|
« AAUP Homepage
|
Higher Education Works Well, Americans Say
Seventy-two percent of adults think that higher education in America works well or needs only minor changes, according to a May 2003 survey commissioned by the Educational Testing Service. Adults, college and university students, faculty members, and business leaders were questioned about the quality and affordability of higher education and access to it. Satisfaction levels were highest among college students, 80 percent of whom, when asked to grade the education system, gave colleges and universities nationwide an "A" or a "B." The same grades were also given by a majority of faculty (79 percent), business leaders (72 percent), and adults in general (56 percent).
Most criticisms of higher education had to do with access and cost rather than quality. A majority of survey respondents said that the nation's K-12 system does not adequately prepare students for college and that the education system does not offer young people from all backgrounds a chance for higher education. Adults, college students, and faculty agreed that "rising tuition (and other costs)" is the single largest problem facing higher education; 72 percent favored increasing tax credits for families sending children to college, even if that meant an increase in taxes, and 74 percent favored federally mandated limits on college tuition increases.
On some issues, the views of faculty diverged significantly from public opinion. Sixty-seven percent of the faculty members said that the federal government should play a significant role in helping families afford college, while only 38 percent of the public thought so. Sixty-four percent of college students and 65 percent of faculty said that colleges and universities were already held accountable enough, while only 46 percent of the public agreed.
|