According to a new Gallup poll, a record 35% of Americans believe college education is “very important.” Posted on Thursday.
This marks the first time in a 2010 survey (at the time when 75% responded), less than half of adults believed that college education was crucial.
Among those responding to the latest polls, another 35% of colleges described colleges as “quite important”, while 24% “less important.”
Gallup analysts cut down on traditional pro-school demographic attitudes to a steady decline in sentiment for 15 years.
“Traditionally, people of color, people of color, college graduates and Democrats are more likely to place higher education than their peers,” Gallup director of social research Lydia Saad wrote in a summary of the findings. “But, even in these pro-college groups, less than half now say college is important.”
The polling company found that the share of people who view universities as “less important” doubled from 13% in 2019, and it was the last time it surveyed the issue. In 2010, only 4% of respondents agreed.
Ms. THAAD notes that perceptions of the value of college education fall between self-identified Democrats and Republicans, requiring a broader interpretation rather than dislike of campus politics and doctrine.
She added: “Although the new survey did not directly explore the reasons, the high costs of universities, recent benefits to trade schools, the growth of online learning and micro-records, and the potential for labor market changes brought about by recent advances in AI.”
Gallup conducted a random national telephone survey of 1,094 adults from August 1 to 20. At 95% confidence, the magnitude of error is positive or minus 4 percentage points.
