[Fargo, North Dakota] – The Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth today released its annual survey shedding light on college students’ opinions about viewpoint diversity, freedom of speech on campus, their beliefs regarding the future, and attitudes toward capitalism and socialism.

The sections:

Viewpoint Diversity and Speech Regulation: Delve into the diversity of opinions in classrooms and gauge student sentiment on regulating speech on campus and within classes.

Global Perspectives and Future Outlook: Evaluate how college education impacts students' world perspectives, opinions about America, views on future prospects, and their perceived ability to contribute to society.

Capitalism and Socialism: Investigate students' attitudes towards capitalism and socialism and evaluate classroom influence on these views.

Key Findings

• 65% of students favor reporting professors for stating opinions or facts on affirmative action, police shootings, guns, sex/gender, or vaccines.
• Less than 50% of students believe the world has improved over the last 50 years.
• Only 41% of students believe the U.S. has improved over the last 50 years.
• Among students who believe the U.S. has declined, 53% attribute this to a lack of government programs.
• Less than a quarter of students have a favorable view of capitalism.
• More students have a favorable view of socialism than an unfavorable view.

The survey results indicate a significant disparity between how students view the future of the world and the U.S. compared to their futures. Furthermore, more students have a favorable view of socialism than capitalism and more have an unfavorable view of capitalism than socialism.

John Bitzan, the Director of the Challey Institute and report's author, noted, “Our survey results suggest that universities need to improve. If we aim to train tomorrow’s professionals and leaders to think critically and help continue the progress our society has made, we need to foster an open environment where diverse ideas are freely exchanged and explored.” 

For a detailed analysis and complete report on the survey, please visit https://www.ndsu.edu/challeyinstitute/.

ABOUT 

The Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth at North Dakota State University aims to advance understanding and knowledge of the world's critical issues through research, innovation, and engagement. The Institute is dedicated to fostering an academic environment that embraces intellectual diversity, critical analysis, and global perspectives.