Americans' confidence in its colleges and universities has plummeted in recent years, with just 36% of Americans saying they approve of the institutions.  The number is even lower.

     Gallup released a poll finding that just 17% of Americans say they have "a great deal" of confidence in their universities, and 19% saying they had "quite a lot." Meanwhile, 40% said they only had "some" confidence, and 22% said they had "very little."  The poll follows a steady decline in Americans' faith in educational institutions since 2015, when 57% of Americans said they had confidence in their colleges and universities. By 2018, the total had fallen to 48%.  Gallup conducted its poll from June 1-22 via cellphone and landlines, calling 1,013 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

        The Gallup poll follows a wider trend of Americans losing faith in their institutions across the board. A Fox News poll from late June found that confidence in U.S. institutions such as the FBI, Supreme Court and Congress has been on a steady decline since 2017 and is now reaching record lows. Less than a third of voters trust the federal government – a 20-year low.

     The Supreme Court has taken the biggest hit, falling below 50% for the first time since the question was originally asked in 2014, when 69% were confident. This erosion is across the political spectrum, with the Supreme Court down 48 points among Democrats, 21 among Republicans, and 37 among independents, since 2017.