US confidence in higher education declines significantly.

American confidence in higher education has experienced a significant decline over the past decade. According to a recent Gallup poll, only 36 percent of U.S. adults reported having “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, compared to 48 percent in 2018 and 57 percent in 2015.

Surprisingly, 22 percent of respondents expressed “very little” confidence in higher education, making it the second-largest group. This represents a notable shift from previous years, where those reporting “very little” confidence were the smallest share of responses.

The majority of respondents stated that they have “some” confidence in higher education.

Confidence levels have dropped across the board, except for Democrats and individuals with postgraduate degrees, who still maintain confidence at 50 percent or higher.

However, only 19 percent of Republicans expressed confidence in higher education, marking a significant decline of 20 points since 2018.

This shift in public opinion can be attributed to several recent high-profile incidents involving left-wing campus activists silencing conservative speakers.

For instance, in March, student protesters at Stanford Law School disrupted a Federalist Society event where Judge Kyle Duncan was speaking, accusing him of animosity towards African Americans and transgender people. Similarly, in 2022, over 100 students at Yale Law School disrupted a panel on civil liberties featuring conservative lawyer Kristen Waggoner, prompting campus police to ensure the safety of the speakers. Yale even went as far as barring the Free Beacon, a news outlet, from covering a subsequent free speech event with Waggoner.