The public gives community colleges lower marks for job preparation than four-year colleges, a Pew Research Center study finds.
Only 12 percent of the public say a two-year degree from a community college “prepares someone very well for a well-paying job in today’s economy,” and 46 percent say it prepares a person somewhat well.
When asked how well a four-year degree from a college or university prepares someone for a job, 16 percent said very well, and 51 percent said somewhat well.
That’s one finding from a report released this week titled “The Growing Partisan Divide in Views of Higher Education.” The report mostly focuses on the gap between what Democrats and Republicans think about college campuses today.
“Despite the public’s increasingly negative views about higher education and its role in society,” the report states, “most Americans say a college education is important – if not essential – in helping a young person succeed in the world today.”