We don't trust higher education anymore. That's not a surprise. |
A new report from Yale University sheds light on declining public trust in higher education – and the responsibility universities must take for what’s happened.
That’s a start. And the report holds lessons far beyond the Yale campus.
In recent years, it’s become impossible to ignore the antisemitism, lack of free speech and ideological conformity at many of our leading educational institutions.
Throw in the fact that inflation-adjusted tuition has roughly doubled at four-year public and private schools in the past 30 years, and it’s easy to see why more Americans are second-guessing whether heading off to college is the sound investment it once seemed.
The Yale report, released April 10, is the result of a year-long effort by a committee of 10 professors to examine this decline in trust and offer some solutions. The report was commissioned by Yale President Maurie McInnis last April.
“Trust is earned by doing what you say you’re going to do – and, ideally, doing it well,” the committee wrote.
Apparently, universities haven't delivered.
Trust in higher ed has plummeted in the past decade. Why?
The report cites a Gallup poll that shows just how sharply trust in higher ed has fallen in the past 10 years.
In 2024, confidence in these institutions had dropped to a record low of 36% – down from 57% a decade........