November/December 2025, Eye on Research
Commentary
As we close out another semester and calendar year, I find myself reflecting on the resilience of our higher-education community. As you wrap up 2025, I hope you find time to step away, recharge, and spend time with what matters most to you. Whether it's family, friends, quiet reflection, or simply catching up on sleep, take time to renew your spirit.
Thank you for your continued engagement with Eye on Research, your participation in our surveys, and your commitment to evidence-based practice. Your voices and experiences make this research community stronger.
Wishing you a peaceful holiday season and a restorative start to 2026.
AACRAO Research Updates
Chief Admissions Officer Career Profile Survey Report
This report is now available here.
AI in Academic Operations: Between Promise and Practice
This report is now available here.
Admissions Staffing: The State of the Office
On December 16, 2025, we released data from our October 2025 60-second survey on admissions staffing. Based on 270 institutional responses, the report reveals what many admissions leaders already know intuitively—many admissions offices are stretched thin and facing systemic challenges that go beyond simple resource constraints.
The average undergraduate-admissions office operates with 18 full-time staff members managing upward of a dozen different functions simultaneously. Yet 95% of institutions report facing at least one staffing challenge. The top three interconnected problems that were revealed are:
- limited budgets for competitive salaries (65%)
- lack of career laddering or promotion opportunities (56%)
- staff burnout (54%)
Among the 63% of institutions with concerns about knowledge transfer, 81% report that only a few individuals possess critical institutional knowledge. Combined with inadequate process documentation (58%) and limited cross-training opportunities (48%), we're looking at multiple succession-planning challenges at many institutions.
The report also examines:
- staffing levels by institution type, size, and control
- the scope of admissions responsibilities
- remote-work options
- entry-level compensation
- critical skills gaps
- ways in which AACRAO can support the profession
December Precollege Program Survey
This survey is currently deployed and will remain open until January 5, 2026. It benchmarks how institutions currently use precollege programs, from traditional summer experiences to emerging models.
2026 Planned Surveys
- In support of updating the 2020 AACRAO Academic Records and Transcript guide, we will deploy a survey on transcript practices in early spring.
- The Chief Enrollment Management Officer Career Profile survey will be deployed in late spring/early summer.
- We have a 60-second survey planned on the time required to complete a transcript evaluation and to share a degree audit with a new learner. We will alert you to watch for it when a date is determined.
Current Higher-Education Research and Related Topics
Faculty Views on Learner Transfer: Knowledge Gaps and Sector Differences
A study by the City University of New York (CUNY) surveyed nearly 4,000 faculty members across its community colleges and bachelor's colleges to understand their knowledge and perspectives on vertical transfer—when learners move from associate-degree to bachelor's-degree programs. Research found that while faculty play crucial roles in the transfer process, they often lack detailed knowledge about transfer. Views differ significantly between the two college sectors. These include the following.
- Faculty at both community colleges and bachelor's institutions showed limited understanding of the transfer process. Many believed their own sector should control credit-transfer decisions.
- Bachelor's-college faculty were more likely than community-college faculty to believe transfer learners should retake courses they had already completed. This gap widened at more selective institutions.
- Findings point to concrete ways to improve transfer outcomes. Some points include giving faculty better information about the transfer system and addressing conflicting perspectives between sending and receiving institutions.
Online Learners Want Flexibility, Plus Connection
This year's Voice of the Online Learner report (download required) surveyed nearly 3,800 learners in the United States about their experiences with online education. Questions included asking their perspectives during a time of significant uncertainty around politics and AI.
Findings show that while traditional priorities, such as affordability and flexibility, remain central, online learners now seek more opportunities for human connection. They also express anxiety about how to navigate AI in their educational and professional lives.
- Learners want optional (not required) campus visits and social connections with peers and professors. This blurs traditional boundaries between online and in-person education.
- Learners recognize that generative AI will transform their jobs but feel unsure about its impact. They want more guidance on how to integrate AI into their work and learning.
- Most learners pursue online education to advance in their current career path rather than switch fields. They are turning to alternative credentials for immediate skill-building. However, they remain skeptical about whether employers truly value nondegree programs or understand how they can stack toward full degrees.
College Costs Rise but Net Prices Drop, Thanks to Financial Aid
The 2025-26 Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid report reveals that while published tuition prices continue climbing at most institutions, the actual amount learners pay after grant aid has been declining for over a decade, particularly at public institutions. The report shows significant shifts in learner borrowing patterns. It also highlights ongoing enrollment changes following the pandemic, with total postsecondary enrollment rebounding in fall 2023.
- Published tuition costs increased modestly across all sectors, ranging from a 2.7% to a 4% increase before inflation adjustment.
- Average net prices after grant aid have dropped substantially. At public 4-year institutions, learners now pay about $2,300 in net tuition, compared to a 2012-13 peak of $4,450.
- Community-college learners receive enough grant aid on average to cover tuition entirely.
- Total learner borrowing hit its lowest point in over a decade at $101.4 billion in 2023-24, down 38% from 2010-11. Borrowing ticked up slightly to $102.6 billion in 2024-25, suggesting the long decline may be leveling off.
- Average undergraduate federal loans fell to $3,790 per learner.
- Institutional grant aid has become the largest source of financial assistance at $85.1 billion (49% of all grants). It grew by $16.5 billion over the past decade.
- The number of Pell Grant recipients increased 22% between 2022-23 and 2024-25, after years of decline
Family Wealth Shapes College Success Differently across Racial Groups
A November 2025 report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy examines how family wealth—not just income—affects a learner’s college journey from aspiration through graduation. The report reveals stark disparities that play out differently across racial and ethnic lines. While many young people dream of attending college, learners from wealthier families are significantly more likely to see those dreams become a reality. Data show wealth gaps compound existing racial inequities in college-completion rates.
- Learners from families with no wealth face higher stop-out rates across all racial groups.
- American Indian/Alaska Native and Black learners experience the steepest challenges; 40% stop out at least once within 6 years at 4-year colleges.
- Wealth partially, but not fully, offsets racial disparities and stacks differently by race.
- White and Asian American learners with no wealth achieve bachelor's degrees at similar rates to American Indian/Alaska Native and Black learners whose families have some wealth.
- Policy solutions that address limited income and low wealth include boosting Pell Grants, expanding state free-college programs, and providing wraparound services, such as childcare, emergency aid, and mental-health support, to help learners complete their education.
Community-College Learners Navigate Program Choices with Fluctuating Certainty
This Summer 2025 report from the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Columbia University details interviews with 42 learners from four community colleges. Interviews were conducted to understand how learners select and change their programs of study—a critical decision affecting their education, careers, and finances.
Despite many learners reporting high confidence in their initial choices, 50% switched programs at least once within 2 years. This reveals a gap between perceived certainty and actual decision-making stability.
- Learner confidence about a program choice often shifts over time. This suggests initial feelings of certainty do not always reflect whether learners will stick with their chosen path or if they will need additional guidance.
- The report recommends that program and career exploration become a standard part of every new learner’s experience. Institutions should not assume learners who seem certain have truly figured out their direction.
- Colleges should help learners enroll in at least one course related to their intended field during their first term. This would provide early hands-on exposure to help a learner determine if their program choice aligns with their interests and goals.
What Dual-Enrollment Learners Want from Their College Courses
This study draws on survey data and focus groups with nearly 100 dual-enrollment learners from lower-income high schools in Texas and Florida. The study (journal access required) from the Community College Research Center asked learners directly what they look for in their dual-enrollment experience and how programs could better serve them.
Over a million high-school learners now take college courses through dual enrollment each year. Access gaps mean learners who could benefit most are not always offered these opportunities. It is crucial to understand what participating learners value and need from their programs.
- Learners identified what makes dual enrollment meaningful and effective from a participant’s perspective. Their responses indicate institutions should not rely solely on educator or policymaker assumptions about program quality.
- Findings reveal specific learner priorities and concerns that can guide K-12 and college leaders in redesigning dual-enrollment programs to be more intentional, equitable, and responsive to learner needs.
- Questions educators can use to engage their own dual-enrollment learners in ongoing program development are included to position learners as partners, rather than passive recipients of these opportunities.
- Concrete recommendations for improving dual-enrollment programming are provided.