The real reason why people are losing trust in universities | Opinion

In recent months, the national conversation surrounding the "crisis" in higher education has reached a fever pitch. From legislative chambers to dinner tables, the narrative is the same: Colleges and universities are losing their way, and by extension, the American public is losing its trust in the value of a degree.

The recent and widely discussed Yale report on the loss of public trust in higher education offers a sophisticated reflection on this phenomenon, detailing the internal and external pressures that have fractured the perceived stability of our most storied institutions.

The Yale report is impressive, and the points regarding academic freedom and institutional governance are deeply insightful. Self-examination is a critical part of education and pointing the way forward. Nevertheless, the study ‒ and the broader national discourse it represents ‒ suffers from a significant case of tunnel vision. By centering the debate on the selective few, we are effectively ignoring the heart of the trust problem, which is rooted less in ideology and more in practical considerations than we’re being led to believe.

The crisis of confidence in American higher education is not only driven by the estimated 5% of students attending elite, highly selective colleges. It is being driven by the reality of the other 95%.

Focus less on the most selective universities and colleges

Political and media attention on higher education too often focuses on a critique of the most selective institutions with large endowments. But these schools are attended by a tiny minority of all college students; the vast majority of Americans who pursue post-secondary education attend the more than 2,000 less selective or open-access institutions across the country.

While these more accessible colleges could be engines of social mobility, they are profoundly underfunded and, as a result, underperforming. This is where the loss of trust is grounded, and for good reason.

The data tells a sobering story. Many of these open-access institutions, often starved of the state and federal funding that once made them affordable, carry an effective sticker price that rivals elite private colleges and with little financial aid available. Their ability to provide aid pales in comparison with the institutions with large endowments, such as Harvard, which reported that 45% of its freshman class is attending tuition-free.

However, the tuition cost is only half of the equation. The real tragedy lies in completion rates.

Nationwide, we see an alarming trend where many institutions frequently graduate fewer than half of the students who walk through their doors. We have created a system where millions of Americans are sold the dream of higher education, only to be left with the nightmare of life-altering debt and no credential to show for it.

If a student leaves a university with high debt but no degree ‒ and with job prospects no better than if they had never enrolled ‒ the social contract of higher education has been fundamentally breached.

When this happens at scale, as it currently does, the resulting cynicism is not primarily a political reaction to campus culture wars; it is a rational response to the disparity in educational experience that we accept as a given.

The mission of higher education is its promise of a better life

The Yale study reflects on intellectual mission of the university, but for the majority of Americans, the mission of university education is its promise of a better life. When we neglect to highlight the systemic struggles of the colleges that serve the bulk of the college-bound population, we are missing the mark.

To restore trust in our sector, we would do well to shift our gaze. Moving beyond the narrow preoccupations of the Ivy League and most elite colleges can help us refocus and tackle the structural inequities of the broader industry.

This requires a reinvestment in public higher education to ensure that every student, regardless of the selectivity of their institution, can thrive.

What if we renewed our state and federal investment in higher education?

What if public revenue and revenue garnered from the newly increased university endowment tax were transferred to the underfunded institutions that serve low- and middle-income students from all parts of the United States – and made them, like Vassar, able to fully meet students' financial need so they would be able to attend regardless of their ability to pay? 

Such transfers could be transformational for students at recipient institutions, resulting in higher graduation rates, better jobs and less individual debt burden.

The disparity in graduation rates across colleges in the United States is shocking, with the bottom quarter averaging a 38% graduation rate and the top 10% averaging 80%.

We should look to schools that are defying the odds and delivering better-than-expected outcomes for answers. Research provides insights into what these schools are doing right. Surprisingly, it’s more about institutional culture than student-focused initiatives. These institutions exhibit features like organizational ambidexterity and a shared sense of purpose. They ensure their faculty and staff know their voices are valued. And they manage setbacks effectively.

The real story of higher education is not just what’s happening in the most selective colleges and universities ‒ but what’s happening in the public state schools and open-access private institutions where the American middle class is struggling to find its footing.

If we want to fix the trust problem, we have to expand the discussion beyond the elite 5% and start solving the problems facing the 95%. Only then can we move from a critique of the few to a restoration of the whole. The “haves” of higher ed will be just fine. A stronger future for our entire sector will require us to work collaboratively to help struggling universities meet their mission.

Elizabeth Bradley is the president of Vassar College.