After 40 years in higher ed, I know college still matters — and here's why
The past few years have been difficult for college and universities. Concerns about costs, results, retention, and campus conflict have damaged the prestige and standing of higher education. A recent Gallup Poll reported that only 36% of Americans expressed significant confidence in the value of a college degree.
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To be sure, cost and completion remain issues that have eroded public confidence. Frankly, higher ed has become a political football. The best thing colleges can do is talk persistently and clearly about being engines of social mobility, while acknowledging we can do better.