Founders' Note

2026 has been an interesting year for higher education. We are surrounded by visible and urgent challenges: an enrollment cliff that has now arrived, financial pressures on both institutions and students, increased social and political scrutiny on the value of a degree, the list goes on. Not to mention the uncertainty brought on by AI, related to everything from learning outcomes to a rapidly changing job market. It can feel easy to get bogged down by the negativity.

That’s why we were so excited when reviewing this year’s Student Voice Score® (SVS®) data. Despite the challenges and uncertainty, this study shows that when you ask students directly, you get a different perspective. For all types of institutions – 4-year public institutions, 4-year private universities, and 2-year public institutions – students are reporting greater satisfaction than they have in the last three years, with steady growth in SVS for all sectors from 2024-2026.

And that gives us hope. Every day, we speak with Presidents, Provosts, VPs of Enrollment, and VPs of Student Success who, even in the uncertainty, have made dramatic strides in their student outcomes and remain dedicated to improving student experience year after year. It’s wonderful to see those efforts reflected so clearly in the data.

We don’t always get to celebrate the wins, and there’s certainly more work to be done, but for now, we’d like to extend a “thank you” to all the higher ed leaders who are fighting for their students each and every day. Your work matters, and there’s no better way to see that than in the direct feedback from students contributing to this study.

Carolina Recchi and Claudia Recchi

Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, EdSights

Introduction

The Student Voice Score® (SVS®), powered by EdSights, is the first industry-wide benchmark that captures student satisfaction directly from students and at scale.

While institutions have traditionally used one-off surveys to track satisfaction, the SVS offers a new approach, delivering regular, unbiased insights through conversational AI. This enables campuses nationwide to better understand how student sentiment varies across populations and over time. The scores and feedback are derived solely from student feedback, reflecting the most direct understanding of how students perceive their institution.

In an era where expectations for the college experience are higher than ever, the SVS provides a clear starting point for meaningful dialogue and institutional action.

Methodology

EdSights has reported SVS consistently across partners since 2024. For this report, we compiled responses from over 125,000 students across 257 institutions during the spring of 2026.

The Student Voice Score (SVS) is calculated from direct student responses. Via text message, students are sent a prompt, “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend your institution to a friend?” Responses are categorized as Promoters (9–10), Passives (7–8), or Detractors (0–6). An institution’s SVS is determined by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters.

Overall Trends

Size of institution – measured by enrollment figures – also plays a role in student satisfaction. The overall trend shows student satisfaction rises as enrollment increases – with schools enrolling over 20,000 students showing a dramatic increase in SVS compared to smaller institutions. This may correlate with cost, with smaller institutions often costing more to attend, but it also likely reflects the more comprehensive resources, broader program options, and greater operational capacity of large institutions to support varied student needs.