Confidence in higher education has risen for the first time in 10 years of Gallup polling, driven by changing attitudes among Republicans as the Trump administration reshapes the system.
The polling company reported Wednesday that 42% of adults responding to a recent survey expressed a great deal or a lot of confidence. That’s up from a recent low of 36% in 2023 and 2024 and reverses a gradual decline since 2015.
“Most of the decline in higher education confidence over the past decade had occurred among Republicans,” Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup’s senior editor, wrote in a summary of the findings.
Meanwhile, the share of adults expressing little or no confidence dropped from 32% to 23% over the same period. An additional 33% expressed some confidence, up slightly from 32% in 2024.
The results come as the Trump administration moves to end federal subsidies for pricey humanities degrees linked to low-paying careers and redirect funds to shorter workforce education programs.
Gallup administered the survey in the weeks before President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill on July Fourth. The new law includes an accountability provision ending federal student loans for degree programs that can’t show their alumni earn more than the average high school graduate.
The Education Department has also simplified the options for repaying student loans in recent months, ending a Biden administration plan to forgive billions of dollars in higher education debt.
“For families without adequate savings that normally rely on some level of borrowing to pay the bills, these changes could mean their children may have to forgo a traditional four-year degree, limiting their economic mobility in the long run,” said Jonathan Sparling, a director at CollegeWell, an organization created by private colleges to help families develop college savings plans.
Gallup reported Wednesday that while faith in higher education rose among all demographics and political affiliations, the biggest increase occurred among self-described Republicans who endorsed two-year community colleges.
Overall, 56% of survey respondents expressed faith in two-year campuses, including an increase among GOP participants from 36% last year to 48% in 2025. By comparison, 44% of all participants expressed confidence in four-year colleges.
“Party gaps in confidence in two-year colleges are smaller than the gaps for four-year institutions because Republicans and independents are significantly more confident in two-year than four-year colleges,” Mr. Jones wrote.
At the same time, Democrats continued a longstanding trend of greater confidence in four-year institutions, with 66% voicing a great deal or a lot of it. By comparison, 40% of independents and just 26% of Republicans had faith in four-year campuses.
“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,” Mr. Jones added.
Critics have insisted it’s no coincidence that professors in threatened English, fine arts, language and other programs teach LGBTQ and diversity, equity and inclusion material that conservatives want banned from campuses.
Jessica Bartnick, who started the Foundation for C.H.O.I.C.E. to help at-risk children apply for college in North Texas, said colleges are still adjusting to the Trump administration’s emphasis on tying government funds to graduate success.
“True educational reform doesn’t come from government handouts with strings attached,” Ms. Bartnick said. “It comes from restoring integrity to teaching, returning accountability to taxpayers, and protecting the independence of alternative education models from government overreach.”
Gallup conducted the randomized national telephone survey of 1,402 adults from June 2-26. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.