Series
Repository of Third Way’s Higher Education Public Opinion Research
Each year, nearly 20 million students attend colleges and universities across the United States, with taxpayers investing $120 billion to those institutions – making higher education one of the biggest investments someone can make in their lifetime. And yet, only half of students that start college ever finish (a statistic that becomes even more abysmal for low-income students and students of color), and students who don’t finish are three times as likely to default on their loans. Despite the stark realities of higher education’s leaky pipeline, advocates and policymakers continue to face roadblocks when talking about the need to strengthen accountability in higher education. To move the needle on these conversations, Third Way, in partnership with Global Strategy Group, has undertaken a multi-year, multi-round public opinion research project to learn how a variety of key audiences (including students, likely voters, parents, business leaders, institutional leaders, and more) talk about improving outcomes and holding institutions accountable. This series of research aims to highlight how stakeholders view our nation’s higher education system, and offers insight into how to shift the narrative from one that focuses solely on cost, to one that centers around the importance of getting all students both to and through college.
Shining the Spotlight on Regional Public University Students
Ben Cecil
What Voters Think About New Higher Education Loan Limits and Accountability Reforms
Ben Cecil, Michelle Dimino
Now More Than Ever, Democrats Support Higher Education Reform
Ben Cecil
Messaging Playbook: Navigating DEI in Higher Education
Ben Cecil
For Gen Z, Student Debt Is Scarier Than a Low-Paying Job
Ben Cecil
What Do Republican Voters Want on Higher Education
Ben Cecil
How the Biden-Harris Administration Is Fulfilling Voters’ Higher Ed Accountability Wishlist
Ben Cecil
How High School Students Are Thinking About Higher Ed
Ben Cecil
Voters Want Less Talk and More Action on Higher Ed Value
Ben Cecil
Talking about Student Experience and Belonging with Right-of-Center Audiences
Ben Cecil
Why the Gainful Employment Rule is a Political Winner
Shelbe Klebs
Voters Want to See Big Higher Education Investments in Build Back Better
Tamara Hiler
One Year Later: COVID-19s Impact on Current and Future College Students
Shelbe Klebs, Rachel Fishman, Sophie Nguyen, Tamara Hiler
Messaging Playbook: How to Talk About Accountability in Higher Ed
Nicole Siegel, Tamara Hiler
One Semester Later: How Prospective and Current College Students’ Perspectives of Higher Ed Have Changed between August and December 2020
Tamara Hiler, Rachel Fishman, Sophie Nguyen
How the Pandemic Prioritized Higher Ed Value
Tosin Akintola
How COVID-19 Made Higher Education Value a Top Priority
Tamara Hiler
New Polling from New America & Third Way on COVID-19’s Impact on Current and Future College Students
Rachel Fishman, Tamara Hiler
A Crisis of Oversight: How Coronavirus Deepened Voters’ Desires for Accountability in Higher Ed
Tamara Hiler
Strings Attached: Democratic Primary Voters Want Targeted Investment in Higher Ed
Tamara Hiler, Lanae Erickson
Beyond Free College and Free Markets: Voters Want Greater Accountability in Higher Ed
Tamara Hiler, Lanae Erickson
College Administrators Support Greater Accountability in Higher Ed
Lanae Erickson
How to Talk about Higher Education
Tamara Hiler, Lanae Erickson, Wesley Whistle
National Online Survey of College Students - Education Attitudes
Third Way
10 Months In (external link)
Tamara Hiler
‘We’re the Guinea Pigs’ (external link)
Tamara Hiler
Why Democrats Have Stopped Talking About Free College (external link)
Tamara Hiler
The Public's Support for (and Doubts About) Higher Ed (external link)
Tamara Hiler, Lanae Erickson
The Nuances of the Free College Debate (external link)
Tamara Hiler
A Question of Trust (external link)
Tamara Hiler
No DeVos at Republican Convention (external link)
Tamara Hiler
