Americans Split on Government Control of Tuition

Chronicle/Gallup survey finds that respondents favor Obama to deal with college costs

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By JEFFREY SELINGO

Nearly seven months before the November election, a plurality of Americans favor Barack Obama to tackle what they consider the most pressing issue in higher education: the runaway cost of a bachelor's degree.

According to a new nationwide survey conducted through The Chronicle/Gallup Panel, 42 percent of Americans think that controlling college costs is "extremely important" for the next president to address, ahead of higher-education issues such as quality, college access for low-income students, and the extreme concentration of wealth among elite institutions.

On the question of which candidate would do more to help families pay for college, Mr. Obama maintains a 13-point advantage, 32 percent to 19 percent, over Hillary Rodham Clinton. Both of the Democrats top John McCain, at 10 percent, although a large group, 29 percent, responded "don't know."

While Americans are clearly worried about college costs, one finding in the survey captures how conflicted they are about the issue. When asked if the federal government should have a role in controlling tuition at public and private colleges, the results were almost evenly split: 51 percent said yes, 49 percent no.

Even so, support for federal intervention is strongest among those most likely to worry about tuition bills, including parents (55 percent) and those who live in the private-college epicenter, the Northeast (60 percent). Household income in particular seems to sway opinion on the issue. In the survey, 65 percent of those with incomes under $35,000 say the federal government should have a role in controlling tuition costs, compared with 44 percent of those with incomes over $75,000.

"Slightly more than half of the respondents think that the government should have a role in controlling tuition, including people in every demographic group," says Robert C. Lockwood, a partner in the Gallup Organization, which conducted the poll. (For information on how colleges can use The Chronicle/Gallup Panel, go to http://chroniclepoll.com).

"Americans are asking for solutions they believe will work," he says. "If those solutions don't come from within the higher-education mainstream, more and more may look to the government for help."

Exactly how the federal government would police tuition increases is the subject of debate in Congress. As part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, lawmakers are considering various devices, focused on publishing a federal watch list. But the survey found more confidence in other approaches designed to control the rapid rise in tuition.

Of five possible federal actions measured in the survey, the one supported by the most respondents was a requirement that colleges whose prices outpace the national average explain why their costs are out of line (44 percent said that would be most effective). Respondents gave the lowest mark to reducing the amount of federal loans available, as a way of pressuring colleges to lower their prices (only 12 percent said that would be the most effective).

Broad Coalition for Obama

The survey, completed between February 22 and March 4 by 984 members of The Chronicle/Gallup Panel, a nationally representative sample of American households, is the first in-depth measure of public opinion on higher-education issues in the 2008 election.

The support behind Mr. Obama on the college-cost issue crosses generations as well as income and education levels. He has the backing of 35 percent of those in Generations Y and X, compared with 12 percent and 23 percent, respectively, for Mrs. Clinton, and 3.3 percent and 6.9 percent for Mr. McCain. Among college graduates, Mr. Obama holds a commanding lead over Mrs. Clinton, 46 percent to 19 percent, with 8 percent for Mr. McCain. By a 16-point margin, 32 percent to 16 percent, he also leads among those with household incomes under $35,000, with Mr. McCain at 11 percent.

Mrs. Clinton is most evenly matched with Mr. Obama among rural Americans (22 percent for both of them) and those with annual household incomes of $35,000 to $75,000 (25 percent for him to 23 percent for her).

Mr. McCain performed best among those 65 years and older, among whom he came in second to Mr. Obama, 27 percent to 21 percent, on the college-cost issue. His only higher finish was among Republicans.

Still, it's unlikely that any of the candidates will give higher education much attention on the campaign trail if they pay attention to the polls. Asked to rate the importance of nine issues for the next president to deal with in The Chronicle/Gallup survey, respondents put higher education dead last.

Cost Outweighs Quality

Among higher-education issues, cost clearly outweighs almost anything else, including quality, admission for low-income students, and the endowments of wealthy colleges. When asked to rate the importance of only higher-education issues for the next president, 42 percent of respondents said cost was "extremely important," compared with 32 percent who said the same about the quality of a college education.

Further evidence that cost is the major issue: When asked to rate several ways that colleges should spend their money, "reducing tuition" ranked the highest (43 percent said it was extremely important) followed by "providing more financial aid" (37 percent). The lowest marks went to "improving housing and student amenities" (9 percent) and "increasing faculty salaries" (7 percent).

At a time when the leading members of the Senate Finance Committee are focused on wealthy colleges' use of their endowments, the issue seems to have little traction among most of the public. Only 18 percent of those surveyed said it was an "extremely important" issue for the next president, although Democrats rated it higher, at 25 percent.

Two of the questions in the survey mirrored ones asked in 2003 and 2004 as part of national opinion polls conducted by The Chronicle. On both, public attitudes have remained consistent.

Despite the fact that nearly eight of 10 college students today attend public colleges, 41 percent of respondents say the quality of a higher education is better at a private institution. By seven points, 45 percent to 38 percent, respondents from households with incomes below $35,000 rated private colleges more highly than did respondents with household incomes of $35,000 to $75,000.

"The fact that a plurality of Americans currently perceives private schools to deliver higher-quality education is an artifact of tradition," says Mr. Lockwood, the Gallup partner. "When it comes to image in the future, schools that can differentiate their offerings and deliver noteworthy results will have a competitive advantage over schools that rely on the halo effect of past prestige."

In answer to another question on the poll, 46 percent of respondents said college professors were more liberal than they themselves were, compared with 25 percent who said they were about the same.

THE CHRONICLE/GALLUP POLL ALLIANCE See notes on how this survey was conducted. For more information on how colleges can use The Chronicle/Gallup Panel to conduct their own surveys, see http://chroniclepoll.com How important are each of the following issues for the next U.S. president to address? 0 = Not at all important          5 = Extremely important Economy 4.59 Iraq 4.51 Social Security 4.27 Taxes 4.20 Health care 4.19 Immigration 4.19 K-12 education 4.03 Environment 3.89 Higher education 3.73 Thinking specifically about higher-education issues, how important are each of the following higher-education issues for the next U.S. president to address? 0 = Not at all important          5 = Extremely important Cost of a college education 4.00 Quality of a college education 3.81 Admission for low-income students to top colleges 3.50 The extreme wealth concentrated among the endowments of a few elite colleges 3.09 Excessive drinking by students 2.96 Tenure for professors 2.70 Influence of big-time college athletics 2.65 Other 2.65 How important is it for colleges to spend more money on each of the following? 0 = Not at all important          5 = Extremely important Reducing tuition for students 4.15 Providing more financial aid 4.03 Funding more research that benefits local economic development 3.48 Offering smaller classes 3.36 Building capacity to enroll more students 3.19 Improving housing and student amenities 3.14 Increasing faculty salaries 3.02 Other 3.47 Other (multiple responses) Improve program quality 24.6% Improve faculty 14.2% Other 13.4% Accessibility/lower entrance requirements 11.6% Nothing 8.9% Science/math/engineering 7.7% Improve costs/easier to get loans 7.6% Campus security/safety 7.5% Modernization 4.8% Political neutrality 3.5% Research 3.0% How effective do you think each of the following actions would be for the federal government to control the rapid rise in tuition costs at public and private colleges? 0 = Not at all important          5 = Extremely important Require colleges whose prices outpace the national average to explain why their costs are out of line 4.10 Require colleges to use more money from their endowments to slow the rate of tuition increases 3.99 Withhold federal aid to colleges whose tuition outpaces the national average 3.84 Publish a watch list of institutions whose tuition outpaces the national average 3.81 Reduce the amount of federal loans available to students to pressure colleges to lower their prices 2.59 Which presidential candidate do you think would enact policies that would most help families pay for a college education in the future? Barack Obama 31.6% Hillary Rodham Clinton 19.2% John McCain 9.8% Mike Huckabee* 7.5% Other 3.2% Don't know 28.6% * Mr. Huckabee withdrew from the race after the survey was conducted. In your opinion, should the federal government have a role in controlling tuition costs at public and private colleges? Yes 50.8% No 49.2% Compared with your own political views, do you think college professors are: More liberal than you are 46.2% About the same as you are 25.1% More conservative than you are 6.6% Don't know 22.1% How often do you believe that college professors use their classrooms as a platform for their personal politics? Often 39.9% Sometimes 37.5% Rarely 9.9% Never 1% Don't know 11.6% In general, do you think the quality of higher education is better at a private or public college? Better at private 40.9% About the same 36.5% Better at public 3.7% Don't know 18.8% How the Survey was Conducted: Data were collected online from members of The Chronicle/Gallup Panel, a nationally representative panel of American households. The Chronicle/Gallup Panel consists of 65,000 members aged 13+ across 45,000 households who have been randomly selected to participate in an average of three surveys per month via the Web, mail, or over the phone. For this project, a national sample of 2,003 members aged 18+ who have Internet access were invited to participate in the survey. The field period ran from February 22 to March 4, and a total of 984 participants responded, for a completion rate of 49.1%. The margin of sampling error for the overall sample is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.