College students express strong support for free speech in principle but demonstrate significant intolerance for viewpoints they disagree with in practice, according to the 2025 American College Student Freedom, Progress and Flourishing Survey released by the Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth.
While 74% of students say protecting free speech is more important than ensuring no one feels uncomfortable, their responses to specific scenarios paint a different picture. Most concerning, 72% of students favor reporting professors to university administrators if they say something students deem offensive—a figure that has remained consistently high since the survey began in 2021.
The survey probed deeper by asking which specific statements should be grounds for reporting professors. Among the 10 statements tested—covering topics from affirmative action and police bias to gun rights and biological sex—62% of students said professors should be reported for making one or more of these opinion-based or factual claims.
"These findings do not suggest a campus environment open to the free inquiry and debate needed to advance knowledge and teach critical thinking," the report concluded.
The survey did reveal some positive developments. Student tolerance for restricting controversial content has increased since 2023. Support for disinviting controversial speakers dropped from 35% to 28%, while support for dropping uncomfortable class readings fell from 42% to 28%, and backing for eliminating difficult discussion topics declined from 31% to 23%.
However, these improvements are overshadowed by the persistent willingness to report professors and fellow students for expressing unpopular views. Fifty-seven percent of students favor reporting other students who make statements deemed offensive—slightly down from 62% in 2022 but similar to recent years.
The survey revealed stark differences across political ideologies and gender lines. Liberal students (79%) and independent students (74%) were significantly more likely than conservative students (56%) to support reporting professors for offensive comments. Similarly, 81% of female students and 84% of students identifying as unknown/other gender supported professor reporting, compared to 57% of male students.
These patterns held across multiple measures of campus tolerance, with conservative and male students generally showing greater acceptance of diverse viewpoints.
Perhaps most telling, among the 71% of students who say they feel comfortable sharing controversial opinions in class, nearly half cited alignment with their peers and professors as the reason for their comfort, suggesting the apparent openness may reflect ideological homogeneity rather than genuine tolerance for diversity.
Among students who don't feel comfortable sharing opinions, 51% said their views wouldn't be acceptable to other students, and 25% worried about damage to their reputation.
The survey's findings on free speech are part of a broader pattern of student attitudes that may concern higher education leaders. Only 43% of students believe the world has improved over the past 50 years in terms of extreme poverty, life expectancy, hunger, and literacy—despite substantial objective improvements in these areas.
Similarly, just 23% of students express optimism about the future of the world and the United States, and only 59% of American students report being at least somewhat proud to be American.
Regarding campus protests around the Israel-Hamas war, 88% of students support the right to peaceful protest, but significant minorities endorse illiberal tactics. Thirty-seven percent believe students have the right to occupy buildings or stage die-ins, 23% support disrupting classes, and 18% back shouting down speakers.
These figures represent a decline from 2024, suggesting some moderation in support for disruptive protest tactics.
The survey also examined students' relationship with social media, finding that the average student spends 3.39 hours daily on social platforms. Nearly half (46%) report that social media has negatively impacted their mental health and well-being during college, compared to just 23% reporting positive effects.
The survey was conducted by College Pulse between June 23 and July 7, 2025. The sample was 65% female, 30% male, and 5% other/non-identified, with 52% identifying as liberal, 25% as conservative, and 23% as independent or apolitical.
"As universities aim to enhance students' critical thinking skills and advance scientific knowledge, academic freedom and the ability to engage in a competition of ideas are essential to their missions," said John Bitzan, the survey's lead researcher and director of the Challey Institute. "Our overall results suggest higher education may not be as open to unpopular and controversial views as one might expect."
