The hits just keep on coming for college and university leaders. Hot on the heels of the game-changing decision by the US Supreme Court to end race-based affirmative action in admissions, a new Gallup poll reveals that public confidence in higher education in America has dropped to its lowest point ever.
With just 36% indicating “a great deal” or “quite a lot”, public confidence in higher education has fallen steadily over the last eight years – down from 48% in 2019 and 57% in 2015. As the study notes, the decline mirrors a widespread drop-off in public confidence in other institutions. On the upside, higher education does still rank among the top four noted in the survey (small business is first). But the precipitous fall in public confidence in higher education cannot be ignored and college and university leaders should act now to reverse this trend. American higher education is a leader in world-changing innovation, creating new knowledge, and serving as a springboard for upward mobility. A loss of public confidence, though, threatens our collective ability to serve students and public interests over the long term. In response, colleges and universities need to be intentional about introducing new approaches to change both the perception and the reality of our relationship with our communities and the nation. With that in mind, here are a few ideas higher education leaders might consider for regaining public confidence.
1. Help fix K-12 education.
Last month the New York Times reported that test scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) were the lowest they have been in more than a generation – and the decline predates the COVID-19 pandemic. K-12 education is failing in important ways and needs new ideas, new approaches, and new resources. Higher education can help with all of these. College and universities need to be both at the forefront of the national conversation about fixing K-12 education and directly engaged with K-12 schools in their local communities. The knowledge and expertise higher ed can bring to addressing the challenges facing K-12 is invaluable. And the act of being part of the solution to a problem of immense local and national significance helps to foster goodwill.
2. Expand involvement in partnerships that serve public interests.
Collaborative relationships between higher education and private entities that address problems facing communities benefit all parties. The National Partnership for Student Success launched earlier this year by Department of Education, Americorps, and Johns Hopkins University offers support for colleges to partner with schools, non-profits, and other entities to help address K-12 student needs. Additionally, post-secondary institutions should be exploring even more opportunities to partner with other private entities (corporate, non-profit, and governmental) to address other pressing community needs like housing, access to medical and mental health care, and expanding sustainable practices and use of renewable energy.
3. Highlight the link between higher education and core national values.
Despite the extreme political polarization of the current moment, an AP/NORC poll released in January revealed that effectively 90% of both Republicans and Democrats support several core values including “Respect and Compassion,” “Personal Accountability,” “Knowledge of the Past Informs Progress,” “Representative Government,” “Accountable Government,” and “Rule of Law.” These values are universally shared across American higher education. But colleges tend to be passive in linking institutional values to their role in serving the public good. That’s a mistake. Education is essential to a free and just society, and at this moment when democracy is threatened in the United States colleges should be out front promoting and advancing core national values. Doing so is entirely consistent with higher education’s mission and makes clear that our institutions are committed to serving public interests.
4. Demystify selective college admissions.
The prevailing public belief is that admission to selective colleges is an objective process driven almost entirely by quantifiable measures like grades and test scores. It’s not. While the students who are admitted to selective colleges with few exceptions have high grades and test scores, the holistic approach to admissions is almost entirely subjective. Undergraduate education at top US colleges is an immersive experience designed to educate the whole person in which the core academic endeavor is enriched and enhanced by social, co-curricular, and residential activities. For our colleges to achieve their expressed aims, breadth, balance, and diversity in the student body is not merely desirable, it is essential. And this sort of community cannot be achieved without paying careful attention to individual student qualities and attributes that go well beyond grades and test scores. We don’t need to apologize for the subjective nature of holistic admissions. We need to explain it better.
5. Increase access for qualified students.
Selective colleges are spending millions of dollars every year to attract more qualified applicants to reject. Harvard received 56,937 applications this year – and most were from students who are supremely qualified to succeed – but only 4% were admitted. Elite private universities and flagship public universities can and should commit to growing their programs and increasing enrollment. At small, residential colleges, increasing enrollments is a more challenging proposition, but it is not impossible. Many of the most selective colleges in the country radically increased their enrollments half a century ago to make room for more qualified students when they began admitting women. What was true then is just as true now – providing greater access to high achieving students at top institutions is not only possible, doing so will better serve students, enrich academic communities, and engender greater public confidence.
6. Promote public service.
Over the last two decades colleges have made significant investments in civic engagement and improving programs related to career preparation and post-graduation opportunities. While some of that work focuses on internships and careers in public service, most colleges can do a lot more to call attention to the many ways that students and alumni are engaged in public work and increase the opportunities for current students to do likewise.
I recognize that tossing out big splashy ideas is a lot easier than enacting them. New initiatives are complicated, costly, and time consuming – and there are plenty of compelling reasons not to pursue them. But doing nothing is not a viable option. The loss of public confidence poses a real threat to the credibility and long-term viability of our institutions. So, we must think creatively, work diligently, and take definitive action to engender public confidence and reaffirm the vital role we play in American society.