2008 Survey (5/1/08)

Nationwide Survey of U.S. Campuses Finds:
College Students Deeply Worried About the Economy and Jobs, Eager for New Leadership

Although opposition to the war in Iraq remains strong on U.S. campuses, American college students now are even more worried about the state of the economy, according to a new survey for the Panetta Institute for Public Policy, and they're eager for a change in national leadership.

"Students are feeling the pinch like everyone else," says Institute director and former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, "and the closer they are to graduating the more economic anxiety they express."

The Panetta Institute's annual nationwide survey of college students, conducted from April 9 to April 16 by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, shows fully 53 percent of college seniors see the country on the wrong track, with only 26 percent saying right direction.

Finding a good-paying, quality job is the biggest economic worry among students, with 66 percent saying they worry either very or somewhat often about this, and students also voice rising concern about the burden of student loan debt and the cost of health care.

Among students overall, 85 percent describe the state of the nation's economy as not so good or poor, versus only 14 percent who call it good or excellent. This is a huge change from two years ago, when the Institute's April survey showed most students (54 percent) viewing the economy as excellent or good.

Reflecting these and other concerns, college students express deep disappointment with the nation's political leadership. Fully 69 percent disapprove of the job that President Bush is doing and 61 percent say they are dissatisfied with our political leaders overall.

As a result, they have a keen interest in the U.S. presidential contest, with an overwhelming majority supporting the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama of Illinois.

Among students who identify themselves as Democratic primary voters, Obama leads New York Senator Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination by 66 percent to 20 percent - a margin that has grown since the Institute's April 2007 poll, when Obama led Clinton 50 percent to 27 percent, with former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina receiving 11 percent.

Among college students overall, both Obama and Clinton defeat Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona in a hypothetical general election matchup. Obama leads McCain 59 percent to 27 percent, while Clinton leads him more narrowly at 46 to 39.

These numbers contrast strongly with the preferences of other adults, with recent national surveys showing both Obama and Clinton running essentially neck and neck with McCain among American voters overall.

"I don't think we've seen a generational difference like this since the Vietnam era," says Panetta. "Clearly, students are excited by the Obama candidacy. The question now is how many of these young people will remain motivated to get out and vote. This poll was taken before the most recent round of news reports about Reverend Jeremiah Wright."

Seventy-nine percent of college students report that they are registered to vote, which is on par with past Panetta Institute surveys, but fully 81 percent of these students now say they will definitely vote. At this time in 2004, by comparison, 73 percent of students claiming to be registered said they would definitely vote. Meanwhile, a surprisingly high 30 percent of college students report that they have voted in this year's Democratic primary or plan to do so, with another 13 percent indicating that they voted or plan to vote in the Republican primary.

Based at California State University, Monterey Bay, 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 indicates that, despite declining confidence in the economy and the country's general direction, student interest in the national political scene is on the rise and substantial numbers of students include careers with a public service focus among their preferred career choices.

Over half of the students (52 percent) say they're either very or fairly interested in working for "a socially responsible corporation," and 40 percent express interest in working for a not-for-profit community organization or foundation. Thirty-nine percent, meanwhile, say they'd be interested in working in government, a figure slightly higher than in 2007, when 35 percent voiced such an interest.

The percentage of students interested in teaching in a public school, however, has declined from previous Panetta surveys - from 45 percent in 2006, to 36 percent in 2007, to just 31 percent this year.

"That decrease is troubling, and it's something we'd like to probe in future surveys," says Panetta. "Perhaps it's a reflection of sinking economic expectations, with students seeing a need for more income than public school teaching tends to provide."

On the other hand, 29 percent of students say they'd be interested in running some day for a federal elected office if given the opportunity, which is roughly on par with past surveys.

The annual Panetta survey covers a diverse range of topics and has become one of the most widely noted studies in the country gauging college students' views and attitudes. Some of its other findings include:

• Asked to pick from a list the one or two issues that are "the most important to you personally," improving the health care system now ranks first (at 38 percent), followed by dealing with the situation in Iraq (at 34 percent).
• The Iraq concern is followed by dealing with the costs of college education (29 percent), improving the job situation (28 percent), addressing global warming (23 percent), and protecting the country from terrorist attacks (16 percent).
• Only 12 percent include "dealing with immigration" among their top one or two issue concerns.
• Three out of four students (73 percent) believe the U.S. needs to set a timeline for withdrawing its troops from Iraq, with only 22 percent saying we should keep them there "as long as necessary to stabilize the situation and prevent Iraq from becoming a haven for terrorists."
• Television ranks first among students (at 57 percent) as a major source of information about politics and public affairs, with internet websites following closely at 54 percent.
• In an interesting sidelight, students give TV comedian-commentator Stephen Colbert a favorable rating of 43 percent - higher than Senator Clinton (37 percent), Senator McCain (32 percent), and President Bush (22 percent). Commentator Bill O'Reilly gets a favorable rating of 11 percent.

For this year's Panetta survey, Hart Research interviewed 1,004 students enrolled at four-year colleges across the nation, 504 of them by phone and 500 via the internet, from April 9 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.

For a more extensive summary of the survey's findings, click here

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