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A new report from Gallup and Lumina Foundation found 75% of employers said college degrees will remain as important or become even more important over the next five years. (Photo/Pexels.com)

This story was originally published by Public News Service.

By Joe Ulery, producer
Public News Service
May 19, 2026

new report from Gallup and Lumina Foundation found students still believe college prepares them for work but many employers are not convinced graduates are fully ready when they enter the workforce.

Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation said most employers still value college degrees but many also say recent graduates need more training after being hired.

Courtney Brown, vice president of impact and planning for Lumina Foundation, said higher education still matters but expectations are shifting.

“People still believe degrees matter but they’re asking for clearer signals, stronger connections to opportunity and more transparency around outcomes,” Brown explained.

According to the report, nearly seven in 10 employers say recent graduates need moderate or significant additional training after being hired.

Researchers found growing concern about artificial intelligence and future careers.

Stephanie Marken, senior partner of U.S. research for Gallup, said many students are already rethinking what they study because of AI.

“Just under half of students said they had considered changing their major because of artificial intelligence, and 16% actually did make that change,” Marken reported. “So we know it’s weighing in on students’ active decision-making while they’re enrolled, and we hear a lot of concern among those graduates about, what will the labor market look like?”

Researchers said colleges face growing pressure to better connect classroom learning with rapidly changing workforce demands.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.
Public News Service is a national newswire with a local focus. Through a network of state-based newswires, PNS reports state-level, public interest news and seeks to help the average American answer the question, “how does this news impact me today?”



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