Most Americans share similar views toward the state of higher education — that is, until race enters the picture, finds an Axios-Ipsos Hard Truths Poll.
Similar levels of Black, white and Hispanic Americans all perceived higher education as a path to succeeding professionally and financially. Community colleges and trade programs received the highest approval (87%), followed by professional graduate schools (83%), post-graduate universities (76%) and four-year colleges (73%). Likewise, Americans across racial groups all similarly described four-year colleges, post-graduate and professional graduate universities as expensive.
When it comes to race, however, things begin to diverge along political lines. According to the poll, half of Black Americans believe their race is a disadvantage when it comes to getting a higher education. Mirroring that, more than half of white Democrats feel their race is an advantage. However, only 12% of white Republicans felt they had an advantage.
Likewise, support for admissions policies that mention race (versus those that don't) fell among white Republicans, while support toward such policies remained virtually unchanged among white Democrats. And while a large majority of white Democrats (79%) and Black Americans (81%) think higher education needs to continue "making changes to give minority Americans equal opportunities with white Americans," a majority of white Republicans (76%) think the sector has made enough changes already.
