[September 17, 2018] |
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WGBH News National Poll Uncovers America's Sentiments about Higher Education Including Perceptions about Impact on Society, Race and College Admissions and the Value of a College Degree
In a national poll on perceptions of higher education, WGBH News has
found 86 percent of Americans support a racially and ethnically diverse
student body on college campuses. However, 72 percent do not support the
use of race as a factor in college admissions. These were among many
findings in a national poll which looked at the impact of colleges and
universities on society, perceptions of public and private universities,
the role of higher education in society and the value of a college
education. The poll also looked at issues of free speech, efforts to
combat sexual assault and mental health issues, state support for public
universities, and taxation of college endowments.
The WGBH News/Abt Associates Poll surveyed 1002 adults 18-65, across
ethnic, geographic and economic groups. The poll was conducted August
21- 25, 2018. The margin of error for most results is +/- 3.5 percent.
"As the nation's leading public media organization, WGBH and our
newsroom have a unique perch in Boston, a major hub of the higher
education industry. It is critically important to our audience to take
the country's pulse on some fundamental questions about higher
education, including whether or not Americans still value a college
degree," says WGBH News' Ken Cooper, a Pulitzer-prize winning editor who
oversaw the project.
Value of a College Education When asked about the
value of attending college, considering the costs to attend and the
benefits of graduation, 68 percent of respondents stated college is
worth attending. However, when asked if a college degree is needed, 55
percent did not believe it was necessary to get ahead in life.
Mental Health, Sexual Assault and Free Speech on College Campuses Overall,
Americans believ colleges and universities are doing too little to
combat sexual assault and mental health issues on campus. 50 percent of
those surveyed believe colleges and universities are not doing a good
job looking after mental health needs of students while 54 percent do
not believe these institutions are protecting students from sexual
assault.
When it comes to free speech, overwhelmingly, Americans perceive college
campuses to be partisan environments; 77 percent of respondents identify
colleges as leaning liberal and 79 percent of respondents see this as a
problem.
Support for Public Universities Among respondents,
support for public colleges and universities remains strong, until asked
about higher taxes to ensure these universities remain affordable. 76
percent of those polled have a favorable opinion of public colleges and
universities and 78 percent would be concerned about reduced funding for
these schools. However, 49 percent of respondents were opposed to paying
higher taxes that would enable additional residents to attend these
schools.
Taxation on Endowments Earlier this year, the federal
government initiated a 1.4 percent tax on the financial gains of private
university endowments worth over $500,000 per student. When surveyed on
this topic, 50 percent of respondents say that colleges and universities
should not pay taxes on their endowments.
A collection of this reporting as well as the results of the poll can be
found at www.wgbh.org/news/collegepoll.
About WGBH and WGBH News WGBH Boston is America's preeminent
public broadcaster and the largest producer of PBS content for TV and
the Web, including Frontline, Nova, American Experience,
Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Arthur, and more than a dozen
other prime-time, lifestyle, and children's series. WGBH News is among
the fastest growing local news providers in greater Boston and draws on
the talent of a multi-platform newsroom that includes 89.7 WGBH,
Boston's Local NPR (News - Alert), television and digital reporting. WGBH also is a
major supplier of programming for public radio and a partner with Public
Radio International (PRI) and PRX. As a leader in educational multimedia
for the classroom, WGBH supplies content to PBS LearningMedia, a
national broadband service for teachers and students. WGBH also is a
pioneer in technologies and services that make media accessible to those
with hearing or visual impairments. WGBH has been recognized with
hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards and Oscars.
Find more information at www.wgbh.org.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180917005425/en/
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