New research from Lumina Foundation and Gallup shows a startling difference between what the public thinks about higher education and what students and graduates say.
In general, while public confidence in higher education has steadily dropped over the past decade — led by concerns about costs, politicization and workforce outcomes — students and alumni report strong academic quality, career preparation and value for their degrees, according to findings based on survey responses from nearly 4,000 associate and bachelor’s degree students and 6,000 college graduates.
The Lumina-Gallup report shows a continued decline in public confidence in higher education — dropping from 57% in 2015, to 42% in 2025, which is a slight rebound from 36% in 2024. Yet 93% of current associate-degree and baccalaureate students say they are at least somewhat confident their degree is teaching them career-relevant skills, and 88% believe it will help them secure a job after graduation.
“Even as public skepticism grows, experience tells us a different story,” Courtney Brown, Lumina’s vice president of impact and planning, said in a release. “They are building real skills, expanding their opportunities and finding campuses where dialogue and belonging matter. The gap between perception and lived reality raises important questions for leaders and policymakers.”
Breaking it down
The survey touched on a range of issues, from concerns about politics on campuses and in classrooms, to views about belonging, degrees and the value of college. While students and graduates indicated support for their institutions, there are some differences between sectors of higher education.
When asked if the investment they were making in college was worthwhile, 93% of current bachelor’s-degree students and 89% of associate-degree students responded that it was. The difference was a little larger when asked how current students rate the quality of their education. Bachelor’s-degree students were nine points more likely than associate-degree students to say the quality of their education is at least very good (73% compared to 64%).
The separation was a little larger among graduates’ opinions. For example, three-quarters of graduates reported their degrees were important to achieving their career goals. However, the rate was higher among bachelor’s-degree holders (80%) than among associate-degree holders (56%). Among graduates who earned their baccalaureates within the past 10 years, 80% said they landed a good job within a year of graduation, including 42% who said a good job was waiting for them as soon as they graduated. For associate-degree grads, 62% had a good job within a year, and 30% obtained that job right after graduation.
Shining value
Where two-year colleges continue to shine is in their value: 93% of students believe a degree from a community college is “very” or “somewhat” affordable, compared to 51% of flagship public four-year colleges and 64% of non-flagship public four-year colleges (see graph, below).
More than half (53%) of students said community colleges charge fair prices, with 25% saying they do not. That’s almost the reverse for four-year institutions: 25% said their prices are fair, with 57% saying they are not.
