US students prefer colleges in states that allow abortion and are strict on guns
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Insights from Gallup, Inside Higher Ed, and The Chronicle of Higher Education
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State laws on guns and abortion access are affecting how current and prospective college students in the U.S. choose their universities, new polling from Gallup and The Lumina Foundation found. Colleges in places with tighter gun regulations and broader abortion access are seen as a bigger draw.
More than 84% of student respondents said they’re more likely to attend schools with tough restrictions on guns. A similar percentage, about 80%, said they’d prefer to attend college in a state with unrestricted access to abortion and other reproductive healthcare.
The surveys found that students across the political spectrum largely adhere to these views. Those who want tough gun restrictions on campus include 71% of Republican respondents, while 63% of Republicans also said they’re more likely to choose a university where abortion access is better.
SIGNALS
Not yet clear whether laws are driving down college enrollment
While college enrollment has dropped in recent years, it’s not clear that gun and abortion policies are driving those numbers down directly. “We haven’t seen it in the data yet,” Courtney Brown, VP of impact and planning at the Lumina Foundation, told Semafor.
But as enrollment declines, it’s especially key that colleges and universities listen to what students are saying on core issues such as gun control and abortion rights, the foundation said. “These obstacles hurt colleges and universities, too, which rely on talent and diversity of students, faculty, and staff to thrive,” it said.
Political issues are becoming more important to students, but cost still the deciding factor for many
These issues are only going to get more important to students and prospective students, David Strauss, a principal of a consulting and research firm that advises colleges on enrollment issues, told Inside Higher Ed. “It’s going to be in the college’s best interest to find a way to legally protect the rights and resources that their students value regardless of where they’re located,” he said. “And besides that, it’s what they owe to their students.”
However, more overtly practical concerns like cost seem to have a bigger effect on students’ college choices. John V. Winters, a professor of economics at Iowa State University, told The Chronicle of Higher Education that he’s skeptical the laws will have a major effect on enrollment. “If there’s a difference, it will be most pronounced at the margins,” he said.
Meanwhile, Courtney Brown, VP of impact and planning at the Lumina Foundation, told Semafor that students were often drawn to the most affordable in-state options.
On-campus policies that don’t align with student views could be an enrollment risk for colleges
While universities cannot change states’ laws, in an ultra-competitive enrollment landscape, their on-campus policies may have a significant effect on student recruitment, researchers said.
“Is leniency on campus gun policies, for instance, an enrollment risk? I think it’s certainly becoming a relevant question,” Zach Hyrnowski, Gallup’s research consultant on higher education, told Inside Higher Ed. A college’s decision to restrict gun access or offer reproductive health services “could make a significant difference in attracting applicants and securing commitments,” he said.
And those that allow guns on campus “may risk losing potential applicants to other universities that better align with students’ gun policy preferences,” Gallup noted in the survey.
