State of Higher Ed 2026 | The National Society of Leadership and Success

The Core Tension

Confidence Meets a Market That Isn't Convinced

Students believe they are ready for the workforce. Their schools are less certain. And the employers waiting to hire them are the least convinced of all.

The Problem

A three-way divide is fueling a new kind of anxiety about whether a college degree will really pay off.

83.8% of undergraduates feel their education has adequately prepared them for the workforce.

The Effect

Students feel academically prepared but doubt how far a degree will carry them — shaping how they make career decisions and use support.

37% of recruiters agree graduates are prepared — while the vast majority of students believe they are.

The Solution

Students equipped with a proactive mindset through experiential learning and real-world skill-building are better prepared and less anxious.

94% of those who completed an internship say it prepared them — but only 19.4% of undergraduates have had one.

The institutions that instill a proactive mindset and provide real-world experiences will close both the skills gap and the anxiety gap.

Are Colleges Offering Enough Value?

The Case for College Is Harder to Make — and Harder to Hear

35%

of Americans say a college education is “very important” — down from 75% in 2010.

Most Americans still believe higher education offers a meaningful return on investment, but that confidence is eroding — and students feel it. Rising tuition, a volatile job market, and the rapid advance of AI have made the value of a degree harder to defend.

Parents are increasingly skeptical, too. In 2024–25, nearly two-thirds of families contributed from their own income and savings to pay for their child’s education, even as family satisfaction with college ROI fell from 77% to 59% in a single year. Their number-one request from colleges: clearer information on career outcomes and job placement.

Yet students keep showing up. 83.3% say they’re getting their money’s worth, and 92.2% feel their professors and administrators care about their career success. But what happens when that optimism meets the job market? Employers apply a different standard than students expect, and the gap between reality and perceived expectations is wider in 2026 than in 2025.

About this study. A total of 2,178 undergraduate students, graduate students, recent college graduates, college administrators, and recruiters answered questions to reveal the evolving gap between higher education and employment. Recruiter findings are based on 27 responses and should be read as directional. Year-over-year comparisons with our 2025 survey (n=3,790) are directional as well, given differences in sample size and composition.

The Parent Dimension

Parents Are Asking the Same Questions — and Not Hearing Answers

Family satisfaction with college ROI dropped 18 points in a single year. The parents footing the bill now ask colleges what employers ask: what will this graduate actually be able to do?

59%

Satisfied with ROI

of families are satisfied with college ROI in 2024–25 — down from 77% the year before.

68%

Can't Find Outcomes

94% of prospective parents say graduate job outcomes are essential information — but 68% can’t find it.

1 in 3

Open to Trade School

parents is now open to trade school as an alternative to a four-year degree — up from just 13% in 2019.

They want to be able to show: yes, we went through the hard thing, and I have something to show for it at the end.

Amy Everson

Senior Director of University Recognition, American Public University System

The Emotional Landscape

Anxiety Redefines the Student Experience

Students are confident in their degrees, but not in the job market. That anxiety shows up across nearly every dimension of the student experience.

46%

Their Ideal Job

are worried about landing their ideal job.

33%

Any Job At All

are worried about landing any job at all.

34%

Starting a Career

say the prospect of beginning a career scares them.

42%

Financial Security

worry about their future financial security.

35%

Owning a Home

worry they’ll never own a home.

51%

Salary Over Mission

now prioritize competitive salary and benefits over mission-driven work — a first.

59% of college students nationally have considered dropping out due to financial stress.

The Paradox of Confidence

A Striking Three-Way Divide

Students’ confidence in their education exists in direct tension with their skepticism about its market value. Among recruiters, that skepticism runs far deeper.

Are graduates prepared for the workforce?

Students84%

Administrators65%

Recruiters37%

Does a degree justify its cost?

Students53%

Administrators61%

Recruiters22%

More than half of undergraduates (53.2%) agree their degree justifies the cost — but nearly as many (46.8%) disagree. The 31-point gap between students and recruiters on degree value is the defining tension of the 2026 findings.

The Quiet Crisis

The Stress Is Real — and Most of It Stays Private

This isn’t a vague mental health crisis. Students are walking into a volatile job market, watching AI rewrite career paths, and asking whether four years and tens of thousands of dollars will get them where they need to go.

36%

Need More Time

say they need to spend more time improving their mental health.

35%

Struggle in Silence

keep their mental health struggles to themselves.

50%

Fair or Poor

of college students nationally rate their overall mental health as fair or poor.

Why this matters for administrations

Administrators see the problem clearly. What they lack is the capacity to solve it.

100%

See the Worry

say their students worry about financial stability.

57.9%

Preparing Students

say their school is adequately preparing students for financial stability.

32.9%

Adequate Budget

say their budget is adequate to serve student needs.

Being able to recognize that sometimes life is going to throw obstacles in your way that are going to make that path not linear, and you still came back and figured it out — those stories hit home for people.

Amy Everson

Senior Director of University Recognition, American Public University System

Three Gaps That Define Higher Ed in 2026

Not One Gap, But Three — Each With a Different Fix

The disagreement between students, administrators, and recruiters isn’t a single misunderstanding. It breaks down into three specific gaps, each measurable, each addressable, and each pointing to a different lever institutions can pull.

The Experience Gap

Internships are the clearest bridge between classroom and career — and too few students are getting one. Career services usage remains low, and the students who need internships most are often not partaking in them.

19.4%

Have Interned

of undergraduates have completed an internship — up slightly from 17.2% in 2025.

49.4%

School Helped

of students who had an internship say their college helped them land it.

46%

Used Career Services

of the 84.3% aware of career services have actually used them.

Did your internship prepare you for your career?

Undergraduates96%

Graduate students95%

Recent graduates87%

The Skills Mismatch

Students know what employers want — mostly. Students rate time management and work ethic as the top skills employers seek. Recruiters rank critical thinking first. The gaps are where colleges can coach.

Students say employers want…

Time management88%

Work ethic88%

Communication86%

Recruiters actually want…

Critical thinking78%

Work ethic74%

Communication70%

Students and recruiters agree on communication — but recruiters lead with critical thinking, a skill students under-rate. That blind spot is exactly where coaching pays off.

The AI Disconnect

AI anxiety is present but moderate — and it’s the finding worth paying attention to. Students are worried about their financial futures, but haven’t yet fully connected those concerns to AI displacement. That gap is an opportunity for institutions to get ahead of the curve.

28.8%

Undergrads Worried

of undergraduates worry about AI displacing their job prospects.

40.7%

Not Worried

of undergraduates do not worry about AI displacing their job prospects.

62%

Graduating Seniors

of graduating seniors say they are concerned about the impact of AI on their careers.

I think that there’s a window in the next six to nine months where students with their free time, with their hobbies, with their creativity, can actually get ahead of where most employers’ expectations are.

Kevin Prentiss

Head of Product and Technology, the NSLS

The Path Forward

Five Ways Higher Education Can Support & Prepare Students

The path forward is well-defined. The data points clearly to five areas where institutions can make a meaningful difference — and where the gap between what students need and what they’re getting is most actionable.

Close the Career Services Gap

84.3% of undergraduates know their school’s career services exist, but only 46% of them have ever used them — meaning just 38.8% of all undergraduates have engaged with what their institution already offers. Converting awareness into engagement, earlier in the journey, is within every institution’s reach.

Integrate Financial Wellness Into Career Preparation

Only 57.9% of administrators say their school adequately prepares students for financial stability, and only 63.6% of students agree. Career preparation and financial literacy aren’t separate problems — they’re the same problem viewed from two angles.

Expand Internship Access

94% of students who completed an internship say it prepared them for their career — yet only 19.4% of undergraduates have had one. Explicit participation goals, stronger employer partnerships, and college-facilitated pathways reach the students least likely to find internships on their own.

Turn AI Anxiety Into AI Fluency

28.8% of undergraduates worry about AI displacing their job prospects, but most haven’t connected that worry to a plan. Moderate concern is an opening, not a crisis — structured AI fluency programming builds the confidence and employability the market increasingly demands. The window is open right now.

Coach Skill Articulation, Not Just Skill Acquisition

A 31-point gap separates students (53.2%) and recruiters (22.2%) on whether a degree justifies its cost — and curriculum alone won’t close it. Students need coaching on how to translate what they’re learning into language that resonates with hiring managers, on résumés, and in the early months on the job.

What students wish their school would provide

32%

More career-focused courses

27%

A greater sense of belonging

26%

More career resources

45%

Say they receive all they need

Meanwhile, 77.6% of administrators wish they had greater resources to better connect with students, and 88.2% say their students would benefit from extra leadership development training.

Conclusion

Students Are Still Invested. Can Higher Ed Meet Them Where They Are?

Despite the cost, despite a job market they don’t fully trust, despite a technology curve reshaping work faster than anyone can plan for — students keep showing up. They still believe their schools are on their side.

83%

Money's Worth

of undergraduates say they’re getting their money’s worth.

92%

Schools Care

feel their professors and administrators care about their career success.

84%

Feel Prepared

say their education has adequately prepared them for the workforce.

The three gaps this report lays out — experience, skills, and AI — are not abstract. Each has a measurable fix, and each is within reach of institutions that choose to act. The window Kevin Prentiss describes is open right now.

Sources & Citations

NSLS (2026). The State of Higher Ed. The National Society of Leadership and Success.
Saad, L. (2024). Perceived Importance of College Hits New Low. Gallup.
Sallie Mae and Ipsos (2025). How America Pays for College 2025.
CampusESP (2025). 2025 Current Families Report.
NSLS (2025). The State of Higher Ed 2025. The National Society of Leadership and Success.
Ellucian (2024). National Survey Reveals 59% of College Students Considered Dropping Out Due to Financial Stress.
HigherEd Dive. Half of college students say their mental health is ‘fair’ to ‘terrible,’ survey finds.
CampusESP and RNL (2025). 2025 Prospective Family Survey.
Lake, S. (2025). More parents are done pushing college. 1 in 3 are now betting on trade school instead. Fortune.
BestColleges (2025). Survey: The Economy, AI Have 2025 Grads Worried for Their Careers.

The Experience, Skills, and AI Gaps Defining a New Generation of Graduates