Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Connections

Why are Americans becoming less confident in higher education?

(foreground) Richard DeMartino, (background) Nathan Harris, and Ian Mortimer on "Connections"
Megan Mack
/
WXXI News
(foreground) Richard DeMartino, (background) Nathan Harris, and Ian Mortimer on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Monday, January 22, 2024

New polling shows brutal numbers for American higher education.

Gallup finds that the percentage of Americans who have confidence in higher ed has fallen from 57 percent to 36 percent in a decade. Nearly half of American parents say they would prefer not to send their kids to a four-year college program -- even if there were no financial obstacles.

One emerging idea is that higher education has to be more flexible, with shorter degree programs and more credentialing in growing or so-called "alternative" fields. But how?

Our guests have thought a great deal about this. They include:

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.