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Recent studies show that the COVID-19 pandemic has had long-term effects on prospective college students. Although the pandemic has quickly become a distant memory for some, addressing these lasting impacts will be critical for colleges and universities striving to maximize student recruitment, success, and well-being.
A Lack of Academic Preparation
Chief among the concerns related to these students — dubbed “Gen P” by a report from EAB — is a lack of academic preparation. “73% of high school counselors report the pandemic has at least moderately weakened their students’ academic preparation,” according to the report entitled “Recruiting Gen P.” It notes that there was a five-point drop in average scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a large-scale assessment of K-12 student progress. This is the largest drop ever recorded, indicating a significant learning loss amid the shutdowns.
Unfortunately, this academic unpreparedness is not a temporary challenge for colleges to address. Elementary-level students also suffered learning losses, and the report indicates that students who are not reading proficiently by third grade are less likely to catch up, graduate on time, and go to college.
A research brief from ACT echoes these challenges. Students who were surveyed reported difficulty focusing and staying motivated during online learning. As their grades fell, their academic standing was compromised. This “in turn influenced their thinking about which colleges to apply to,” the report explained.
“The lack of academic preparedness among high school graduates is a concern for colleges, but to some extent it’s not a new problem,” Amrit Ahluwalia, senior director of strategic insights at Modern Campus, told us. “What is new is the number of students who will be coming in lacking critical academic skills. For colleges, this means ensuring more time is spent in the summer prior to fall semester and during the first year in building key competencies.”
Another common theme among students participating in the ACT survey was self-doubt about college. “Some were not sure about meeting the requirements for college admission, and others were not sure about being successful in college,” the report reads.
Understanding and responding to the challenges that prospective students face is critical for an institution’s longevity.
Ahluwalia notes that many colleges offer services for academic tutoring and coaching that are often underused because students are unaware of them. Ensuring familiarity with these resources should start not during orientation, but in your messaging to prospective students and families. Recruiting “Gen P” will rely, to some degree, on building confidence that they can succeed in college and that there are academic supports available to help them overcome any learning gaps.
That said, campus communities must ensure robust support services exist and prepare their community members to address these challenges once students arrive on campus.
Mental Health Challenges
The EAB and ACT reports both underscore the importance of addressing student mental health. Anxiety and depression were becoming more prevalent among teenagers prior to the pandemic, but rates soared as COVID-19 forced teenagers online for school and cut them off from friends and social activities.
“I developed very strong depression to the point where I was not sure I would make it to college applications, much less worry about which colleges I could get into,” one student said in response to the ACT survey.
Additionally, not being “mentally ready” was a top reason for students opting out of college altogether, behind affordability and value, according to EAB’s report, particularly among first-generation students.
“The data shows that the pandemic had a significant impact on their pre-college decision-making-especially for students from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds, who have a higher propensity to stop out and drop out of their studies,” Ahluwalia said. “They also lack confidence in their own college-readiness. This highlights their need for more tailored and personalized engagement and support from the institution.”
He recommends colleges add texting into their messaging mix (if they haven’t already) and blend automated and personalized messaging in order to reach more students.
“Additionally, colleges should look at how to meaningfully welcome students onto campus with robust and engaging orientation activities that help students feel at home on campus,” he said. “What’s more, they should look for ways to measure student participation in campus activities — especially during their first semester — and find ways to encourage participation from students who aren’t engaging. This has a significant impact on students’ feelings of belonging on campus, which has a measurable impact on their persistence and success.”
Campuses may also consider making campus-wide wellness plans.
The Bottom Line
“Colleges and universities have the opportunity to reimagine the way they conceptualize higher education,” Dr. Janelle S. Peifer, a licensed clinical psychologist and assistant professor of psychology at the University of Richmond, told us. The challenges outlined in these reports, while not entirely new, are changing the face of our student populations, and campuses must find ways to not only alleviate these concerns as students consider college, but to address them once students actually enroll. However, solutions may vary among colleges based on student demographics since the pandemic disproportionally affected minority and first-generation students.
One of the first steps Peifer recommends is for higher education leaders to build awareness about these trends and their implications. “While faculty and staff may anecdotally recognize changes in students’ preparation and mental health acuity, taking concrete actions to share reports, evidence-based findings whether through town halls, meetings, regular reporting, or other methods can go a long way,” she explained.
Once the campus community is aware of these challenges, they can start to expand resources to address them. That might include offering summer bridge programs, tutoring, “expanding staffing in counseling centers, building relationships with community providers, developing tools for universal screening and academic/emotional skill-building for all students,” Peifer said.
With the right messaging, robust academic and mental health services in place, and campus awareness of these challenges, this is a problem that higher education can tackle.
