PPI - Radically Pragmatic
  • Donate
Skip to content
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
    • Locations
    • Careers
  • People
  • Projects
  • Our Work
  • Events
  • Donate

Our Work

Manno for American Compass: Addressing the College Credibility Crisis

  • November 21, 2024
  • Bruno Manno

Skepticism about higher education has reached a fever pitch in the United States, to the point that ‘College is a scam’ is a popular meme on TikTok and YouTube,” writes Nicole LaPorte in Town & Country.

This fever pitch reflects the fact that many Americans, including young people and employers, no longer believe a college degree is the best pathway to a good job and adult success. A Wall Street Journal/NORC survey found that more than half of Americans (56%) believe a college degree is not worth the cost. Such views are strongest among those aged 18-to-34, as well as college graduates themselves.

Americans want other education and training pathways to prepare young people for the world beyond high school. One important—and underappreciated—avenue is apprenticeships, which typically integrate paid, on-the-job training with formal classroom instruction, a learn-and-earn approach that provides both school and workplace experience. As National Apprenticeship Week, a celebration of the value and importance of these types of opportunities, draws to a close, policymakers and other education and training stakeholders should re-double efforts to expand this approach.

Read more in American Compass

Related Work

Op-Ed  |  July 8, 2025

Manno for The 74: Survey Finds Teens Worldwide Are Lost in the Transition After High School

  • Bruno Manno
Op-Ed  |  June 30, 2025

Manno for Forbes: Civic Education As We Look To Our Nation’s 250th Anniversary

  • Bruno Manno
Op-Ed  |  June 18, 2025

Osborne for The 74: Red States’ School Vouchers Mark Biggest Shift in U.S. Education in a Century

  • David Osborne
Op-Ed  |  June 16, 2025

Manno for Forbes: Are Micro-Credentials Democratizing K-12 Credentialing?

  • Bruno Manno
Publication  |  June 12, 2025

The Apprenticeship Degree: Promoting Upward Mobility and Addressing Labor Shortages

  • Deanna Ross Bruno Manno
In the News  |  June 12, 2025

Kahlenberg in The Assembly: One Critic of Race-Based Admissions Says Colleges Can Still Improve Diversity

  • Richard D. Kahlenberg
  • Never miss an update:

  • Subscribe to our newsletter
PPI Logo
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Donate
  • Careers
  • © 2025 Progressive Policy Institute. All Rights Reserved.
  • |
  • Privacy Policy
  • |
  • Privacy Settings