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Public confidence in American higher education鈥檚 value has fallen sharply over the past decade. Yet the message from college students and graduates is different: Most say that their college experience is positive and worth it.

This gap between the American public and students’ experience reveals a college value disconnect highlighted in a new Lumina Foundation and Gallup , The College Reality Check, based on responses from about 4,000 undergraduates and 6,000 graduates.

Let鈥檚 start with the public mood.

骋补濒濒耻辫鈥檚 higher education confidence measure shows a steep slide from 2015, when 57% of U.S. adults said they had 鈥渁 great deal鈥� or 鈥渜uite a lot鈥� of confidence in colleges and universities, to 36% in 2024. Even with a modest 2025 rebound to about 42%, confidence remains well below the 2015 level.

Yet, here鈥檚 what college students say about their day-to-day reality.

The Lumina鈥揋allup study reports that seven in 10 students say the quality of the education they receive is either 鈥渆xcellent鈥� or 鈥渧ery good,鈥� while 69% feel they belong on campus. Roughly nine in 10 students say their college degree is worth the investment.

Other findings reinforce this pattern. For example, 93% of current associate- and bachelor-degree students say they are at least 鈥渧ery confident鈥� or 鈥渃onfident鈥� that their degree is teaching them career-relevant skills. And 88% believe it will help them secure a job after graduation.

Here are four likely reasons that explain this disconnect.   

First, the surveys are asking two related but different questions: The public is answering questions about the system: Is college affordable? Is it politically biased? Is it worth the debt? Are taxpayers getting value for money?

But students are answering questions about their experience: Do professors know their material? Am I learning? Do I feel respected? Will this help me get a job?

Students can report that courses are strong, professors are committed and the campus is welcoming. But parents worry about the tuition bill. And voters question whether universities are accountable.

Cost and affordability bridge the disconnect: Even students who like college don鈥檛 necessarily believe it鈥檚 priced fairly. The Lumina鈥揋allup report finds that only 25% of students say four-year colleges charge fair prices, while a majority say they don鈥檛 鈥� though community colleges fare better. The report comments, 鈥渟tudents broadly agree that the cost of college is not only unaffordable but even unfair to many hoping to pursue a degree.鈥�

So, students may be satisfied with what they鈥檙e learning, while simultaneously believing the bill is too high. The experience ledger and the cost and affordability ledger are not the same. This ambivalence can translate at the public level into declining confidence.

There鈥檚 also a behavioral dynamic: When people invest heavily in a decision, they鈥檙e less likely to describe it as a mistake. Economists call this the or . Psychologists describe a related phenomenon, , which leads us to align our beliefs with the choices we have made.

College fits this pattern. It isn鈥檛 a small purchase but a formative life decision. Students 鈥� and families 鈥� invest not only tuition dollars but also years of effort and identity in becoming college-educated. It shouldn鈥檛 be surprising that many students hesitate to describe that investment as a mistake.

So students distinguish between 鈥渃ollege is worth it to me鈥� and 鈥渃ollege is fairly priced.鈥� Many believe their education will pay off in career opportunity and personal development, even while acknowledging concerns about cost.

That is less a case of denial than a reflection of ambivalence.

Finally, public opinion is often shaped by the examples that come most easily to mind, what behavioral economists call the . In the case of higher education, those examples are often negative.

Stories of graduates with heavy debt and low wages travel far. Campus controversies dominate cable news and social media. Viral anecdotes about ideological excess or administrative bloat quickly become shorthand for the entire sector.

The typical college experience, however, is far less dramatic. Students attend lectures, complete assignments, form friendships, pursue internships and eventually enter the workforce. Those everyday experiences rarely generate headlines.

The result is reputational drift, a condition where higher education is judged by its most visible outliers rather than by its typical outcomes.

Closing the disconnect between the public viewpoint and the student viewpoint will require clearer evidence about outcomes and visible progress on affordability and opportunity.

If higher education leaders want to close this gap, slogans won鈥檛 suffice. What鈥檚 needed is clearer signals about value and stronger evidence about outcomes. Here are four suggestions for how to do this.

First, transparency. Institutions should provide clearer information about program-level outcomes such as completion rates, debt levels,and post-graduation earnings, not just institutional averages. Families increasingly want to know what happens in specific majors, not simply the reputation of the college.

Second, cost discipline. Students may value their education, but many doubt that the price reflects its value. Both student and public skepticism will persist unless institutions and policymakers demonstrate credible progress on cost and affordability.

Third, opportunity. Colleges must strengthen the link between education and early-career opportunity through internships, apprenticeships, employer partnerships and the development of the knowledge and skills that translate into workplace opportunity.

Finally, perspective. Policymakers and institutional leaders alike must resist caricature. The national conversation about higher education often swings between two extremes: College is broken or college is indispensable. The reality is more complicated. Most students report positive experiences, while many families remain anxious about cost and value.

For most enrolled students, college is not an ideological battleground or a financial scam. It is a demanding and often rewarding educational experience that they believe will help them build a future.

The public鈥檚 declining confidence signals something different. It signals a demand for affordability, accountability, and clearer evidence that higher education delivers value.

Both signals matter. The challenge is to bring them closer together.

If colleges can reduce cost risk, strengthen labor-market relevance, and communicate results more transparently, the reputation of higher education may eventually catch up with the reality many students already report.

Until then, the college disconnect will remain, and may even grow. This outcome isn鈥檛 likely to serve students or the nation.

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