View in EDS

Varying Degrees 2025: Americans Find Common Ground in Higher Education. New America's Ninth Annual Survey on Higher Education

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Varying Degrees 2025: Americans Find Common Ground in Higher Education. New America's Ninth Annual Survey on Higher Education
Language: English
Authors: Sophie Nguyen, Olivia Cheche, Olivia Sawyer, New America
Source: New America. 2025.
Availability: New America. 740 15th Street NW Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-986-2700; Fax: 202-986-3696; Web site: https://www.newamerica.org
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 43
Publication Date: 2025
Sponsoring Agency: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Intended Audience: Policymakers; Researchers
Document Type: Reports - Research
Numerical/Quantitative Data
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Higher Education, Educational Trends, Educational Attitudes, Educational Change, Educational Policy, Educational Principles, Educational Quality, Paying for College, Student Costs, Educational Equity (Finance), Access to Education, Politics of Education, Educational Finance, Political Attitudes, Political Issues, Accountability, National Surveys, Public Opinion, Role of Education, Educational Objectives
Abstract: "Varying Degrees," New America's annual survey about Americans' perceptions of higher education, surveyed more than 1,600 adults to find that even when it seems politicians can't agree on higher education policy, Americans across the board are much less divided. Democrats and Republicans nationwide largely agree about the core value and purpose of higher education. The most partisan divergence relates to who should fund higher education. However, despite believing that students should be the ones responsible for bearing the cost of college, a majority of Republicans still support more federal and state investment into making college more affordable--aligning themselves with Democrats. Now in its ninth year, the survey continues to track public opinion on issues like value, funding, and accountability. It also introduces new questions to explore Americans' views on confidence in higher education and college quality, and whether they think colleges and universities are fulfilling their roles. These timely insights get at the core of the public and political frustration with higher education and offer a clearer picture of what Americans believe higher education is--and what it should do. Given New America's deep policy expertise, the authors believe that Varying Degrees will help inform policymakers, researchers, and advocates about how Americans feel about critical higher education issues. This year's report focuses on understanding where Democrats' and Republicans' views converge or differ and find more similarities than differences between the two groups. This report explores the 2025 survey results in detail, focusing on public perceptions of value and funding in higher education. For the first time, the report also dives into the rich year-over-year data that "Varying Degrees" has collected for the past nine years, revealing how Americans' views on these issues have evolved over the last decade.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: ED676717
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED676717
    Name: ERIC Full Text
    Category: fullText
    Text: Full Text from ERIC
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: ED676717
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Report
PubTypeId: report
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Varying Degrees 2025: Americans Find Common Ground in Higher Education. New America's Ninth Annual Survey on Higher Education
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sophie+Nguyen%22">Sophie Nguyen</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Olivia+Cheche%22">Olivia Cheche</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Olivia+Sawyer%22">Olivia Sawyer</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22New+America%22">New America</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22New+America%22"><i>New America</i></searchLink>. 2025.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: New America. 740 15th Street NW Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-986-2700; Fax: 202-986-3696; Web site: https://www.newamerica.org
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: N
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 43
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: SourceSuprt
  Label: Sponsoring Agency
  Group: SrcSuprt
  Data: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
– Name: Audience
  Label: Intended Audience
  Group: Audnce
  Data: Policymakers; Researchers
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Reports - Research<br />Numerical/Quantitative Data
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Trends%22">Educational Trends</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Attitudes%22">Educational Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Change%22">Educational Change</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Policy%22">Educational Policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Principles%22">Educational Principles</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Quality%22">Educational Quality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Paying+for+College%22">Paying for College</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Costs%22">Student Costs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Equity+%28Finance%29%22">Educational Equity (Finance)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Access+to+Education%22">Access to Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Politics+of+Education%22">Politics of Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Finance%22">Educational Finance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Political+Attitudes%22">Political Attitudes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Political+Issues%22">Political Issues</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Accountability%22">Accountability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22National+Surveys%22">National Surveys</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+Opinion%22">Public Opinion</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Role+of+Education%22">Role of Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Objectives%22">Educational Objectives</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: "Varying Degrees," New America's annual survey about Americans' perceptions of higher education, surveyed more than 1,600 adults to find that even when it seems politicians can't agree on higher education policy, Americans across the board are much less divided. Democrats and Republicans nationwide largely agree about the core value and purpose of higher education. The most partisan divergence relates to who should fund higher education. However, despite believing that students should be the ones responsible for bearing the cost of college, a majority of Republicans still support more federal and state investment into making college more affordable--aligning themselves with Democrats. Now in its ninth year, the survey continues to track public opinion on issues like value, funding, and accountability. It also introduces new questions to explore Americans' views on confidence in higher education and college quality, and whether they think colleges and universities are fulfilling their roles. These timely insights get at the core of the public and political frustration with higher education and offer a clearer picture of what Americans believe higher education is--and what it should do. Given New America's deep policy expertise, the authors believe that Varying Degrees will help inform policymakers, researchers, and advocates about how Americans feel about critical higher education issues. This year's report focuses on understanding where Democrats' and Republicans' views converge or differ and find more similarities than differences between the two groups. This report explores the 2025 survey results in detail, focusing on public perceptions of value and funding in higher education. For the first time, the report also dives into the rich year-over-year data that "Varying Degrees" has collected for the past nine years, revealing how Americans' views on these issues have evolved over the last decade.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: ERIC
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: ED676717
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED676717
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 43
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Higher Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Trends
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Change
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Policy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Principles
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Quality
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Paying for College
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Costs
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Equity (Finance)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Access to Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Politics of Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Finance
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Political Attitudes
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Political Issues
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Accountability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: National Surveys
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Public Opinion
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Role of Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Objectives
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Varying Degrees 2025: Americans Find Common Ground in Higher Education. New America's Ninth Annual Survey on Higher Education
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: New America
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sophie Nguyen
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Olivia Cheche
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Olivia Sawyer
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: New America
              Type: main
ResultId 1