2024 Student Survey results

The latest Student Voice survey of college students indicates broad affirmation of the academic experience. With 46% saying it's good and another 27% saying it's excellent, some institutions can take solace in knowing that current students are fairing well. However, drilling down into the institutional differences indicates that students at private non-profit and northeastern institutions generally have a better experience than other regions. Students at community colleges also reported a slightly higher level of satisfaction with their experience. Not surprisingly, students from families with higher incomes and those whose family legacy includes pursuing college degrees rate their experiences higher than others.

Data interpreters say that students are judging the quality of their education experience primarily based on what happens in the classroom. However, students value feeling that they belong, which is especially important for students from minoritized backgrounds. The politicization of DEI work is clearly reflected in liberal leaning students advocating diversity education and conservative students seeing little value to it. Conversely, other students believe higher education institutions should hire more conservative faculty and focus on career preparation, among a number other things, according to reports from conservative students at the recent RNC convention.

Anthony Abraham Jack called attention to students' experience beyond the classroom in his book Class Divided. Reflecting on his own lived experience as well as the impact of the COVID pandemic, Jack determined that first generation and students from minoritized backgrounds faced greater challenges related to general welfare than more privileged students when campuses went virtual. He asserted that the idea of a protective "campus bubble" evaporated and actually never existed for many students. The Student Voice Survey confirmed that students from different cultural backgrounds, different ages, and across different institutions engage in extracurricular programs at very different levels and for different purposes.

The Student Voice is complemented by UCLA's long-standing Higher Education Research Institute data that indicates how important involvement can be. Students who stop out report half as much involvement in campus activities, which likely relates to their not feeling that they fit in, and contributes to dropping out. This is a long-known pattern and in which many campuses attempt to address. The disruption of the pandemic undermined the goal of involvement which, by some reports has been difficult to reenergize.

A summary opinion reporting Gallup Poll data describes confidence in higher education as in a "nose dive" although international rankings still confirm the dominance of U.S. institutions in reputation. Recognizing that practical outcomes of community college programs that contribute to higher student confidence, enlightenment era goals of lifelong learning, preparation for meaningful careers and civic participation are critiqued as starry-eyed. Forbes offered 7 steps to restore confidence in higher education, including credit-producing internships, liaison to community organizations, and more specific career advising aligned with graduates' work placement.

The survey results provide advice to faculty about preferred modalities for learning and strategies that can improve student success. The highest level needs are to reduce the cost of education, get rid of onerous grading regimens, allow students more agency in pursuing their desired learning paths, and relate learning to local, regional and global communities.