Preparing Students for the AI Work Force

What employers want colleges to know, and what students need to succeed

Today’s colleges are tasked with preparing their students to enter a work force that has been completely reshaped by artificial intelligence. As this new technology reconfigures the job market, higher education must keep pace.

But, at many institutions, the technology is developing faster than the curriculum. Higher education’s slow march to embrace AI has made two basic questions difficult to answer: What, exactly, should students know about AI by the time they graduate? And how can institutions designed to move slowly and deliberately keep up with this rapidly evolving technology?

This report from The Chronicle of Higher Education equips readers with the knowledge and resources to answer those questions on their own campuses. Readers will explore how colleges are looking beyond the buzzwords and making concrete changes to their curricula, their career services, and their partnerships with employers. While the workplace adjusts to evolving technologies in real time, colleges cannot afford to lag behind.

With this report, readers will:

• Explore the data that shows how entry-level jobs are evolving to require more AI skills.
• Understand how employers increasingly expect new hires to arrive with the ability to operate in an AI-shaped workplace.
  
• Learn how colleges are weaving AI into a wide range of disciplines, including the liberal arts.
• Find resources to support faculty who want to incorporate an understanding of AI into the classroom, and to educate students who want to connect their skills to employers.
• Discover how community colleges are building pipelines to tie AI education to workplace expectations.
  

Date: March 2026
Pages: 32
Digital file size:  10.7 MB

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Build on the insights from this report by attending our virtual forum, Preparing Students for the AI Work Force, made possible by the generous support of IBM. Register here to join us for the live event on March 16.