I’m thrilled to announce the release of our new research report: Uncovering the Attitudes of Today’s Gen X Parents.
In this unique study, we unpack findings from our recent attitudinal segmentation study of Gen X parents with college-bound students. We explore parents’ shared attitudes, opinions, and beliefs about higher education along with closer looks at other topics like parents’ trust in higher ed, views on campus safety, and the campus tour.
We’re proud to make this contribution to the higher ed community and hope these findings prove helpful to marketing and enrollment leaders as they seek to understand and connect with today’s parents.
Key Findings from the Study:
Gen X parents vary widely in their attitudes toward higher education.
- 25% of parents belong to the Skeptical segment, which questions the value of higher education and feels the industry is corrupt. Meanwhile, an equally large segment, referred to as Invested parents, says there’s no limit to what they’d do to ensure their child has a good college experience.
Parents think holistically about the value of college
- Across all attitudinal segments, parents list personal growth, independence, and improved career opportunities as the top benefits of higher education.
Higher ed’s cost has hurt parents’ trust far more than admissions scandals and campus crime
- 64% of parents say rising tuition costs have negatively impacted their trust in higher ed, compared to 35% who cite campus crime and 25% who cite admissions scandals.
Campus tours are still highly influential in the college search
- 77% of parents say the campus tour is “very important”, “extremely important”, or “essential”.
- 75% of parents who attended a campus say they’ve shared their experience with other families.
