New results from a Wednesday Lumina Foundation-Gallup education survey shows confidence in higher education has gone up for the first time in a decade during a turbulent time for the sector.
Public confidence has spiked to 42 percent in higher education institutions, up from 36 percent in 2024 and 2023. Confidence levels have been on the decline since it was recorded at 57 percent in 2015.
Those with little to no confidence in higher education went from 32 percent last year to 23 percent in 2025. Confidence among Black and Hispanic individuals is above the national average at 49 percent and 50 percent.
Both Democrats and Independents are much more confident in higher education than Republicans. Sixty-six percent of Democrats are confident in higher education, 40 percent of independents express confidence in higher education, and only 26 percent of Republicans express confidence in higher education.
Republican politicians have long criticized academic institutions for liberal bias, as have conservatives in the media. Such criticisms grew amid pro-Palestinian protests at many universities across the country.
“Broadly speaking, Americans who are confident in higher education cite the benefits of knowledge for young people, the training it provides, the quality of U.S. higher education and the opportunities it provides to graduates,” Gallup wrote.
“Most people who are not confident in higher education mention political stances or agendas, colleges not preparing students well for the workforce, and the cost of college as reasons for their view,” it added.
The uptick comes as higher education has been pummeled by the Trump administration, with dozens of investigation and billions of dollars collectively taken from institutions such as Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania.
The Trump administration has shown it will not stop until ordered by a court or a university concedes to all its demands such as changes to disciplinary policies and reforms to the hiring and admissions processes.
