New Report: Students at Civic-Preparedness Campuses Outpace National Peers and U.S. Adults on Key Civic Skills

Princeton, NJ, September 9th, 2026, FinanceWire

First baseline survey from 23 campuses shows deliberate campuswide civic work moves the numbers that college attendance alone barely moves.

Students at colleges doing deliberate, campuswide civic skills work report significantly stronger confidence evaluating information and more frequent engagement across difference than both college students nationally and U.S. adults overall, according to a new report released today by C&S (Institute for Citizens & Scholars).

Campus by Campus: 2025–26 Impact Report presents the first common baseline data from College Presidents for Civic Preparedness, the C&S-led coalition of 142 college presidents representing public and private institutions, community colleges and state systems across 33 states and Washington, D.C. The report pairs student survey findings with campus examples, coalition growth metrics and institutional participation data to show how colleges are making civic preparedness part of every student's experience.

Convened and led by C&S, the coalition is doing what no other higher education coalition has done: measuring student civic skills against a common baseline across diverse institutions. The first results — from 20,280 students at 23 campuses participating in Campuswide Immersion, the coalition's intensive offering — show students outpacing both college students nationally and Americans overall on core measures:

• 71% are confident making evidence-based arguments, compared with 59% of college students nationally and 58% of U.S. adults asked the same question.
• 64% listen at least monthly to people with different beliefs, versus 49% of college students and 43% of Americans. In fact, these students listen across difference more often than Americans listen to people who share their views (64% vs. 50%).
• 80% say understanding different beliefs matters, versus 69% of college students and 61% of Americans.

The gap tells the story: nationally, college students score just one point above the general public on evidence-based arguments. College attendance alone barely moves these numbers. Deliberate, campuswide civic work moves them by double digits — 12 points on evidence-based arguments, 15 on listening across difference, 11 on valuing understanding.

"This is not about teaching students what to think; it is about ensuring every student has opportunities to build essential skills: using credible information, having productive conversations and collaborating to create solutions," said Rajiv Vinnakota, president of C&S. "These findings show that when colleges make those skills part of the everyday student experience, students are better prepared to assess evidence, engage with people who hold different beliefs and contribute constructively to their workplaces, communities and public life."

The coalition is releasing its challenges alongside its results. On campuses, as in the country, listening across difference is common; voicing opinions is harder; and collaborating to solve problems is hardest of all. Students, like Americans everywhere, engage more readily with people who share their beliefs. Coalition campuses are targeting that collaboration gap directly — and, with annual measurement now committed across the network, will report whether it closes.

C&S's College Presidents for Civic Preparedness coalition moves civic learning beyond voluntary programs and isolated events by embedding critical inquiry, civil discourse and collaborative problem-solving throughout the student experience. Campus by Campus documents what that looks like on the ground — from James Madison University, where all 5,000 incoming students name their political differences during a guided orientation session; to the State University of New York, which rolled out a new civic discourse general education requirement for undergraduates; to Colby College, helping rebuild the fire-damaged town of Port Clyde, Maine, while establishing a research center on community recovery.

More than one million students have been reached through the coalition's work; 85% of surveyed institutions report increasing investment in civic preparedness, and approximately 800 courses have been redesigned to incorporate civic learning. College Presidents for Civic Preparedness aims to expand to 500 campuses and reach 5 million students within five years.

The full Campus by Campus: 2025–26 Impact Report is available at collegepresidents.org.

About the Data

Campus data were collected from 20,280 students at 23 institutions using C&S's shared measurement framework. National benchmarks come from a survey of 3,500 U.S. adults conducted March 9–24, 2026 by Verasight (margin of error ±1.8%), weighted to the Current Population Survey and benchmarked against findings from Pew Research Center, Ipsos, More in Common, PRRI and Gallup.

About C&S

Founded in 1945 as the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, C&S (cands.org) sparks young people to help build a strong and thriving America. Guided by the Power of &, C&S is grounded in a simple belief: young people with ideas — not institutions with ideologies — make our country stronger. We meet young people where they are — on campuses, at work, and in their communities — creating clear pathways for discovery, collaboration, and fresh civic solutions. Across all our work, C&S helps young people practice three essential civic skills: having productive conversations; using credible information; and collaborating to create solutions. Learn more at cands.org.

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