A stunning report shows that many college professors are now teaching students who have difficulty reading, not just interpreting literature or writing essays, but also understanding the basic text on a page. According to Fortune, a growing number of Gen Z students are entering college unable to “read effectively,” forcing professors to break down even simple passages line by line.
This trend should alarm every parent, employer and policymaker in this country. It’s not just an academic problem. It’s a cultural crisis.
At its core, education is the cultivation of the mind. It is the ability to grapple with ideas, grapple with complexity, and communicate meaningfully with others. These are not optional extras. They are essential to success in the workplace, in civil society, and in a free nation.
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As university leaders, we cannot simply diagnose the problem. We must also take responsibility for the role higher education has played in lowering expectations, prioritizing comfort over competence and treating students as consumers rather than future leaders. Universities have spent years chasing satisfaction scores and graduation rates while quietly sacrificing the intellectual foundations that make true education possible.
What happens if students don’t learn to read deeply? They lose the ability to think deeply.
Reading builds more than just academic skills. It shapes attention span, builds empathy, strengthens discipline and expands imagination. These are precisely the qualities that make leadership and community possible. When students are conditioned to skim headlines, scroll social media, or rely on AI summaries, they don’t just lose literacy. They lose the habits that maintain wisdom and maturity.
And employers see the effects. According to surveys from the same Fortune report, a significant portion of Generation Z graduates feel unprepared for the job market. Many cite difficulties with communication, lack of exposure to the real world and fear of professional expectations. The gap between what universities offer and what the market demands is widening.
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That should worry us. Not because young people are naturally incapable. On the contrary. They are smart, creative and full of potential. But potential without education leads to frustration. And that’s where too many students find themselves: anxious, underprepared, and overpromised.
So where has higher education gone wrong?
Part of the problem lies in culture. Nearly half of American adults haven’t read any books at all in the past year, and Gen Z reads less than any generation before. But the problem is also institutional. In the name of flexibility and equity, many universities have quietly lowered standards, lowered reading requirements, and simplified the curriculum to avoid inconveniencing students.
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This approach can seem compassionate. In reality it is condescending.
Universities must take the lead in rebuilding a culture of learning. That starts with restoring the dignity of hard reading, deep thinking, and intellectual perseverance. These are not relics of a bygone era. These are conditions for leadership, responsibility and growth.
At Southeastern, we train students to read deeply, think critically, and lead faithfully. They grapple with ideas in the community and pursue truth through both reason and faith. That is not elitism. It is discipleship. It is preparation for leadership.
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We built our model on the belief that students rise when we raise the bar, not when we lower it. Our classrooms are based on biblical wisdom, academic excellence, and a vision of education that shapes the whole person: intellectually, spiritually, and vocationally.
This is the kind of education students crave, whether they realize it or not. And it’s the kind of leadership that American higher education desperately needs.
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We don’t have to accept a generation that has difficulty reading. But we must build institutions that expect more, shape more, and prepare students to lead. Not only in their career, but also in their character.
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Because if we fail to develop students who can read, we will fail to develop the citizens who preserve freedom, the leaders who pursue justice, and the believers who bring the truth to every corner of the culture.
The stakes are too high to remain silent.
