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 Are Pessimistic About Nation’s Direction, Want Action on the Deficit and Compromise to Solve Problems
Over the past year, U.S. college students have turned dramatically more negative in their view of where the country is heading, according to a new national survey by the Panetta Institute for Public Policy. The students express serious concerns about the economy and call for more bipartisan cooperation in Congress.
Half of the nation’s students (50 percent) now say America is “on the wrong track,” compared with 39 percent who held that view in April of 2010, while the portion of students who say we’re going in the “right direction” has fallen from 53 percent last year to 37 percent today.
The decline in confidence – a 27-point shift overall – is bigger among students identifying themselves as Democrats and independents, who have moved 40 points more negative on this commonly used scale. The negative movement among Republican students is 6 points.
The Panetta Institute conducts its national survey each spring, partly to measure the level of student interest in politics and civic life and also to help guide its curriculum, which is aimed at preparing students for lives of public service. Below are some of the key findings.
Economic and Fiscal Issues:
Student perceptions of the U.S. economy have grown significantly gloomier in recent years. Only 15 percent of students in this survey view the economy as good, and not a single one rates it as excellent. Sixty-two percent say the economy is “not so good” and another 23 percent rank it as poor.
“Most students are just not seeing the national rebound the economists keep telling us about,” says Institute director Sylvia Panetta. “Even if they’re relatively confident about their own job prospects after graduation, they see the country as a whole still struggling.”
Indeed, the issue rated most important to students personally in this survey is “improving the job situation.” Fully 57 percent cite this as one of their two biggest concerns, followed by dealing with the costs of a college education at 42 percent. When it comes to “achieving the American dream,” nearly two-thirds of college students (64 percent) believe it will be more difficult for people in their generation to do this than it was for their parents’ generation.
Despite their desire for job growth, on fiscal issues the Panetta survey suggests that U.S. college students see the long-term threat of the federal deficit. When asked whether they would set a higher priority on federal spending to help the economy recover or reducing the budget deficit, students chose deficit reduction by 62 percent to 36 percent, in spite of their clear concerns about the struggling economy.
On a more positive note, the survey shows that three out of five students (61 percent) believe the worst of the economic recession is now behind us, while just 35 percent feel the worst is yet to come. And, although 70 percent say they’ll take the best job they can find when they graduate rather than wait to “find the right job for me,” 70 percent of students do express confidence in finding an acceptable job after graduation.
The President and the Congress:
President Barack Obama maintains a job approval rating of 65 percent among college students – far ahead of his 48 percent rating among all adults in a national poll taken at about the same time and essentially unchanged from his standing on U.S. campuses a year ago.
Meanwhile, students appear to take a very dim view of the partisan rancor in Congress that can get in the way of solving the nation’s problems. When asked whether it’s more important for members of both parties to stand up for their principles or compromise with each other to reach agreement, students choose compromise by a margin of 76 percent to 21 percent.
This year’s survey shows another rise in student interest in working for government. Only 26 percent of college students expressed interest in government service when the Institute first asked the question in 2001, but the number now stands at 47 percent.
“That’s a remarkable increase,” says Mrs. Panetta. “In the media these days we hear a lot of denigration of government and government workers, but it isn’t rubbing off on these students.”
She notes, in fact, that nearly three out of ten students in the survey (29 percent) say they’d be interested in running for a federal elected office some day if the opportunity were to arise, and a similar number (30 percent) express interest in running for a state or local office. Meanwhile, more than a third of the students (35 percent) say they’ve considered pursuing a service-oriented experience such as Teach for America, VISTA or AmeriCorps after they graduate.
Education:
To a greater extent than in previous years, this Panetta survey probes students’ perceptions of the quality of their schooling. More than three-fifths (62 percent) say they feel the education received by American college students prepares them either very well (13 percent) or fairly well (49 percent) to compete with students from other countries in the global economy. And, 83 percent rate their own college education so far as either a fairly good value (50 percent) or a very good value (33 percent).
A substantial 39 percent, however, say they’ve taken a credit-bearing online class that does not meet in person, and by an overwhelming margin (76 percent to 21 percent) students believe an online class “does not offer the same quality of teaching and learning as an in-person class.”
Social Issues:
On social issues, the Institute’s surveys over the years have shown U.S. college students trending decidedly more liberal in their views. Support for keeping abortion legal in all or most cases, for example, has risen from 58 percent in 2005 to 67 percent today. And support for allowing same-sex marriages has risen even more steeply, from 60 percent in 2005 to 74 percent this year.
Meanwhile, 69 percent of the nation’s students favor no restrictions on gays serving in the U.S. military. Another 27 percent support continuing to allow gays to serve under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and only 4 percent would ban gays from military service altogether. Among U.S. adults overall, according to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, the figures are 50 percent, 38 percent and 10 percent respectively.
The study also shows that an overwhelming majority of students (84 percent) believe unionized state and local government workers should have the same right to bargain collectively for healthcare, pension and other benefits as unionized employees of private companies.
Foreign Policy:
As in previous surveys, college students today believe national issues will be more important than international issues for their generation (57 percent national versus 39 percent international). College students hold a generally negative view of the current U.S. involvement in military conflicts overseas. About two-thirds of students see the war in Iraq going badly, with 38 percent viewing it as somewhat unsuccessful and another 27 percent calling it very unsuccessful.
Similarly, a total of 55 percent view the war in Afghanistan against al-Qaeda and the Taliban as either somewhat unsuccessful (35 percent) or very unsuccessful (20 percent) – although it must be noted that this survey was conducted prior to the U.S. intelligence and military triumph in finding and eliminating al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Students, meanwhile, are about evenly split on the question whether the recent revolution in Egypt and protests in other Arab countries will increase or decrease the chances for peace and stability in that part of the world. Thirty-two percent see an increase in the chances for peace, 30 percent see a decrease, and 34 percent say these events won’t make much difference either way.
Regarding America’s recent military involvement in Libya, students again split about evenly, with 45 percent approving the action and 44 percent disapproving. A Gallup poll in March, by contrast, showed U.S. adults overall supporting the U.S. intervention in Libya by 47 percent to 37 percent.
Conducted by Hart Research Associates, the survey explores a wide range of topics, including college students’ expectations about their own careers, their rating of the quality of the education they’re receiving, their views on various social trends and issues, and their level of interest in government service.
Since its launch in 2001, the annual Panetta Institute poll has become a widely respected benchmark for gauging attitudes and opinions of students enrolled at four-year colleges nationwide. For this year’s study, Hart Research interviewed 800 students, 400 of them by phone and 400 online, from March 30 to April 4. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, with higher margins for specific subgroups.
Click here to read the full report on the survey’s findings.
Past Surveys
(5/8/10)
In our 2010 survey, we found that U.S. college students are worried about their job prospects in a still-shaky economy and a majority say they feel “uncertain and concerned” about the country’s future. The student confidence level in finding an acceptable job after graduation was at its lowest level in the ten-year history of the survey. Yet students were much less pessimistic about the country’s direction than they were two years ago, before the start of the financial crisis, and more confident than today’s adults overall. more>>
College Students Much More Optimistic Than Last Year Despite Economic Downturn
(5/13/09)
In our 2009 survey, we found that although U.S. college students knew they face challenges in the deeply troubled economy, they were far happier with the direction of the country and with its political leaders than they were a year ago. Overall a majority of students felt the country was heading in the right direction. Students were hopeful that President Obama would be able to bring real change and 73 percent said they are satisfied with the country’s political leadership overall, the highest in the survey’s history. more>>
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>>