2026
National Student Satisfaction and Priorities Report
The Student Perspective on Priority Areas To Improve Student Success
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What's in This Report
The National Student Satisfaction and Priorities Report provides valuable data for understanding the college student experience today. Based on survey results from nearly 360,000 students at 640 four-year and two-year institutions, it captures how satisfied students are with their campuses, their assessment of the support they receive from these institutions, and whether students would choose their institutions if they had to do it all over again.
The 20-page report results are taken from the Encoura Satisfaction-Priorities Surveys™. These surveys ask students to rate their satisfaction with key areas of the student experience, as well as how important these areas are. Together, they provide a national snapshot of areas of strengths (areas with high satisfaction and priority) as well as challenges (areas of low satisfaction but high priority). Institutions can use this national report as a benchmark to compare themselves to their peer institutions.
Key Findings
59% of students at four-year institutions said they were satisfied, with that number rising to 66% for adult students and 70% for students at community colleges.
The level of satisfaction is even higher at 74% for online learners.
More than half of 11th-grade students have ruled out a college because of the sticker price, even before receiving an aid package.
- While more than 80% of students said that career services are important, only two-thirds of four-year students were satisfied with those services.
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National Student Satisfaction and Priorities Report
The Student Perspective on Priority Areas To Improve Student Success