Most Americans believe colleges are not doing enough to prepare students for workforce

Many Americans believe colleges in the U.S. are not doing a good enough job of preparing students for the workforce and think college has become unaffordable, according to a new Gallup survey released Wednesday.

Just 7% of U.S. adults believe four-year colleges do an “excellent” job preparing students to enter the workforce, while 33% think they do a good job, according to the latest Lumina Foundation-Gallup Confidence in Higher Education survey. By comparison, 38% of respondents think four-year colleges do a “fair” job preparing students for the workforce and 29% say the institutions do a “poor job” at it.

At the same time, only 13% of those surveyed say U.S. four-year colleges and universities do an “excellent” job at providing a quality education, compared to 48% who think they do a “good” job. The survey suggests that 27% believe these colleges and universities were doing a “fair” job at giving students high-quality education, while 11% think they are doing a “poor” job.

Only 12% of U.S. adults say four-year colleges and universities are doing an “excellent” (4%) or “good” job (8%) of giving students an affordable education, according to the poll. Meanwhile, 63% of respondents think that four-year colleges and universities were doing a “poor” job, the survey shows.

A separate Gallup survey published in July 2024 found that many Americans possess little to no confidence in higher education.

The estimated cost of college in the U.S. is currently $38,270 per student yearly on average, including books, school supplies, and basic living expenses, according to the Education Data Initiative. The average cost of attending college has notably more than doubled during the 21st century, per the Education Data Initiative’s estimates.

George Washington University projected in late March that its returning students will pay nearly $100,000 in total costs during the 2026-2027 academic year.

The survey’s results are based on telephone interviews conducted by ReconMR June 1-15, among a random sample of 1,001 U.S. adults. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the poll’s margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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