A Deep-Seated Conviction

In July 2025, a Gallup poll found that 42 percent of Americans had a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education, up from 36 percent in both 2023 and 2024. However, a September 2025 poll from the Pew Research Center found that 70 percent of the US public believes higher education is headed in the wrong direction—an increase from the 56 percent who said this in 2020. Yet despite the general public’s fluctuating confidence in the nation’s higher education system, US employers across the board continue to maintain that a college degree is valuable. 

In the latest employer surveyor from the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), 70 percent of respondents reported a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in higher education. This was especially true of employers under the age of forty. And while the Gallup poll found that only 20 percent of US Republicans have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in higher education, employers in the AAC&U survey who identify as Republicans reported higher levels of confidence than employers identifying as Democrats or independents. In addition, as they have in previous surveys, employers persist in emphasizing that the broad capacities developed through a liberal education—critical thinking, ethical reasoning, communication, teamwork, and the ability to adapt to new contexts—are, as AAC&U President Lynn Pasquerella puts it, “precisely the qualities most needed to thrive in today’s economy and civic life.” 

More than one thousand private- and public-sector employers with a job title of manager or higher took part in this latest AAC&U employer survey, conducted in August 2025 in collaboration with Morning Consult. Here we highlight key findings, along with recent data from other surveys about the general public’s views about a college education. (Unless otherwise noted, information is from the 2025 AAC&U employer survey.)

Download a pdf of the full fall 2025 Research Corner.

Illustrations by Christine Rösch