Majority of Americans disapprove of Trump's treatment of colleges, poll finds
FILE-A view of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts on April 22, 2025. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A majority of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of matters related to colleges and universities, according to a new poll.
The Associated Press-NORC conducted a poll of 1,175 adults from May 1-5 to gather their results.
Trump’s handling of colleges unpopular with Americans
Why you should care: A poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research half shows that 56% of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump’s approach on higher education, compared to 4 in 10 respondents who approve.
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Meanwhile, roughly 6 in 10 Americans say colleges and universities make more of a positive contribution to medical and scientific research than a negative one, and a similar share favors maintaining federal funding for scientific research.
Tuition costs outweigh other worries
Local perspective:
Approximately 6 in 10 Americans say they are "extremely" or "very" worried about the cost of tuition, and that concern is shared by majorities of Democrats and Republicans.
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The poll reveals a divide between college-educated Americans and individuals without college degrees.
Sixty-two percent of Americans with a college degree disapprove of withholding funding from universities that don't comply with President Donald Trump’s requirements, while people without a college degree are divided, with 3 in 10 in favor of it, a similar share opposed, and roughly 4 in 10 who don't have an opinion.
Republicans are divided on cuts to colleges' federal funding
The other side:
President Donald Trump’s position on higher education resonates strongly with Republicans. Roughly 8 in 10 Republicans approve of how Trump is handling issues related to colleges and universities — which is higher than 70% of Republicans, who approve of his managing of the economy — and roughly 6 in 10 admit they are "extremely" or "very" concerned about liberal bias on campus.
RELATED: Trump blocks $2.2B in federal funding to Harvard amid antisemitism policy standoff
Moreover, Republicans are more split on withholding federal funding from schools unless they bow to Trump’s demands. About half support it, while roughly one-quarter are opposed, and a similar share of respondents are neutral.
What’s Trump’s position on education?
Dig deeper:
Since he returned to the White House, President Donald Trump has attempted to force change at universities he believes are rooted in liberalism and antisemitism.
The Trump administration froze over $2.2 billion in federal grants for Harvard University, threatened to remove the school’s tax-exempt status, and called for broad policy changes.
RELATED: Trump blocks $2.2B in federal funding to Harvard amid antisemitism policy standoff
In the case of Harvard, almost half of respondents in the AP-NORC poll oppose withholding federal funding as a punitive action, while roughly one-quarter support, while one-quarter are neutral.
According to the Associated Press, his administration also cut off money to other top colleges like Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell University, over issues including the handling of pro-Palestinian activism and transgender athletes' participation in women's sports.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by an Associated Pres-NORC poll of 1,175 adults conducted from May 1-5, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.