BOSTON, Sept. 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tyton Partners today released Listening to Learners 2026: Balancing Aspirations, Academics, and AI the latest edition of its annual research on the student learning experience in higher education. Drawing on responses from more than 1,800 undergraduates across nearly 1,100 institutions, the study finds that workload anxiety is students’ top challenge, while institutional leaders point instead to academic readiness. Students also want both real-world application and professional skills to prepare for careers, but institutions anchor heavily on professional skills, leaving students to find hands-on experience on their own.
Tyton’s research finds that institutions are misdiagnosing why students don’t use available support services (at best only a quarter of learners are utilizing support services). When students who don’t use these services are asked why, only 9% cite lack of awareness. Instead, 51% point to uncertainty about relevance or feeling they don’t need the support, and 26% cite inconvenient hours or access. Institutional stakeholders, by contrast, diagnose the barrier primarily as awareness (45%).
Administrators and faculty are also more confident than students that coursework prepares them for the workforce: seven in ten administrators express confidence in course-based workforce preparation, compared to six in ten students. Students’ top career preparation requests are a clear path from their major to a career and access to internships, yet only 31% feel they can make that career-path connection, and just one in four currently participate in an internship. Faculty report embedding real-world projects into coursework at roughly twice the rate students say they experience them.
“Critical thinking has always been the foundation of a college education, and that hasn’t changed. The challenge now is to marry that with the skills students need for the workforce: teaching them to use AI tools while critically evaluating output and applying AI literacy in context.” — Catherine Shaw, Associate Partner, Tyton Partners
AI is emerging as a tool students use to manage workload both in and out of the classroom. 61% of students now use AI at least weekly, up from 42% last year, and those who use AI tools report lower stress and stronger academic confidence. Students are using AI for multiple purposes at once, with top use cases including help with writing and editing assignments (37%), tutoring (30%), and notetaking or summarizing lectures (30%); many are also turning to it for advising and support questions. Even so, students show a strong preference for human connection alongside the technology. While students increasingly turn to AI when struggling with a course concept (35% in 2026, up from 4% in 2023), peers and instructors remain the primary source of help for most students. Similarly, while 44% of students would prefer AI-supported academic advising, a majority (56%) want human support services.
“The story this year is a student body that wants to succeed and is asking for help in new ways, including from AI,” said Hadley Dorn, Senior Principal at Tyton Partners. “The question for institutions is whether their supports are built to meet students where they actually are.”
Developed with support from the Gates Foundation and Stellic, the report was fielded in May 2026 and connects student and institutional perspectives across beliefs and challenges, generative AI, student support services, and workforce preparation.
Listening to Learners 2026 is one of three annual research publications from Tyton Partners measuring trends in student success, alongside Time for Class and Driving Toward a Degree. The full report is available now, with Driving Toward a Degree 2026 set for release in October. to schedule time to discuss the findings with the Tyton Partners research team, visit the Listening to Learners website.
For more information on Listening to Learners 2026 click here.
Media Contact
Hadley Dorn
Senior Principal and Chief of Staff
[email protected]
Tyton Partners
About Tyton Partners
Tyton Partners is the leading provider of strategy consulting and investment banking services to the global knowledge and information services sector. With offices in Boston and New York City, the firm has an experienced team of bankers and consultants who deliver a unique spectrum of services from mergers and acquisitions and capital markets access to strategy development that helps companies, organizations, and investors navigate the complexities of the education, media, and information markets. Tyton Partners leverages a deep foundation of transactional and advisory experience and an unparalleled level of global relationships to make its clients’ aspirations a reality and to catalyze innovation in the sector. Learn more at tytonpartners.com.
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