Colleges continued to offer online coursework this spring amid the coronavirus pandemic, but one educator says the “new normal” unfairly disadvantaged her students at MiraCosta College.
The two-year school is part of the California Community College District, and sociology instructor Kat Soto-Gomez said shifting learning online – particularly during a time of economic turmoil – hastened student attrition.
Her Ed Surge essay highlights the challenges low-income students face during the coronavirus pandemic. As one student told her after falling behind on his coursework: “I didn’t realize I would be deemed an ‘essential worker’ working at The Home Depot.”
Will incoming college freshmen opt to stay closer to home this fall due to the coronavirus pandemic?
Early enrollment data from a handful of US colleges suggests that may the case.
According to a recent article from the Associated Press (AP), commitments from in-state students have increased by 26 percent at the University of Texas at Arlington, 20 percent at The Ohio State University, and 15 percent at Michigan State University.
“Students want to be closer to home in case an outbreak again forces classes online,” the article notes. “Some are choosing nearby schools where they’re charged lower rates as state residents.”
Disruptions caused by the coronavirus will likely lengthen the time students take to earn a college degree, education experts say. And the effects will be felt most acutely by low-income and first-generation students.
“This could add a year or two easily to a student’s time to degree,” Kristen Renn, an education professor at Michigan State University, told The Hechinger Report.
How can counselors and others best assist high school juniors who are kicking off their college search amid the shutdown?
View a transcript of our most recent #NACACchat. Special guests included Jill Cook, assistant director with the American School Counselor Association; Lindsey Barclay, member services manager with the National College Attainment Network; Jennifer Davis, digital content marketing manager with The Common Application; and Tracy Jackson, school counseling supervisor with Loudoun County Public Schools.
Among 600 US higher education institutions, 88 percent anticipate that international student enrollment will decrease in 2020-21, with 30 percent predicting a substantial decline. These results come from the second in a series of surveys from the Institute of International Education (IIE) analyzing the effects of COVID-19 on US campuses.
Since March when IIE released its first survey—focused on mobility to and from China where the virus originated—COVID-19 has infected more than 3.2 million people globally with more than a million cases in the US. The current report focuses on international mobility more globally, with specific attention to actions US institutions took in spring 2020 and plan to take for summer and fall 2020.
What should students and families know about financial aid during these unprecedented times?
Experts from The Urban Assembly, the Seldin/Harring-Smith Foundation, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the National College Attainment Network, and the National Scholarship Providers Association shared their thoughts during a recent #NACACchat.
Graduation requirements across the nation are changing as schools work quickly to address the impact of coronavirus closures.
More than 30 states have already enacted changes to their criteria or issued guidance as schools retool their graduation requirements, according to a recent report from Education Week.
Everyone is adjusting to a new normal amid the coronavirus pandemic, including college admission professionals and the students they serve.
What should seniors keep in mind as they make their college choice? And what can counselors and colleges do to better serve students during the COVID-19 crisis?
Research suggests teens in particular need support and reassurance during times of crisis.
“Research done in past disasters suggests that it is teenagers who are the most at risk when school is interrupted,” according to a recent NPR report. “Many are forced to work to earn money or have to stay home and take care of younger siblings. They are more likely to drop out and less likely to go on to college.”
