A Resource for Scholars
Each year the Panetta Institute commissions a nationwide survey of college students to gauge their level of interest in politics and civic involvement. The results are made available to scholars and the public, and also help guide and inform our own course offerings and leadership training programs.
Panetta Institute Survey Shows College Students Much More Optimistic Than Last Year Despite Economic Downturn
Although U.S. college students know they face challenges in today’s deeply troubled economy, they are far happier with the direction of the country and with its political leaders than they were a year ago, according to a new nationwide survey by the Panetta Institute for Public Policy.
A majority of students (55 percent) now say the country is headed in the right direction, with 35 percent saying things are off on the wrong track – a dramatic reversal from April of last year, when only 32 percent said right track and 47 percent said wrong track.
“What makes this shift all the more striking,” says Institute director Sylvia Panetta, “is that our economy and the immediate employment prospects for these students look much worse today than they did a year ago.”
Indeed, 94 percent of the respondents in this survey of students at four-year colleges and universities say the U.S. economy today is either not so good or poor, while just six percent see it as excellent or good. And although nearly two-thirds of students (65 percent) express at least some confidence in their own ability to find a good job after graduation, this confidence drops to just 56 percent among seniors.
The survey, conducted for the Institute by Hart Research Associates, suggests the surge in student optimism about the direction of the country in the face of these concerns may be driven to a great extent by the 2008 election victory of President Barack Obama.
College students who report that they voted last November say they supported Obama over Senator John McCain by 62 percent to 32 percent, and Obama’s job approval rating among students now stands at a remarkable 75 percent. That’s exactly triple the approval rating for President George W. Bush (25 percent) among students one year ago.
Obama does reasonably well on this measure even with Republican students, who disapprove of his performance only narrowly, at 48 percent to 44 percent, while independents on college campuses give him a 76 percent approval rating and Democrats give him 92 percent.
The survey finds that two out of three college students (66 percent) say it is very or fairly likely that President Obama will bring a real change in the direction of the country, which is somewhat higher than the proportion of all adults (61 percent) saying so in a March 2009 NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
Meanwhile, fully 73 percent of students say they are satisfied with the country’s political leadership overall, up from 38 percent a year ago and the highest in the survey’s history. The previous high was 68 percent in early 2001.
Based in the Monterey Bay area of California, the Panetta Institute conducts its annual college student survey chiefly to measure the level of student interest in politics and civic life and to help guide its curriculum, which is aimed at attracting young people to lives of public service.
This year’s survey shows a continuation of a long-term, steady rise in student interest in working for government. Only 26 percent of students expressed interest in government service when the Institute first asked the question in 2001, but the number now stands at 38 percent.
“This is encouraging news for our organization and its mission,” says Mrs. Panetta, although she also notes that most students do not identify closely with government. While support is strong on campuses for government to take a more active role in solving problems, students still tend to see it as THE government (62 percent) rather than OUR government (37 percent).
In addition, student interest in public school teaching has steadily declined, dropping from 45 percent in the 2006 Panetta survey to just 30 percent today, and jobs that “contribute to society and make a difference” are also viewed with less enthusiasm.
As in past surveys, students were asked what qualities they would seek most in a future job. Job security tops the list this year at 64 percent – perhaps a reflection of student concerns about the shaky economy – followed by work that is “interesting and challenging” at 62 percent. Good health and retirement benefits also rate high at 49 percent, and good pay, at 45 percent, is up seven points from its rating in 2005.
Asked to choose from a list of possible careers, students expressed greatest interest in working for “a socially responsible corporation” (49 percent), followed by government service (38 percent) and working for a not-for-profit organization or foundation (34 percent). About one in three students (31 percent) say they have considered pursuing a service-oriented experience such as Teach for America or AmeriCorps after they graduate.
In another key measure, despite the enthusiasm that the Obama campaign generated among young people last year, interest in running for election to a federal office some day has continued its slow decline, down seven points since 2001, with just 24 percent of students now expressing interest. Interest in running for a state or local office has also declined, although it’s still somewhat higher, at 28 percent, than interest in running for a federal office.
The annual Panetta Institute survey covers a broad range of subjects and has become one of the most widely noted studies in the country measuring college students’ views and attitudes. Some of its other findings this year include:
- Despite economic concerns, a plurality of college students (45 percent) believe they will end up better off financially than their parents, down only two points from last year, while 41 percent believe they will do about the same as their parents financially and 14 percent think they will be worse off.
- For the first time in the history of these surveys, students cite the Internet (55 percent) more frequently than television (48 percent) as a main source of news about politics and civic affairs.
- Student reliance on community or city newspapers for political information has dropped by half since 2004, from 26 percent to just 13 percent today.
- Nearly two-thirds of students (63 percent) say most of the challenges their generation will face will be national rather than international, a big increase from 47 percent just two years ago.
- Minority students (Hispanics, 48 percent; African Americans, 45 percent; and Asians, 46 percent) are significantly more interested in working in government than are whites (34 percent).
- The Institute’s surveys have shown a slow, steady rise in student concern about global warming, with 55 percent seeing it as a high-priority issue now compared with 41 percent in 2002.
- Students overwhelmingly support President Obama’s decision to pull troops out of Iraq, but only 44 percent approve of his plan to increase U.S. forces in Afghanistan and 50 percent oppose it.
For this year’s survey, Hart Research interviewed 1,023 students enrolled at four-year colleges across the nation, 505 of them by phone and 518 online, from April 6 to April 16. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, with higher margins for specific subgroups.
Past Surveys
College Students Deeply Worried About the Economy and Jobs, Eager for New Leadership (5/1/08)
In our May 2008 survey, we found that although opposition to the war in Iraq remained strong on U.S. campuses, American college students were even more worried about the state of the economy. College students were eager for a change in national leadership and expressed deep disappointment with the nation’s political leadership. Despite declining confidence in the country’s general direction, student interest in the national political scene was on the rise and substantial numbers of students included careers with a public service focus among their preferred career choices. more>>
U.S. College Students See Nation on Wrong Track, Support Iraq Withdrawal (5/5/07)
In our April 2007 survey, we found a growing percentage of U.S. college students believing the nation is headed in the wrong direction, and an overwhelming majority supporting a specific timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. Students also expressed deep dissatisfaction with the quality of the country’s political leadership and nearly half said they would favor the creation of a new independent political party. more>>
College Students Believe Country Headed in Wrong Direction; Growing Majority Uninterested in Careers in Government (6/17/06)
Our June 2006 survey showed the nation’s college students were unhappy with the current path of the country, but they expressed little interest in becoming involved in government. In a poll conducted by Hart Research Associates for the Panetta Institute, 53% of students said the country was headed in the wrong direction, a jump of 15 points from a similar survey conducted in 2005. 71% said they were not interested in careers in public service. more>>
College Survey Finds Growing Majority Uncertain and Concerned About Country’s Future (6/12/05)
In our 2005 survey, college students expressed a growing anxiety about the future. The Hart Research Associates poll found that 55% of college students were uncertain and concerned about the country’s future, an increase of five percentage points from the previous year’s findings. Students were increasingly concerned about the country’s moral and ethical values and had become focused on national, rather than international, issues. more>>
Poll Shows Big Decline In Student Interest In Politics and Voting (6/9/04)
Both major-party presidential candidates faced big challenges on U.S. college campuses in 2004, according to a Panetta Institute survey. The Hart Research Associates poll found a major decline in students’ perceptions that voting really matters. The number of students who said they volunteer to help in their local communities was down also. more>>
U.S. College Students Question Long-term Impact of Sept. 11th (5/31/02)
By wide margins, U.S. college students in 2002 believed that positive changes in Americans’ behavior in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were mostly temporary, and that poorly performing schools were a greater threat to our country than terrorism. Yet these same students reported much greater interest in the actions of the federal government since the events of 9/11, and they were significantly more focused on international threats to U.S. security. more>>
Survey Of College Students Shows Potential For New Wave Of Activism, But Little Interest In Conventional Politics (05/02/01)
Forty years ago, something began to stir on the nation’s campuses. In March 1961, President John F. Kennedy, sensing the potential idealism of the nation’s youth, signed an executive order creating the Peace Corps, and a few months later, the first cohort of Peace Corps volunteers embarked for Africa. That same year, college students traveled south to join more>>
Though Few Students Vote, Poll Shows Them Still Interested in Issues and Upbeat About the Country (4/25/00)
A nationwide survey of college students conducted for the Panetta Institute in 2000 revealed that although student voter turnout had been low in that year’s presidential primaries (only 17 percent of those eligible), these young people remained interested in the national policy debate and held a more optimistic view of the country’s condition than did other adults. more>>
Institute Poll Shows College Students Turned Off By Politics, Turned On By Other Public Service (1/13/00)
Our 1999 national survey showed that college students had little interest in politics or political careers but nonetheless were remarkably civic-minded and public-spirited. In a study conducted for the Panetta Institute, the Mellman Group found that nearly three-fourths of college students said they had recently done volunteer work for an organization or cause they believed in. more>>