Trust in higher education has fallen sharply among adults responding to Gallup polling as inflation jacks up costs.

Just 36% of respondents to the latest survey said they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the nation’s system of colleges and universities, the polling company said Tuesday. That’s down from 48% in 2018 and 57% in 2015, the last two times Gallup surveyed the issue.

Sixty-two percent said they have “some” or “very little” trust, up from 49% in 2018 and 42% in 2015.

“While Gallup did not probe for reasons behind the recent drop in confidence, the rising costs of postsecondary education likely play a significant role,” the company said.

According to the poll, 59% of Democrats expressed trust in higher ed, the only demographic group with majority approval. Just 36% of independents said they have faith in higher education.

Approval among Republican respondents fell by 20 points from 39% in 2018 to 19% this year, the lowest level of any group. Adults without a college degree and those ages 55 and older saw similar drops.

“Previous Gallup polling found that Democrats expressed concern about the costs, while Republicans registered concern about politics in higher education,” the company noted.

Gallup conducted a randomized national telephone survey of 1,013 adults from June 1-22. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.