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Inside Higher Ed’s ninth annual Survey of College and University Presidents seeks to understand how these leaders view the opportunities and challenges facing higher education institutions in the U.S.
The study addresses the following questions:
Some specific findings from the 2019 Inside Higher Ed Survey of College and University Presidents include:
This report presents findings from a quantitative survey research study that Gallup conducted on behalf of Inside Higher Ed, designed to examine how college and university presidents view the pressing issues facing higher education.
To achieve this objective, Gallup sent invitations via email to 3,667 presidents, with regular reminders sent throughout the Jan. 3-30, 2019, field period. Gallup collected 784 web surveys, yielding a 21 percent response rate. Respondents represented 436 public institutions, 320 private institutions and 28 institutions from the for-profit sector.
Total Participation, by Sector
*Data not reported for these groups due to small sample size
Note: System offices and specialized institutions are categorized by sector but not by highest degree offering. Consequently, in some tables, percentages for subgroups (e.g., private doctoral/master’s and private baccalaureate) may appear inconsistent with the total for the entire group (e.g., all private institutions).
Some sectors do not have data reported due to low sample sizes. Sector groupings are determined based on the 2015 Carnegie Classification for the institution.
Gallup education consultants developed the questionnaire in collaboration with Scott Jaschik and Doug Lederman from Inside Higher Ed. Specialty colleges — namely, Bible colleges and seminaries with a Carnegie Classification of 24 — and institutions with an enrollment of fewer than 500 students were excluded from the sample.
The survey is an attempted census of all presidents using the most comprehensive sample information available. Gallup statistically weighted data to correct for nonresponse, matching the obtained sample to targets for all U.S. colleges and universities from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) database. Gallup weighted the sample based on institutional control (public or private nonprofit), four-year or two-year degree offerings, student enrollment and geographical region. Therefore, the weighted sample results can be considered representative of the views of presidents at colleges nationwide.
The following sections present the findings of the survey. In some cases, reported frequencies may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding. “Don’t know” and “Refused” responses are excluded from the results unless otherwise indicated.
A U.S. federal court has heard but not yet decided the latest prominent legal challenge to affirmative action
policy in higher education. The case alleges that Harvard University’s admissions process discriminates against Asian-Americans. College presidents appear sympathetic to the defendant (Harvard), with 62 percent strongly agreeing or agreeing that colleges should continue to consider race and ethnicity, among other factors, in admissions decisions. Nineteen percent strongly disagree or disagree.
Close to 8 in 10 presidents, 79 percent, say the public does not understand the concept of holistic admissions, by which applications are considered individually rather than deciding on admissions primarily based on a scale of grades and test scores. The plaintiffs in the case argue that Harvard’s practices are discriminatory because some Asian-American applicants with higher grades and test scores are denied admissions in favor of other applicants with inferior grades and test scores.
Presidents do not appear to be very confident that Harvard will prevail, as 37 percent strongly agree or agree they are confident in Harvard’s defense of itself and the principles of affirmative action. Twenty-seven percent strongly disagree or disagree.
But colleges do not appear to be making plans to alter their policies: 13 percent strongly agree or agree and 57 percent strongly disagree or disagree that their college is planning for the possibility that courts may bar or limit the consideration of race in college admissions. Presidents at public doctoral colleges are more likely than their peers to say their college is planning for potential changes, with 25 percent indicating this.
Regardless of the outcome of the case — which will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court — presidents are sensitive to possible discrimination against Asian-Americans in college admissions. Forty-two percent strongly agree or agree, while 24 percent strongly disagree or disagree, that they worry some Asian-American applicants to top colleges face discrimination.
A lawsuit against Harvard University, argued in a federal court in 2018, charged that the university’s affirmative action programs discriminate against Asian-American applicants. The case resulted in the release of documents showing the strong admissions preferences Harvard, like other elite institutions, gives to athletes and children of alumni, or legacies. Many legal observers believe the case is likely to land in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Using a five-point scale, where 5 means strongly agree and 1 means strongly disagree, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.
While the case largely centers on the role of race as a factor in admissions, it has shone a light on the advantages given to other applicants, including athletes, rural residents, those from low-income households and “legacies” whose relatives attended the college. Presidents have nuanced views on the appropriateness of legacy status as a factor in admissions, with a bare majority (52 percent) saying it is appropriate for private colleges to consider it but a similar proportion (53 percent) saying it is not appropriate for public colleges to do so.
Presidents at private and public colleges alike are more likely to say it is appropriate for private colleges than for public colleges to consider legacy status in admissions. Specifically, 60 percent of private college presidents say it is appropriate to consider legacy status in private college admissions, but only 29 percent concur with respect to public college admissions. Among public college presidents, 43 percent are supportive of private colleges considering legacy status, and 19 percent are supportive of public colleges doing so.
The outcome of the Harvard case likely will not change many presidents’ minds on legacy status in admissions. Eighteen percent of presidents who support the consideration of legacy status in either private or public college admissions strongly agree or agree that the Harvard decision could change the way they view legacy status in admissions; 57 percent strongly disagree or disagree.
The past year brought significant changes in federal policy affecting higher education, and more changes may be coming with the Democrats now the majority party in the U.S. House of Representatives. Most notably, last year the Department of Education provided new guidance on how Title IX should be applied to sexual assault cases. Colleges are now permitted to use a higher standard of evidence in adjudicating cases than they did during the Obama administration. College presidents do not much like the changes recommended by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, though they do acknowledge issues with the Obama regulations.
By 49 percent to 28 percent, college presidents disagree rather than agree that the proposals Secretary DeVos has made will move federal policy on sexual assault in the right direction. Public college presidents are more likely to disagree (56 percent) than private college presidents (43 percent) are. Two-thirds of college leaders disagree with the suggestion that they have not expressed their true feelings on the DeVos changes for fear of offending campus groups; just 16 percent agree.
The majority of presidents, 56 percent, strongly agree or agree that the DeVos approach will result in fewer
sexual assault or harassment complaints being filed. Sixty-two percent of public college chief executives believe this will happen, as do 51 percent of private college presidents.
Presidents are sympathetic to concerns that the Obama administration regulations led to a lack of due process for those accused of sexual assault or harassment. Fifty-one percent agree and 25 percent disagree the Obama administration approach did not place enough emphasis on due process for the accused. Sixty percent of private college leaders agree with this statement, compared with 42 percent of their public college peers. However, public doctoral institution presidents are most likely to express concern about due process, with 70 percent agreeing the Obama approach did not go far enough in this respect.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in November proposed changes in federal regulations on how colleges must, under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, prevent sexual assault of students and respond to complaints of sexual assault. The regulations would make significant shifts away from guidance offered during the Obama administration.
Using a five-point scale, where 5 means strongly agree and 1 means strongly disagree,
please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.
Female college presidents differ from male college presidents in their views of the recent changes in Title IX policy. Nineteen percent of women versus 33 percent of men say the DeVos proposals would move federal policy on sexual assault in the right direction. And 63 percent of female presidents versus 52 percent of male presidents believe there will be a decline in the number of sexual assault claims. Men (57 percent) are more likely than women (41 percent) to agree the Obama policies did not place enough emphasis on due process for those accused of sexual assault or harassment.
College presidents are not expecting significant change in federal higher education legislation with Democrats now the majority in the House.
Forty-three percent disagree and 24 percent agree that the new Congress will pass legislation that will benefit their institution. Public and private college presidents hold similar views on this question.
Also, by a 43 percent to 25 percent margin, college presidents disagree rather than agree the new Congress will pass federal budgets that are favorable to institutions like theirs. Public and private college presidents differ on this question, with private college presidents more pessimistic. Private college presidents tend to disagree Congress will pass favorable budgets to institutions like their own (48 percent disagree and 18 percent agree), whereas public college presidents are divided in their views (35 percent disagree and 32 percent agree).
Presidents are evenly split as to whether they believe the new Congress will pass legislation to renew the Higher Education Act — 37 percent agree and 33 percent disagree. Public doctoral and community college presidents are most likely to believe this will happen.
The next questions are about federal higher education over the next two years after the new Congress begins its session in January.
Using a five-point scale, where 5 means strongly agree and 1 means strongly disagree, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.
Presidents are more confident about the financial future of their institution over the next five and 10 years than they have been at any point in the six years since the Inside Higher Ed survey first asked these questions. Two-thirds of presidents now strongly agree or agree they are confident their institution will be financially stable over the next five years. Slightly fewer, 57 percent, are confident about their institution’s finances over the next 10 years. The shorterand longer-term financial assessments are modestly more positive than in the 2017 and 2018 surveys, but substantially more positive than in the 2015 and 2016 surveys.
Presidents at private and public colleges are equally likely to be confident in their institution’s financial situation over the next five years, but private college leaders are more optimistic about their institution’s finances in 10 years than are public college presidents, 60 percent to 52 percent.
Private baccalaureate presidents (64 percent), along with presidents of public doctoral universities (61 percent), are most confident about their institution’s 10-year outlook. About half of presidents at other types of institutions say they are confident about their college’s financial stability over the next 10 years.
Although presidents collectively tend to be more confident in their institutions’ five-year outlook than their 10-year outlook, private baccalaureate presidents are similarly confident in each. They have been about equally confident in their institution’s shorter- and longer-term financial outlooks in each of the last two years’ surveys.
Although college mergers and closures have been rare historically, there have been an increasing number in recent years as some institutions are unable to overcome the financial difficulties their college faces. College presidents expect the trend to continue — 96 percent anticipate at least some closures this year, with 30 percent believing between one and five colleges will close, 34 percent predicting 6 to 10 shutting down, and 32 percent predicting more than 10 closing.
Some struggling colleges opt to merge with other institutions rather than closing down operations. Presidents are more likely to foresee mergers involving private colleges than public colleges but expect to see mergers this year in both sectors. Ninety-seven percent of campus chief executives expect to see additional private college mergers in 2019, with 53 percent predicting there will be between one and five mergers, 28 percent between six and 10, and 16 percent more than 10 mergers. Eighty-four percent of presidents believe some public colleges will merge this year, with 60 percent expecting there will be one to five public college mergers, 17 percent between six and 10, and 7 percent thinking there will be more than 10.
Fourteen percent of presidents say they could see their own college closing or merging in the next five years, essentially unchanged from the 13 percent who said so in 2018. Presidents at public doctoral colleges and private doctoral or master’s colleges are least likely to believe their college might have to merge or close within the next five years.
Higher education institutions commonly benefit from large charitable gifts, but such charity can sometimes spark controversy. The survey asked presidents about some of the issues that arise with respect to charitable donations. Three-quarters of presidents strongly agree or agree that the wealthiest institutions in higher education receive too large a share of philanthropic dollars. Consistent with those views, 77 percent of presidents say the largest gifts to higher education would do more good if they went to nonelite institutions.
Some donors put stipulations on how the funds they donate can be used, such as wanting input into decisions on hiring and the awarding of grant money. College presidents are more likely to believe than not to believe there has been an increase in the number of inappropriate conditions put on donations. Forty percent of presidents strongly agree or agree, while 27 percent strongly disagree or disagree, that donors of large gifts are making more inappropriate demands on the use of funds than in the past. Public college and university leaders (46 percent) are more likely than private college presidents (34 percent) to believe there is an increase in such demands.
Asked about their own experiences, 15 percent of presidents say their institution has been offered financial gifts with conditions attached that they considered inappropriate. Roughly one in three presidents, 34 percent, say they have personally rejected gifts because of strings attached about how the funds could be used. Public doctoral and private doctoral/master’s institution presidents are more likely than leaders of other types of institutions to say their college has been offered gifts with inappropriate conditions attached, and to say they have personally rejected financial gifts that had stipulations on how the funds could be used.
Colleges have received considerable scrutiny in the last year over the ways they bring in millions of dollars in gifts or contracts. Large gifts have been criticized for going to institutions that are already wealthy. Institutions have been accused of letting donors have too much control over the use of funds. Some have examined higher education institution ties to foreign countries with questionable human rights records.
Using a five-point scale, where 5 means strongly agree and 1 means strongly disagree, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements.
Colleges have increasingly expanded their institution’s reach by establishing branch locations in other areas, including in foreign countries. Such endeavors can be controversial because establishing ties with other countries can be interpreted as an implicit endorsement of the country’s laws and social norms. Most notably, this can occur if the country does not have the same protections for human rights that the U.S. and other Western nations do.
Sixty-four percent of presidents strongly agree or agree that colleges and universities should reconsider their involvement with countries that do not respect basic human rights. This includes 69 percent of public college presidents and 59 percent of private college leaders.
By 55 percent to 19 percent, presidents agree rather than disagree that colleges should not set up branch
campuses in countries that do not respect basic human rights. Again, public college presidents are more likely to hold this view (62 percent) than are private college presidents (49 percent).
After reaching a new low last year, presidents’ assessment of race relations on U.S. college campuses has
improved modestly, with 25 percent now describing race relations as excellent or good compared with 20 percent in 2018. Presidents are still much more negative about race relations than they were in 2014 and 2015, before a wave of protests on race swept across U.S. campuses.
Presidents remain positive about race relations on their own campus, with 81 percent describing them as excellent or good, similar to ratings in past years but not as positive as in 2014.
Over all, 18 percent of presidents say race relations at their college are “excellent,” and 63 percent say they are “good.” Eighteen percent describe race relations as fair and 1 percent as poor. Public doctoral university presidents are slightly less positive about race relations at their institutions than are presidents at other colleges.
Only 1 percent of college presidents believe race relations on college campuses across the country are excellent, while 24 percent believe they are good and the majority, 66 percent, fair. Nine percent believe race relations on college campuses are poor, down from 14 percent a year ago.
Last fall, there were a number of anti-Jewish incidents on college campuses. Relatively few presidents, 12 percent, report an increase in anti-Semitism on their campus. The vast majority, 81 percent, say there has been no change, while 7 percent report a decrease. Presidents at four-year public institutions are most likely to perceive an increase in anti-Semitism at their college, including 24 percent of those at public doctoral institutions and 22 percent of those at public master’s or baccalaureate institutions.
Similar to the pattern seen with race, presidents are much more likely to see conditions as worse on college
campuses nationwide than on their own. Roughly two-thirds of college presidents perceive that anti-Semitism is increasing a lot (12 percent) or a little (53 percent) on college campuses. Twenty-eight percent do not believe there has been any change, while 7 percent think there has been a decrease in anti-Semitism. Presidents at four-year public institutions are most likely to perceive an increase in anti-Semitism at U.S. colleges.
Presidents of colleges in the East are more likely than those in other regions to say anti-Semitism has been
increasing on their campus and on U.S. college campuses more broadly. Specifically, 20 percent of Eastern
college presidents say anti-Semitism has been increasing at their college, compared with 9 percent of those in the Midwest, 7 percent in the South and 14 percent in the West. Also, 83 percent of Eastern college presidents say anti-Semitism has been increasing on U.S. college campuses, as do 61 percent of those in the Midwest, 57 percent in the South and 64 percent in the West.
College presidents likely concur with many students and parents in believing that textbooks and course materials cost too much — 87 percent agree they cost too much, including 57 percent who strongly agree.
Presidents are open to using free, open educational resources in college courses as an alternative to textbooks:
85 percent strongly agree or agree that colleges should embrace such materials. A slim majority of presidents,
51 percent, also endorse the idea of taking some control away from faculty in choosing course materials to save students money on textbooks; 27 percent disagree with this approach.
Presidents are divided on whether faculty members and institutions should be open to changing to lower-cost course materials that may not be of the same quality as the higher-priced options. Thirty-nine percent agree with this idea, while 37 percent disagree. Last year, presidents were more likely to favor (44 percent) than oppose (34 percent) that approach.
Public institution presidents are more likely than those at private institutions to believe textbooks cost too much and are more supportive of ways to save students money on textbooks.
Inside Higher Ed surveys have asked some of the same questions about textbooks of faculty members and chief academic officers (CAOs). Presidents are similar to CAOs in their opinions about changing textbooks to save students money. Both CAOs and presidents are divided in their opinions on the desirability of using cheaper, but possibly lower-quality, options. However, they are sympathetic to the idea that saving students money justifies some loss of faculty control in course material selection.
Faculty members, though, hold very different views from college leadership. Faculty members are more likely to oppose than to support the idea of changing to lower-cost options that may be of lesser quality. Also by a nearly three-to-one margin, faculty members reject the idea of yielding control of course material selection in an effort to save students money on textbooks.
College presidents believe the public is harboring numerous misperceptions about higher education. Just 16 percent strongly agree or agree, while 50 percent strongly disagree or disagree, that most Americans have an accurate view of the purpose of higher education.
Similarly, 18 percent of presidents strongly agree or agree, and 55 percent strongly disagree or disagree, that most Americans have an accurate view of the purpose of their institution’s sector of higher education. Private college presidents (60 percent) are more likely than public college presidents (49 percent) to disagree that Americans understand their sector’s purpose.
Among the specific misperceptions college presidents believe the public holds are:
College presidents’ opinions on the image of higher education have generally been stable in recent years. However, fewer presidents this year than in 2018 strongly agree or agree that higher education is viewed as having misplaced priorities because of the amenities some colleges offer (68 percent, down from 78 percent) and that colleges are viewed as wealthier than they are because of attention to large endowments (77 percent, down from 84 percent).
Such misperceptions may help explain why Americans’ confidence in higher education has declined in recent years. Asked to assess how responsible each of four factors are for declining support for higher education, presidents are most inclined to believe concerns about college affordability and student debt are driving the change in attitudes. Fifty-seven percent of presidents say these financial concerns are very responsible for decreasing support for higher education.
Fewer, 38 percent, believe concerns about career preparation are very responsible, and 28 percent say the same about the perception of liberal bias in higher education. Presidents are much less likely to believe underrepresentation of low-income students is affecting support for higher education, with just 8 percent saying it is very responsible.
At least half, however, think each of the four factors are at least somewhat responsible for declining confidence in higher education.
Presidents are less likely to believe concerns about affordability and debt are very responsible for declining support for higher education than they were a year ago, when 63 percent held this view.
Declining confidence in higher education has been more apparent among Americans who are politically Republican than among other political subgroups. Two-thirds of presidents strongly agree or agree they are worried about Republicans’ increasing skepticism about higher education. Presidents at four-year public universities are especially concerned, with 84 percent indicating they are worried. There are regional differences as well, with 60 percent of those in the South expressing concern, compared with between 71 percent and 76 percent of presidents in the other major regions of the U.S.
Fifty-nine percent of presidents strongly agree or agree that perceptions of colleges as places that are intolerant of conservative political views are having a major negative impact on higher education.
However, college presidents do not believe Republican doubts about higher education are justified — 15 percent agree they are, while 69 percent disagree. One reason they may think the doubts are not justified is that they believe classrooms on their campus are as welcoming to conservative students as they are to liberal ones — 62 percent strongly agree or agree this is the case, while 18 percent strongly disagree or disagree. Presidents also evenly divide as to whether perceptions of colleges as places intolerant of conservative views are accurate — 37 percent agree they are, while 40 percent disagree.
Opinions on some of these matters have changed in the past year. Presidents are less likely now (66 percent) than in 2018 (77 percent) to express worry about Republican skepticism about higher education. They are also less inclined to believe that perceptions of colleges as intolerant of conservative views are having a major negative impact on higher education, with the 59 percent holding that view down from 65 percent last year.
At the same time, slightly more presidents agree now (37 percent) than did so last year (32 percent) that perceptions of colleges as intolerant of conservative views are accurate.
Presidents are most likely to say their prior roles prepared them well for handling academic affairs and working with faculty members. They are least likely to say they were well-prepared for handling fund raising and digital learning when they became a president.
More than 8 in 10 presidents say they were well-prepared for working with faculty members (84 percent) and for academic affairs (83 percent), with half or more saying they were “very well-prepared” in these two areas. Close to 7 in 10 say they were well-prepared for financial management (68 percent) and admissions and enrollment management (68 percent). Sixty-four percent say they were well-prepared for working with trustees, and 59 percent for public and media relations.
Barely half of presidents believe they were well-prepared to deal with race relations (52 percent), athletics (51 percent), hot-button student affairs issues like sexual assault or drinking (51 percent), and government relations (50 percent). Forty-nine percent thought they were well-prepared for digital learning and 48 percent for fund raising.
Presidents’ responses on these items were very similar to last year. The biggest difference was a four-point
increase in the percentage who say they were well-prepared for their duties related to digital learning.
Some of the areas public college presidents believe they were better prepared for than private college presidents include working with faculty members (89 percent to 79 percent), government relations (57 percent to 44 percent) and digital learning (52 percent to 45 percent). In contrast, more private college presidents thought they were prepared for fundraising (54 percent to 44 percent) and athletics (57 percent to 46 percent).
Just 34 percent of public associate college presidents say they were well-prepared to handle fund raising, much lower than for presidents at other types of institutions. Also, public doctoral institution presidents are significantly more likely than their peers to think they were prepared for government relations (80 percent), financial management (80 percent) and fundraising (77 percent), but significantly less likely to be prepared for athletics (35 percent).
The job of college president has always been a mix of duties, and individual presidents have more preparation for some of those duties than others. Please indicate how prepared you were for each of the following presidential duties when you first became a college president.
Founded in 2004, Inside Higher Ed is the online source for news, opinions and jobs for all of higher education. Inside Higher Ed provides what higher education professionals need to thrive in their jobs or to find better ones: breaking news and feature stories, provocative daily commentary, areas for comment on every article, practical career columns, and a powerful suite of tools that keep academic professionals well-informed about issues and employment opportunities and that help colleges identify and hire talented personnel.
For more information, visit www.insidehighered.com.
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