Americans want change in higher education.

Like last year, only one in four (25 percent) Americans believes that higher education is fine the way it is. This year New America followed up with an open-ended question to gauge why Americans do not think higher education is fine the way it is. The top three response categories were: college is too expensive and hard to access (38 percent); there is always room for improvement (12 percent); and college should be free for everyone/equal access for all (12 percent).¹

Compared with last year’s survey, slightly more Americans believe that everyone has a decent chance of getting into a good college (47 percent versus 41 percent in 2017). Fewer (but still a majority) believe that most students will see a return on investment (72 percent versus 79 percent in 2017).

Americans feel mixed on exactly what is more valuable during a student’s time enrolled in higher education: the education received inside the classroom or the experiences received outside the classroom. Nearly half (47 percent) say it is the experiences outside the classroom, with 35 percent saying it is the education received in the classroom. Sixteen percent say it is both.²

Regardless of party, only about one in four believes higher education is fine the way it is. The top three reasons Democrats believe higher education is not fine the way it is because it is too expensive and hard to access (42 percent); it should be free/equal access for all (13 percent); and there is always room for improvement (12 percent). For Republicans, the top three reasons are: it is too expensive and hard to access (33 percent); there is always room for improvement (12 percent); and professors and instructors are not doing their jobs or educating students (11 percent).

About half of polled Republicans (54 percent) believe that everyone has a decent chance of getting into a good college compared with only 41 percent of Democrats who believe this to be the case. Democrats are more likely to believe that most who enroll in higher education will see a return on investment, but two-thirds of Republicans also believe this to be the case (76 percent of Democrats versus 68 percent of Republicans).

Half of Republicans (51 percent) are more likely to believe experiences outside the classroom are more important than the education received inside the classroom compared with Democrats (45 percent).

By Educational Attainment

A significant share of respondents with graduate degrees volunteers that experience outside the classroom and the education received in the classroom are equally important (25 percent).

Respondents at all other levels of educational attainment say they value the experiential component of higher education more than the in-class component.

By Generation

Among all generations, Millennials are the least likely to think that higher education is fine the way it is. Only 19 percent of Millennials are fine with the current state of higher education, followed by Generation Z (22 percent) and Generation X (24 percent). The Silent Generation and Boomers, on the other hand, seem to have a slightly more positive view of higher education but still little agreement that the current system is fine the way it is (34 percent and 28 percent agree, respectively).

Older and younger generations are divergent in their opinions of the experiential and in-class components of higher education. The older the generation, the more likely respondents are to value the education received in the classroom. Only 27 percent of Generation Z agree that education received in the classroom is more important than the experience outside classroom, whereas 47 percent of the Silent Generation believe so. On the other hand, the younger the generation, the more likely respondents are to say they value experience outside classroom. Around 30 percent of the Silent Generation think the experience outside the classroom is more important than within, and that share increases consistently with each younger generation; approximately three in five (61 percent) of Generation Z respondents agree that experience outside the classroom is more important.