The Chronicle of Higher Education utilized the expertise of UW–Madison’s Nick Hillman for a report on shifting opinions among Americans on the question of who should pay for college.
The report focuses on a study that finds increasing numbers of Americans think the government should help students pay for college. While surveys in 1980 and 2010 found that most people thought parents or students should shoulder the main responsibility for tuition bills, surveys in 2015 and 2019 found that increasing numbers of people think the government should play a significant role.
“College was once widely perceived as a public good,” explains the report. However, the framing of a college degree as an individual benefit was reinforced by changes in the economy, beginning in the 1960s, that increased the earning power of college graduates.
“That’s the origin story,” says Hillman, a professor in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. “There became this general acknowledgment that individuals benefit a lot from college, so it justified a shift toward individuals paying.”
However, as the cost of college has ballooned in recent years, and student debt has skyrocketed, it has become challenging to afford for more people, including those from upper- and middle-income families.
“It’s not so much that it’s a new issue,” says Hillman, “but that there’s a new constituency that’s affected. Maybe I’m cynical, but I think the discussion is around ‘what’s in it for me.’ ”
While attitudes may be shifting, Hillman expresses skepticism that we are on the cusp of a change in public opinion. “I don’t think we’ve revolutionized how we think about higher ed,” he says.
To learn more, check out the full report at chronicle.com.