Let’s start with these two sets of numbers:
*66% of employers told an August 2025 American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) survey they consider it “very important” for college graduates to know how to think critically.
*By contrast, 40% of employers said graduates are “very well prepared” to think critically.
As you will notice, there’s a 26% gap in those numbers. Employers put a premium on critical thinking, but only 40% of them see students being “well prepared” in critical thinking. That differential is also the widest among the 13 skills about which AAC&U queried employers.
Now, consider two more sets of numbers:
*60% of employers told the AAC&U survey they consider it “very important” for college graduates to know how to locate and evaluate information.
By contrast, 39% of employers consider graduates “very well prepared” to locate, organize, and evaluate information.
In this case as well, the falloff between what employers valued and what they saw in college graduates was considerable. The 21% gap also was the fifth highest among the 13 skills the survey evaluated for their importance to employers and the quality of student preparation.
These data points underscore the need for college students to become proficient in evaluating the information they see, hear, and read. That includes thinking critically about the news they consume.
Those skills are important for all of us as citizens. But they particularly are in the best interest of college graduates seeking to enter the workforce.
Mastering the fundamentals of news literacy is one way to develop them. Delving into the source of the information. Exploring whether other organizations have reported the same story. Assessing the facts in a piece. Those are among the essentials that help students determine the validity of a social media post, newspaper or television story, or email alert.
To their credit, some universities provide avenues for college students to become analytical consumers of news and information. A pioneer in this work is Stony Brook University and its Center for News Literacy.
The university offers a news literacy course to all its undergraduates. Since 2006, more than 11,000 Stony Brook students have been trained to evaluate news and information. That includes being able to detect one’s own bias.
The university also provides its curriculum to dozens of universities in the U.S. and abroad. Stony Brook’s School of Communication and Journalism considers its mission as not only training the next generation of journalists but also educating the news consumers of the future.
The University of Georgia provides another example. It’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers a certificate in news literacy. The program’s goals include teaching students to analyze and verify information.
At SMU, where the Bush Institute is located, the journalism department requires a foundational course for prospective journalism majors that includes becoming literate in news consumption. The university’s library system also hosts events and workshops to help students evaluate information.
These examples — and there are others — provide a template for universities. Not every college needs the same model, but news literacy should be part of a campus’s offerings.
Before students even reach college, states such as Texas and Utah are developing courses and curriculum to help elementary and secondary school students become news literate. That’s important and encouraging. Learning how to evaluate information helps keep falsehoods from hoodwinking young Americans.
The News Literacy Project (NLP), on whose board I sit, offers the Checkology tool for school districts to use in instructing students in evaluating information. Checkology includes lesson plans that educators can use for free from upper elementary school all the way to college. They are designed to help students with such topics as checking facts, understanding journalistic standards, and avoiding fake online sites.
A 2024 NLP poll certainly confirms the need to develop news literacy in students’ before they even get to college. The survey found that 80% of teens on social media report seeing posts that spread or promote such conspiracy theories as the Earth being flat. Troublingly, 81% of the teens surveyed said they were inclined to believe one or more false narratives.
Knowing the validity of what we see, hear, and read matters for the sake of our democracy. Discerning the reliability of information is now a must-have job skill. Providing opportunities for students from a young age through college prepares them for the workforce. The training also readies them to become responsible citizens.
