Washington, DC, Dec. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AAC&U today released The Agility Imperative: How Employers View Preparation for an Uncertain Future, a report on the findings from a national survey of employer views on higher education and its effectiveness in preparing students for the workforce. Conducted online in August 2025 by Morning Consult, the survey of 1,030 executives and hiring managers is the ninth commissioned by AAC&U since 2006.

Consistent with longitudinal findings from previous AAC&U employer surveys, the August survey found strong alignment between the outcomes of a liberal education and the skills and dispositions employers view as essential for success in entry-level jobs and for advancement in their organizations.

Key Findings:

• Employer confidence in higher education is strong. Seventy percent of employers have either “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in US higher education; 85 percent say colleges and universities are doing a good job of preparing students for the workforce, and 73 percent believe a college degree is worth the financial investment.

• Employers view higher education’s roles in workforce preparation and citizenship development as equally important. Ninety-four percent of employers believe colleges and universities should help students become informed citizens—the same share who say institutions should help prepare a skilled and educated workforce.

• Employers strongly support campus environments that protect open inquiry and diverse perspectives. Eighty-nine percent of employers agree that all topics should be open for discussion on college campuses. More than four in five say they would view a degree more favorably if it came from an institution free from government restrictions on learning and known for respecting diverse perspectives in the curriculum.

• Employers highly value—and express strong confidence in—graduates’ ability to engage constructively across disagreement. Ninety-six percent of employers say it is useful for graduates to have developed the ability to engage in constructive dialogue across disagreement while in college, and 80 percent are confident that colleges and universities are helping students develop skills that support constructive dialogue across disagreement in the workplace.

• Employers place high value on graduates’ preparation for an AI-enabled workforce—and express strong confidence that higher education is meeting this need. Nine in ten employers say it is important for graduates to have developed AI-related skills while in college, and 81 percent report confidence that colleges and universities are helping students build competencies aligned with current and emerging workplace applications of AI.

• Employers are more likely to hire graduates who participated in “high-impact practices” and other applied, hands-on experiences while in college. More than three in four employers say they would be more likely to consider hiring graduates who completed an internship or apprenticeship (81 percent), held a leadership role (81 percent), engaged with a community organization or completed a community-based project (76 percent), worked with people from diverse backgrounds or cultures (75 percent), or served as a peer mentor or advisor (75 percent).

• Microcredentials provide a clear hiring advantage. Eighty-one percent of employers say a candidate’s possession of a microcredential—such as a digital badge or certificate—positively influences their hiring decisions.

“At a time when overall public confidence in higher education has reached historic lows, it is notable—and heartening—that confidence is dramatically higher among those who evaluate graduates’ readiness for today’s evolving workforce,” said AAC&U President Lynn Pasquerella. “It is equally notable that employers recognize and value the vital role of higher education in preparing citizens for our democracy.”

“The findings in this report make the strongest case yet that educating students to be responsible citizens and educating them to be agile professionals is a false binary,” said Ashley Finley, AAC&U Vice President for Research and author of the report. “Employers, especially those under the age of forty, strongly endorse a college education that does both. This is a great opportunity to position community and civic engagement across disciplines as a ‘must have’ for career success.” 

The full report on the survey findings is available for download at www.aacu.org/2025Employers. 

The survey was conducted online August 11–24, 2025, by Morning Consult among a sample of 1,030 employers. Employers are defined as US adults who work full time in the private sector, the public sector, or in government; who hold a job title of manager or higher; and whose company or organization employs twenty-five people or more. The survey results have a margin of error of ±3 percentage points.

About AAC&U
The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is a global membership organization dedicated to advancing the democratic purposes of higher education by promoting equity, innovation, and excellence in liberal education. Through our programs and events, publications and research, public advocacy, and campus-based projects, AAC&U serves as a catalyst and facilitator for innovations that improve educational quality and equity and that support the success of all students. In addition to accredited public and private, two-year and four-year colleges and universities, and state higher education systems and agencies throughout the United States, our membership includes degree-granting higher education institutions around the world as well as other organizations and individuals. To learn more, visit www.aacu.org.

David Tritelli
American Association of Colleges and Universities
(202) 888-0811
tritelli@aacu.org