Vanderbilt University Unity Poll: Americans say college should teach “how to think,” not “what to think”

• Americans have consensus view of the importance of colleges and universities teaching core skills 
• When reminded about the cost of securing a degree, Americans are more likely to question the value of a college education 
• Americans do not want politicians interfering with what campuses teach, and they do not want universities and colleges getting involved in politics 
• Public remains highly divided on controversial areas of study, such as gender identity and gay marriage. By contrast, the public, collectively, sees the merit in colleges tackling issues like slavery.   

As conversations about the value and nature of higher education continue at colleges and universities nationwide, a new national Vanderbilt Unity Poll finds that Americans are largely united on the fundamental value of higher education—and in their distaste for the influence of politics and the cost of college degrees. 

The poll, conducted by the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, surveyed 1,033 U.S. adults from Nov. 7 to Nov. 10, 2025. The survey has a margin of error of +/-3.5 percentage points. Questions largely focused on issues related to higher education, building on findings from the September Unity Poll that explored issues around political neutrality and the importance of a college degree. 

Additionally, the poll incorporated some questions from prominent surveys conducted in 1945 and 1949, showing that today’s debates about higher education are far from new.  

“Many observers think current debates about the nature of higher education are relatively new but they are not,” said John Geer, co-director of the Vanderbilt Unity Poll and professor of political science. “The country, for example, was debating the purpose, value and direction of higher education in the 1940s when the federal government made major investments in research and teaching during and after World War II.” 

Getting back to basics 

As the findings from the September poll indicated, Americans largely value the research and teaching that colleges provide, and they believe a college degree is an important tool in securing a successful career. The current survey results reveal the most important of those are the fundamental, tangible aspects of a college education. When asked how important each of these things is for their child to get from college: 

• 90% say “the ability to think more logically” is the most or very important 
• 85% say “the ability to get along with and understand people” is the most or very important 
• 80% say “the desire and ability to be a more useful citizen” is the most or very important 
• 79% say “training to fit them for a specific occupation or profession” is the most or very important 
• 77% say “a larger amount of factual information” is the most or very important 
• 77% say “moral growth” is the most or very important 

“One of the clearest findings is that the public wants colleges to get back to basics,” said Geer. “When you ask about the core purposes of a college education, you see almost no political polarization. That is, liberal Democrats and MAGA Republicans agree—a rare thing these days.” 

“People want colleges and professors to teach students how to think, not what to think,” added Vanderbilt Poll Co-Director Josh Clinton, who holds the Abby and Jon Winkelried Chair at Vanderbilt and is a professor of political science. “The public most highly values those parts of higher education that help students think critically, process information and contribute meaningfully to society. The closer you get to subjects and content that has associations with contemporary political divisions, the more you see public support fracture.” 

Assessing the return on investment 

A key component of the survey included a question around the “value” of a college education. When value is defined in terms of the investment of time, 62 percent indicated a college degree is “worth it…because people have a better chance to get a good job.” However, when value is defined by a financial investment, the number of those who feel it to be “worth it” falls to 53 percent. When mentioning the cost of a college education, all partisan groups—save for MAGA Republicans—feel college is less valuable. For people who self-identify as MAGA, only 40 percent believe a college education is “worth it” regardless of whether you mention cost. By contrast, 76 percent of Democrats think attending college is worth attending when asking about the “time” involved in getting a degree. That proportion drops to 67 percent when you mention “cost” rather than “time.”   

Public still pushing for neutrality 

Results from the September Unity poll demonstrated that the public felt strongly (71 percent) that universities should not take official positions on controversial political issues. That sentiment remains strong in the November poll, with a nearly even divide among possible approaches. 

In fact, 38 percent of November respondents believe universities should remain strictly neutral on all political and social issues. Another 34 percent think universities should speak out only when issues directly affect their ability to educate and conduct research. Just 28 percent say universities should actively engage in important public and political debates that affect society. 

At the same time, many Americans express some distrust of universities, with a plurality believing their values do not align with those of most colleges and universities (45 percent) and doubting that these institutions act in the public interest (44 percent). Despite this ambivalence, most also believe that politicians should stay out of the classroom, even at public universities that receive government funding. 

Reflecting this preference for keeping politics out of higher education, Americans broadly believe state legislatures should not control what is taught about subjects such as U.S. history (66 percent), capitalism and socialism (68 percent), evolution (70 percent), and gender identity and sexual orientation (74 percent). And when asked about federal involvement, 65 percent say the government should not try to direct how professors teach in colleges and universities. 

“Overwhelmingly, people want politics kept out of the classroom,” Clinton said. “They don’t want professors using the classroom to push political views, and they don’t want politicians trying to dictate what happens in higher education. People want education to be about education.” 

Learning from the past 

That opinion about neutrality extends to how professors teach, and the notion is not new. 

In a 1945 Roper/Fortune nationwide survey, 63 percent of respondents said the government should not try to direct the way a professor teaches. In 1949, when asked how colleges should handle classroom discussions of socialism and capitalism, 65 percent believed the best approach was to present arguments for both sides, and 38 percent said professors should refrain from expressing their own opinion when doing so. 

Americans today feel even more strongly about the importance of neutrality: 97 percent say the best approach is to present arguments for both sides, and nearly two-thirds believe those arguments should be presented without any expression of the instructor’s personal views. 

More than ever, people want professors to teach students how to think about competing arguments, but not which side to take. 

Controversy about curriculum 

As universities across the country remove controversial programs and departments and rebuke professors who cover hot-button issues, the study finds little consensus on how best to approach these curriculum areas. 

Most Americans (72 percent) feel that colleges should have classes that cover the history of slavery in America. Fifty-three percent feel that colleges should have classes on racial and religious prejudice, which, interestingly, is down from 62 percent in 1949. 

However, when it comes to gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and gay marriage, the public is strongly divided. Only 37 percent feel that colleges should have classes that take up these subjects, and 32 percent feel they should be discussed in classes only when students ask about them. The remaining 31 percent (30 percent for sexual orientation and gay marriage) feel it would be better not to discuss them at all. The closer a topic moves toward the political arena, the less support the public expresses for having it taught on college campuses. 

About The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy 

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy is a nonpartisan initiative dedicated to generating, curating and disseminating evidence-based knowledge about how to heal societal divisions. The project aims to replace contempt and polarization with respect and collaboration, strengthening the core of American democracy by bringing together leading scholars, political leaders and practitioners. The project is committed to rigorous research and its practical application to empower individuals and communities to bridge divides. This poll is an example of injecting evidence into the national debate.