Americans are increasingly skeptical about the value and cost of college, with most saying they feel the U.S. higher education system is headed in the “wrong direction,” according to a new poll.

Overall, only 36% of adults say they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, according to the report released Monday by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation. That confidence level has declined steadily from 57% in 2015.

Some of the same opinions have been reflected in declining enrollment as colleges contend with the effects of the student debt crisis, concerns about the high cost of tuition and political debates over how they teach about race and other topics.

Whether a college educations is required to achieve professional success is also up for debate, as only about 1 in 4 Americans say a bachelor’s degree is necessary to secure a well-paying job, according to a March survey from the Pew Research Center. 

Employment opportunities and earnings for young men without college degrees have improved in the last decade, reversing some of the economic damage that eroded the group’s fortunes starting in the 1970s. Young men with only a high school degree have seen a slight rebound in their earnings since 2014, Pew found. 

The median annual income for men 25- to 34-years-old without a college degree was $45,000 in 2023, a 15% increase from $39,300 in 2014 when adjusted for inflation, according to Pew’s analysis of Census data. 

Dimming belief in college

But the dimming view of whether college is worth the time and money extends across all demographics, including gender, age and political affiliation. Among Republicans, the number of respondents with high confidence in higher education has dropped 36 percentage points over the last decade — far more than it dropped for Democrats or independents.

“It’s so expensive, and I don’t think colleges are teaching people what they need to get a job,” said Randy Hill, 59, a registered Republican in Connecticut and a driver for a car service. His nephew plans to do a welding apprenticeship after graduating high school. “You graduate out of college, you’re up to eyeballs in debt, you can’t get a job, then you can’t pay it off. What’s the point?”

The Gallup-Lumina survey’s overall finding — that 36% of adults have strong confidence in higher education — is unchanged from the year before. But what concerns researchers is shifting opinion on the bottom end, with fewer Americans saying they have “some” confidence and more reporting “very little” and “none.” This year’s findings show almost as many people have little or no confidence, 32%, as those with high confidence.

Tuition too high

“The No. 1 deterrent for a student not to pursue a college degree is affordability — they simply think they can’t afford the cost of a higher education,” Michael Itzkowitz, founder of HEA Group, a research and consulting firm focused on college, told CBS MoneyWatch in May.

The schools with the best return on investment for low- and middle-income students include many of California’s state colleges, which tend to be lower-priced than nonprofit private universities, he noted. 

Experts say that fewer college graduates could worsen labor shortages in fields from health care to information technology. For those who forgo college, it often means lower lifetime earnings — 75% less compared with those who get bachelor’s degrees, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. And during an economic downturn, those without degrees are more likely to lose jobs.

“It is sad to see that confidence hasn’t grown at all,” said Courtney Brown, vice president at Lumina, an education nonprofit focused on increasing the numbers of students who seek education beyond high school. “What’s shocking to me is that the people who have low or no confidence is actually increasing.”

This year’s survey added new, detailed questions in an effort to understand why confidence is shrinking.

Almost one-third of respondents say college is “too expensive,” while 24% feel students are not being properly educated or taught what they need to succeed.

The survey did not specifically touch on the protests this year against the war in Gaza that divided many college campuses, but political views weighed heavily on the findings. Respondents voiced concerns about indoctrination, political bias and that colleges today are too liberal. Among the respondents who lack confidence, 41% cite political agendas as a reason.

Generally when people express confidence in higher education, they are thinking of four-year institutions, according to Gallup. But the survey found that more people have confidence in two-year institutions. Forty-nine percent of adults say they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in two-year programs, compared with 33% of Americans who feel that way about four-year colleges.

California college student Kristen Freeman understands why.

“It’s about saving money. That’s why I went to a two-year. It’s more bang for your buck,” said Freeman, 22, a sociology major at Diablo Valley Community College with plans to transfer to San Jose State University for the final two years of college.

Freeman understands the concerns about indoctrination and whether college prepares students for life and work but also feels the only way to change structural problems is from the inside. “I am learning about the world around me and developing useful skills in critical thinking,” Freeman said. “I think higher education can give students the spark to want to change the system.”

The Republican National Committee’s 2024 platform, approved by its platform committee and released Monday, is influenced heavily by presumptive presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump, and in a change from prior years, it backs the rights of states to make their own abortion laws.

The 2016 RNC platform mentioned the word “abortion” 35 times and backed a constitutional amendment to ban abortion: “[W]e assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed,” the RNC’s 2016 platform said. “We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment’s protections apply to children before birth.” 

The Republican Party did not release a platform in 2020. And the 2024 platform only mentions the word once. 

“We proudly stand for families and life,” the 2024 platform says. “We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied life or liberty without due process,” but it goes on to say, “the states are, therefore, free to pass laws protecting those rights.”

The platform has been initially approved by the RNC committee, but is expected to go to a full vote Tuesday and be officially approved the first day of the Republican National Convention next week. 

It also goes on to express opposition to late-term abortion and support for “policies that advance prenatal care, access to birth control, and IVF (fertility treatments).”

Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith and Freedom coalition, previously expressed concerns about removing abortion language, but he appeared to fall in line and back the GOP platform as released. 

“The Republican Party platform makes clear the unborn child has a right to life that is protected by the Constitution under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment,” Reed said in a statement. “That language has been in the GOP platform for 40 years and reflects the view of Ronald Reagan. While aspirational, it applies to both the states and the federal government. The proposed ban on late-term abortion also implies federal as well as state action. It is an unapologetically pro-life position, and we are grateful to President Trump and the Republican Party for standing for life.”

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-chair Lara Trump focused on the economy and the border in their statement on the platform. 

“Only President Trump can restore our economy, restore our southern border, and restore America’s standing in the world,” the two RNC leaders said in a joint statement. “His 2024 Republican Party Platform is a bold roadmap that will undo the devastating damage that Joe Biden’s far-left policies have done to this country, power President Trump to a historic victory in November, and Make America Great Again.”

The platform is titled, “2024 GOP Platform: Make America Great Again!” It bears clear signs of the former president’s influence, emphasizing enforcing border security and stopping the “migrant crime epidemic.” The platform includes a goal to carry out “the largest deportation operation in American history.”

The platform also proposes building a “great iron dome missile defense shield over our entire country.” 

Trump and his campaign have also adopted a new proposal in recent months — eliminating taxes on tips. Trump mentions it frequently at rallies, and it appears in the RNC 2024 platform, along with a promise to end inflation, which has been easing.

The GOP also states in the platform that there will be no cuts to Social Security or Medicare and no changes to the retirement age. It also says that the push for electric vehicles should be canceled and regulations should be cut. And it calls for “same day voting, voter identification, paper ballots, and proof of citizenship” as means to “secure our elections.”