(Washington, D.C., Monday, October 4, 2021) – The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is releasing the 2021-2022 edition of its signature publication What Will They Learn? 2021-2022. What Will They Learn?® assesses the core academic requirements at 1,133 four-year institutions that together enroll more than eight million undergraduate students.

WhatWillTheyLearn.com is the only college choice tool the offers detailed reporting on each of the 1,133 schools surveyed.  ACTA’s team examines the course catalogs of all the schools surveyed and collects data on a multiplicity of indicators that predict long-term student success after college, such as student-to-faculty ratios, campus-specific student loan default rates, graduation rates, campus climate indicators, and cost of attendance.

Grades are assigned based on whether colleges and universities require all students to take courses in seven priority subject areas as part of their general education programs. These subjects, identified as critically important to a successful twenty-first century college education in consultation with ACTA’s Council of Scholars, include: Composition, Literature, (intermediate-level) Foreign Language, U.S. Government or History, Economics, Mathematics, and Natural Science.

Today, only 18% of U.S. colleges and university require students to complete a foundational course in U.S. Government or History, only 3% require Economics, and fewer than 12% require Foreign Language to the intermediate level.

ACTA has long warned that the erosion of academic standards is leaving graduates unprepared for informed citizenship and for the demands of a complex and ever-evolving job market. As the public continues to lose confidence in institutions of higher education, and with student loan debt continuing to skyrocket, the return on investment of a baccalaureate degree is under more scrutiny than ever.

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) is an independent, nonprofit organization committed to academic freedom, academic excellence, and accountability at America’s colleges and universities. ACTA works to support liberal arts education, uphold high academic standards, safeguard the free exchange of ideas on campus, and ensure that the next generation receives an intellectually rich, high-quality education, at an affordable price.