The Institutional Responsibility of Student Employability

Not long ago, earning a college degree was enough to make finding a job after graduation much easier. Higher education has long been a pathway to personal growth and opportunity, but today’s realities display an increasingly difficult post-grad job market with unemployment for recent grads hitting 5.8%, the highest since 2021.¹

Rising tuition costs, public skepticism, and shifting workforce expectations have intensified the spotlight on colleges and universities. Families are now evaluating programs not only on academic quality, but on whether a degree will translate into meaningful, sustainable careers. That leaves institutions with a clear responsibility: to ensure students graduate with proven skills, professional preparation, and confidence. These are the tools that serve students for life while giving employers trust in the graduates they hire.

The Employability Gap

Graduates are leaving college with knowledge and ambition, but too many are finding themselves underprepared for the workplace. Employers see it, and so do the students:

• 96% of HR leaders say colleges must take more responsibility for workforce preparation.²

• 89% of organizations avoid hiring recent graduates, citing weak team skills, inadequate professional readiness, and high training costs.³

• 85% of recent undergraduates wish their education had better prepared them for the workforce, underscoring a mismatch between academic learning and workplace needs.²

• 55% of graduates say their college education didn’t prepare them at all for their job.²

This is not a failure of student ability; it’s a matter of alignment. Institutions are teaching valuable skills, yet students often struggle to translate those skills into the language of careers and employers. When addressed, it strengthens student outcomes by building employability and confidence. Additionally, it strengthens institutional outcomes by demonstrating value to prospective students, families, and employers.

Why Institutions Must Lead

Today’s students expect more than knowledge, they expect a clear return on investment. They are choosing schools based on whether they’ll be supported all the way through to their first career opportunities.

That means employability is no longer a “bonus” service relegated to career centers, it’s central to institutional identity, recruitment, and retention.

Institutions that rise to this responsibility not only strengthen student outcomes, but also reinforce their value proposition in a skeptical market. By improving employability, schools improve student satisfaction, retention, and long-term alumni success, which are all critical measures of institutional health.

Strategies That Work

How can institutions support career preparedness at scale, without burdening administration or faculty, and also still work within budgets? A few proven strategies stand out:

1. Expand Access to Industry Credentials:
   Industry certifications provide visible, trusted proof of skills that employers recognize immediately. By making these available alongside degree programs, institutions give
   students an additional resource that validates workforce readiness and bridges the gap between academic learning and employer expectations.

2. Strengthen Soft Skills:
   Employers consistently point to teamwork, problem solving, and communication as areas where recent graduates fall short. Structured readiness programs help develop these skills while simultaneously reinforcing classroom learning.

3. Provide Scalable Access:
   Employability efforts falter when only a small subset of students can participate. By choosing scalable solutions, institutions can make career preparation visible and accessible for all learners, closing opportunity gaps.

Where Kaplan Fits

Kaplan’s All Access License® was designed with this responsibility in mind. It allows institutions to provide a wide range of resources, including (but not limited to):

• Admissions Test Prep: GRE®, LSAT^®, MCAT^®, GMAT™

• Licensure Support: NCLEX®, Praxis®, FE, and others

• Credential Prep: CFA®, SIE, and additional professional certifications

• Skill-Building: critical thinking, project management, data literacy

All for one flat fee, with no cost passed on to students.

This program is also customizable, allowing institutions to decide which resources are most relevant for their student body. This model makes support available not just to a select few, but across the entire institution.

Reaffirming Higher Education’s Value

Employability is no longer a side conversation when deciding which college to attend; it's the metric by which many students and families evaluate higher education. Institutions that take responsibility for workforce readiness are not just preparing graduates for jobs, they are strengthening public trust in the value of a degree itself.

By aligning affordability with employability, colleges can reaffirm their role as engines of opportunity and demonstrate that they are true partners in helping students not only graduate, but thrive in their careers.

To see how your institution can embed career preparation directly into the student experience, contact our team.