GHFC Research Review: EAB Confirms AI is Quietly Fueling Doubt About the Value of College
by Claire L. Brady, EdD
EAB’s latest research, How Students View and Use AI in College Search, offers one of the clearest snapshots yet of the AI-native student, based on a national survey of more than 5,000 high school students. The report shows that AI is influencing discovery, trust, application behavior, and even perceptions of college value. This series breaks down the most important implications for higher ed leaders — and outlines practical steps institutions should be taking now.
AI Is Quietly Fueling Doubt About the Value of College
If you read only one chart in EAB’s report, let it be this one:
38% of students believe AI will reduce the number of jobs that require a college degree
39% say they are considering a college alternative because of advances in AI
These should stop us in our tracks.
Students aren’t just asking, “Where should I apply?” They’re asking, “Is college still worth it?” Nearly half say AI will influence the career they pursue, yet 44% describe feeling “uncertain” about AI’s impact on their future. Uncertainty is now shaping enrollment psychology.
What This Means for Higher Ed Leaders
We cannot market our way out of this. We have to respond structurally. EAB recommends that institutions “anticipate workforce and value shifts”
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
1. Make outcomes visible and tangible.
Not vague career language. Specific employer partnerships. Real placement data. Alumni pathways. Students want proof of durability.
2. Integrate AI fluency across disciplines.
Nearly half of students say a school’s adoption of AI in programming is at least moderately important in their application decision.
AI cannot live only in computer science. It must show up in business, health care, engineering, humanities.
3. Reclaim critical thinking as a differentiator.
If students are worried AI weakens cognition, then institutions must articulate how college strengthens it. Deliberately. Explicitly.
This is not about competing with AI.
It’s about positioning higher education as the place where students learn to:
Question outputs
Evaluate bias
Apply judgment
Solve complex human problems
AI introduces doubt.
Leadership introduces direction.
The institutions that will thrive in this decade are not those who resist AI — but those who redefine the value of college in an AI-shaped world.
Read the full EAB report here: https://eab.com/resources/insight-paper/how-students-view-and-use-ai-in-college-search/
