Dive brief:

• A new nationally representative survey of 3,117 adults out of Teachers College, Columbia University finds that overwhelmingly (76%) of Americans say public spending on higher education is a good or excellent investment.
• These results broke down by identity factors, with women being more likely (48%) than men (39%) to say public spending on higher education is good, while adults under the age of 44 (48%)standing more in favor of spending on higher education than those over the age of 50 (40%). Along political and geographic lines, liberals (56%) and those living in urban communities (52%) were more in favor of higher education spending than conservatives (32%) and those living in rural communities (32%).
• Survey writers explain these perceptions play a role in policy outcomes for higher education resources at the governmental level, noting around 61% of respondents say that increasing federal support for post-secondary education is favorable, with specifically 52% wanting an increase in funding for community colleges.

Dive Insight:

With regard to the way higher education helps society and individuals, the survey found that about 83% of respondents thought it contributed to scientific advances, while about three quarters believe it contributes to a graduate’s personal wealth and success or personal enrichment – or to national prosperity.

The data follows numerous public comments, particularly from conservative groups, questioning the value of higher education broadly, with administrators like Drew Faust, former president of Harvard, noting that skepticism may be the industry’s greatest challenge. Results from the survey, however, demonstrate that the rhetoric around the industry may not be reflective of how consumers actually feel.

For instance, in a New York Times commentary, Ellen Ruppel Shell, a professor of journalism at Boston University points toward rising student debt as one of the factors affecting public perception around higher education’s value, writing that as of last summer college debt had reached $1.3 trillion. The numbers, she said, are contributing to more questions about whether the amount students were paying for college is worth it. The Brookings Institution also reported that disadvantaged students too often spend resources on courses and don’t graduate or else get credentials without market value, making their attendance less worthwhile.

To get ahead of these factors, administrators like Paul LeBlanc, president of Southern New Hampshire University, note it’s critical that leaders share the mission and story of what getting an education means. Otherwise, the business of higher education, which is to provide hope for change, gets lost.

“Our future hinges on whether we have ambitious, socially connected, networked, savvy kids who have hope or who are hopeless. Because, it’s in their hopelessness that breeds the roots of civil discontent and discord that we see in so many parts of the world. When we give them education and tools to better their lives, we are in the business of hope and we are in the business of making the future better,” said LeBlanc during the 2018 American Council on Education annual meeting.

He added, “higher education is the engine of social mobility and the engine of social justice. And, that’s what we do everyday collectively.”