Last week, Gallup released its annual survey of American confidence in higher education, and the numbers are hard to read charitably. Just 38% of Americans now express a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in colleges and universities, down from 42% a year ago and from 57% when Gallup first asked the question in 2015. For the first time, the survey also asked about artificial intelligence. Nearly half of respondents, 46%, believe AI will make a college degree less valuable over the next five years. Only 20% believe the opposite.
But the same survey carries a second signal that deserves more attention. Among Americans who remain confident in higher education, the most common reason given is that college provides good training, and that response jumped from 24% to 33% in a single year, the largest increase Gallup has recorded on the question. The public has not given up on what colleges do. They are questioning whether colleges can do it at the pace the economy now moves.
This week, Virginia’s private colleges will open their campuses to prospective students and families for Virginia Private College Week to prove that we can do just that — move quickly enough to meet the moment…