Public confidence in American higher education’s value has fallen sharply over the past decade. Yet the message from college students and graduates is different: Most say that their college experience is positive and worth it.
This gap between the American public and students’ experience reveals a college value disconnect highlighted in a new Lumina Foundation and Gallup report, The College Reality Check, based on responses from about 4,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduates.
Let’s start with the public mood.
Gallup’s long-running higher education confidence measure shows a steep slide from 2015, when 57% of U.S. adults said they had “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in colleges and universities, to 36% in 2024. Even with a modest 2025 rebound to about 42%, confidence remains well below the 2015 level.
