again next year.

Our top findings this year include:

• Americans believe that education beyond high school creates more opportunities, is worth the investment, and promotes social mobility. About four in five Americans think people who pursue further education after high school will have more job opportunities than those who do not. A similar number believe that education after high school offers a good return on investment and a staggering 92 percent believe that it offers pathways to economic mobility. Most hope that their children or another close family member pursue education after high school. Only 17 percent of Americans would feel comfortable with their children or close family members pursuing only a high school diploma.
• While Americans believe in the value proposition of education beyond high school, they also believe higher education needs to change. Only one-third of Americans believe higher education is fine the way it is. Cost is the primary concern for the large majority who do not agree that higher education is fine the way it is. About half of Americans believe that someone can find a high-quality education that is also affordable. Approximately 63 percent of Americans believe government should fund higher education because it is good for society, compared with 35 percent who believe it should be funded by individuals because they are the ones who will primarily benefit.
• The vast majority of Americans (90 percent) believe that publicly available data on low graduation rates, high dropout rates, low earnings, and high student loan default rates are important indicators of quality. A majority of respondents also believe that public financial support for colleges and universities should be tied to some of these outcomes. Most Americans agree that a college or university should lose access to taxpayer dollars if it has low graduation rates (78 percent); low rates of graduates earning a living wage (74 percent); high rates of graduates earning less than the average high school graduate (72 percent); low rates of graduates paying down their student loans (68 percent); and high default rates for student loan repayments (64 percent).