Rising to the Challenge
What employers really want from higher education
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At a time of intense public debate about the direction of higher education, the latest AAC&U employer survey, The Agility Imperative: How Employers View Preparation for an Uncertain Future, delivers powerful evidence that liberal education continues to matter deeply—not just for the marketplace but for civic life and student flourishing. Conducted in collaboration with Morning Consult, the online survey of more than a thousand executives and hiring managers polled in August 2025 both renews and expands a tradition of research that has tracked employer expectations for nearly two decades.
One of the most striking findings is that, despite persistent narratives calling into question the value of a college degree, employer confidence in higher education remains strong. Indeed, 70 percent of employers have “a great deal of confidence” or “quite a lot of confidence” in US higher education, and 85 percent believe colleges and universities are doing a good job preparing students for the workforce. A large majority of employers, 73 percent, also agree that a college degree is worth the financial investment.
These results reaffirm the benefits of a broad-based education grounded in experiential, applied learning and anchored in the skills foundational to liberal learning. An overwhelming 96 percent of employers strongly endorse the ability of graduates to engage in constructive dialogue across differences, and 89 percent of employers support campus environments that encourage open inquiry and diverse perspectives, hallmarks of a liberal education. These findings are especially consequential in the current higher education landscape—one in which burgeoning constraints on what can be taught, discussed, and debated are threatening to undermine the very forms of learning employers say they need the most. Moreover, they reflect a deeper truth about learning itself. Students develop judgment, adaptability, and ethical reasoning not by avoiding contested ideas but by grappling with them.
This principle has long animated liberal education. From classical texts to contemporary debates, higher education has asked students to engage with ideas that emerge from different historical contexts, cultural assumptions, and understandings of identity. When texts or questions are restricted because they resist easy categorization or provoke discomfort, students lose opportunities to practice interpretation, empathy, and critical analysis—skills that are essential in pluralistic workplaces and democratic societies.
Educational environments that encourage careful inquiry, evidence-based reasoning, and respectful disagreement are precisely those that best prepare students from all backgrounds to participate fully and confidently in public and professional life. Shielding students from complexity does not promote equity; it undermines the development of agency and voice. The AAC&U employer findings underscore that the value of liberal education lies not only in what students know but in how they learn to engage with others, navigate uncertainty, and examine competing claims.
These priorities take on added urgency as artificial intelligence accelerates change across industries, raising new concerns about how students are prepared to think, adapt, and exercise judgment. Employer confidence in higher education is now closely tied to the ability of institutions to prepare students for the opportunities and perils posed by generative artificial intelligence. Nine in ten employers say it is important for graduates to develop AI-related skills in college, and 81 percent express confidence that higher education is rising to the challenge. This underscores a core strength of liberal education: the ability to integrate technological fluency with ethical judgment, creative problem solving, and reflective learning.
Equally important, employers are paying attention not only to what students know but to how they develop and apply that knowledge through practice, reflection, collaboration, and problem solving. For employers, preparation is increasingly defined by learning processes students can demonstrate and less by accumulated knowledge. It is not surprising, then, that survey data show that experiences such as internships, apprenticeships, leadership roles, community projects, and teamwork with diverse peers make candidates more attractive to hiring managers and that microcredentials positively influence hiring decisions for 81 percent of employers.
Perhaps the most compelling finding, however, is that the same share of employers (94 percent) who believe institutions should prepare a skilled workforce maintain colleges and universities should help students become informed citizens. In an era marked by heightened polarization and partisan division, employers’ shared commitment to civic preparation highlights the enduring democratic purposes of liberal education.
Taken together, the employer survey results offer both reassurance and guidance. Rather than simply describing employer expectations, these findings offer a road map for how institutions can align educational practice with the demands of a world in flux. Institutions can use these insights to strengthen curriculum design, integrate applied learning experiences, foster open inquiry, and equip students with the skills and dispositions that employers and society value most. Colleges and universities must continue to emphasize depth and breadth, integrating disciplinary inquiry with critical thinking and ethical engagement. They need to weave applied learning experiences, AI proficiency, and credentials into curricula, enabling students to both enact and showcase what they can do. Ultimately, they must champion environments that foster the free exchange of ideas, engagement across differences, and the unfettered pursuit of the truth, in the absence of political pressures. At the same time, faculty and staff advisors should help students articulate their learning in ways that resonate with employers, connecting liberal learning outcomes with real-world application.
The survey results also remind us that liberal education is about more than career preparation—it is about preparing students to think deeply, act ethically, and engage fully in an increasingly complex world. In the process, it reinforces American higher education’s enduring public purpose: shaping informed, capable, and resilient citizens for whatever the future holds.
Illustration by Paul Spella
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