In the new survey, majorities across all major demographic groups share the view that the U.S. higher education system is going in the wrong direction. But some groups are more likely than others to say this. For example, adults who have a four-year college degree are somewhat more likely than those without a college degree to express this view (74% vs. 69%). A line chart showing that views of higher education have turned more negative in both parties. Similarly, 77% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say the higher education system is going in the wrong direction, compared with a smaller majority (65%) of Democrats and Democratic leaners. In both parties, these shares have gone up by at least 10 percentage points since 2020 – and the gap between Republicans and Democrats has narrowed.
