Americans lose confidence in US academic institutions across groups

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Jul 2023 17:08

There is a clear downward trend regarding Americans having confidence in US academic institutions even among postgraduates.

Students walk through Harvard Yard, April 27, 2022, on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US. (AP)

Confidence in higher education drops across all major demographic groups in the US according to a Gallup poll out Tuesday.

As the overall trust in US institutions dropped, about 36% of Americans said that continued to have confidence in academic institutions. The number dropped from 48% in 2018 and 7% in 2015 showing a clear downward trend.

The poll was conducted between June 1 and 22 and concluded that the downward trend continues, especially with Republicans whose confidence in the academic institutions, this year, dropped by 19% to become 32% overall.

In turn, Democrats' confidence dropped to 59% after it was 62% in 2018. However, Democrats, according to Megan Brenan, one of the research consultants for Gallup, are "the only key subgroup with majority-level confidence in higher education."

It is significant to note that despite the general decline in confidence, the reason has varied among the two groups. On the one end, Republicans noted concern regarding politics within academic institutions while Democrats were concerned about the increasing costs of higher education.

As for subgroups, both men and women's confidence in higher education dropped. Similarly, only half of the people with postgraduate degrees have also expressed confidence in higher education.

Among 17 institutions, higher education ranked fourth in confidence, according to Gallup. Small businesses, the military, and the police occupied the top three rankings, with Gallup reporting that overall, Americans had historically low trust in government institutions.