It doesn't mean much anymore to be voted “college-ed.” Degrees seen as “embarrassing”

TV host Mike Rowe warned that Americans no longer have confidence in higher education and that four-year college degrees are now considered “shameful” by many.

Discussing the optics problem facing four-year institutions and the impact the public relations nightmare is having on education, Rowe told Fox Business that “the bottom line is falling out of the market for perception for a four-year degree.”

“In the mid-1960s, higher education needed a public relations campaign, a good one, and it got one. Unfortunately, it came at the expense of every other form of education. And then we ended up with an education gap skills and no shop class and so on,” the “Dirty Jobs” star told Fox Business on Wednesday.

“I think something really extraordinary happened during the lockdowns,” he told “Bottom Line” co-hosts Sean Duffy and Dagen McDowell.

“Everyone will get a trophy,” as well as a high grade, said Mike Rowe Works Foundation CEO.

“If I'm an employer hiring a Harvard graduate, I honestly have no idea who I'm hiring. It could be a disciplined, hard-working, intelligent, self-starter. Or it could be the son of son of a legacy that went through everything,” Rowe stated.

He expressed uncertainty about the change and worried about a public relations problem “developing for the credential we know as a four-year degree.”

In accordance with Fox business:

In 2023, Gallup released a poll that found only 17 percent of Americans say they have “a lot” of confidence in their colleges, and 19 percent said they have “a lot.” Meanwhile, 40% said they only had “a little” confidence and 22% said they had “very little”.

In analysis following former President Donald Trump's victory in the New Hampshire primary, NBC News pointed to the role of those without college degrees in voting.

“In the Trump years, the GOP has been successful among non-college-educated voters, and Trump won that group handily on Tuesday night. Non-college-educated voters made up the majority of the electorate (52%) report indicated from the ballot boxes. “Among voters without college degrees, Trump won 67%, while only 31% voted for Haley. Trump's performance among these voters also increased 245 percentage points compared to 2016, when he won 42 % of them”.

“Ten years ago, if you said, 'Hey, I've got the backing of a college education behind me,' I think the average person would immediately say, 'Okay, so the smart people are with you,' but there something. happened,” Rowe told the Fox Business hosts.

“Honestly, I'm not sure what it means to say, 'Hey, I have the support of college education,' because I can't find any evidence that that means you have the support of wise, prudent, thoughtful people,” he said. to say.

Rowe, who graduated from Towson University in Maryland in 1985, pointed to recent scandals that have hit Ivy League schools and the effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on in-person classes amid tuition costs very high

“Donations are drying up. Graduates are taking their degrees off their wall because they no longer resonate with pride. They're a shame,” he said.

“So the worm is turning, guys,” he added.

“And frankly, I think that education is too important to take root in it. I want it back, I want it great”, he concluded. But I fear that it may have to be dodged before we get there.”

Senior Staff Writer
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida, where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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