Perception of higher education credentials from current students and unenrolled adults is climbing back up to historic highs despite persisting skepticism around cost and mental health support, a new report from Lumina Foundation and Gallup asserts.
“The 2025 State of Higher Education” study tracked responses from nearly 14,000 U.S. adults aged 18 to 59 who do not have a college degree. Almost half are currently pursuing some credential and about a third are stopouts.
Nearly nine out of 10 U.S. adults believe at least one type of degree or credential is a valuable investment. This may have contributed to the 57% of respondents who said they have considered pursuing a degree or credential program in the past two years.
Stopped-out adults are 23 percentage points more likely to enroll in the next five years than those who have never been enrolled.
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Among currently enrolled students, the percentage of those considering withdrawing from their program has declined to 32%, a nine percentage point slide since 2022. Bachelor’s degrees experienced the largest year-over-year decrease, a seven-point slide to 25%.
Between 85% and 92% of students are confident that their degree or credential will teach them job-related skills, get them a job they love or help them earn enough money to live well. Respondents expressed the most optimism about industry certifications.
However, mental health, emotional health and costs remain substantial barriers to completion. About one-third of respondents no longer enrolled reported at least one of these issues contributed to their decision to stop out.
Mental health (41%) and emotional stress (49%) are also the most cited reasons that led enrolled students to consider stopping out. These rates were nearly double that of cost (24%).
“Emotional stress and financial pressure remain the top reasons students stop out, yet most still believe a credential is worth pursuing,” says Courtney Brown, vice president of impact and planning at Lumina. “That tells us something powerful: The value of education isn’t lost—it’s just out of reach. We need to build systems that meet students where they are and help them stay the course.”
