Matt Lamb of The College Fix says a new poll, conducted by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in May, shows "some" confidence in institutions of higher education, with few Americans reporting "a great deal" or "quite a lot of confidence" compared to a 2023 Gallup poll.
The drop was especially noted among Democrats, women, and young people aged 18-34.
"Colleges have put themselves in an unfortunate position, because they often adopt left-wing views and use their platform to promote things like abortion, LGBT issues," Lamb submits.
Unrest from the campus anti-Israel protests has also hurt higher education's reputation. Other possible factors cited by FIRE include bias against center-right beliefs, rising tuition costs, administrative bloat, and recent headlines over academic dishonesty.
Still, Lamb believes the situation can be turned around.
"Reset the expectations that colleges will be places where students will debate issues, where they will learn an actual skill," he suggests.
The goal of the college institutionally, the editor adds, should not be to push a political agenda.
