Poll shows dissent over how to fix higher education

The American public and senior administrators at colleges and universities overwhelmingly agree that higher education is in crisis, according to a new poll, but they fundamentally disagree over how to fix it and even what the main purpose of higher education is, writes Josh Sanburn for TIME.

According to a survey sponsored by TIME and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, 89% of US adults and 96% of senior administrators at colleges and universities said higher education is in crisis, and nearly four in 10 in both groups considered the crisis to be "severe".

But half of the college leaders (52%) said the state of higher education is moving in the right direction, while half of the general public (54%) said it is on the wrong track. The two groups also disagree on the value of a college diploma and how to curb the increases in tuition costs and student debt loads.

The web-based poll, conducted by GfK Custom Research North America from 1-8 October, surveyed a national sample of 1,000 US adults and 540 senior administrators at public and private two- and four-year colleges and universities.
Full report on the TIME site