How the pandemic has affected community college students (and how to serve them)
As COVID-19 continues to disrupt higher ed, community college leaders across the country are faced with the difficult task of helping their students navigate the financial, technological, and health-related challenges of attending college during a pandemic. Precipitous declines in summer and early fall enrollments are a testament to the enormity of these challenges and the task ahead for community colleges.
We hosted virtual roundtables with community college leaders across 2020 and early 2021 to discuss the key strategic challenges facing community college executives and their students. Read the takeaways below and take the next steps to prepare for the impact of COVID-19 that will be felt for years to come.
Review the key takeaways
1. Community colleges don’t fully understand the students of the pandemic
There are six mistakes that colleges are making when it comes to serving today’s students, both currently and post-pandemic:
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Prioritizing financial instead of opportunity cost
The outsized enrollment declines at community colleges and among low-income students eligible for significant aid have revealed that the cost of tuition may be irrelevant when compared to the opportunity cost of giving up subsistence-level work or dependent care.
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Attributing enrollment drops entirely to virtual learning
Primarily online institutions have experienced enrollment growth across all demographic groups, suggesting that students’ migration away from the community college is not just about instructional modality.
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Failing to embrace the "student as a customer"
Years of talking about students as customers has produced expected outcomes—students want to feel like they’re “getting what they paid for,” and in a world of remote learning and few perks, many feel that they’re not.
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Expecting students and faculty to raise their hands if they're in need
Insufficient mental health infrastructure places burden on students and staff to self-identify, and counseling center traffic is an unreliable metric during a pandemic.
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Trying to "go back to how things were"
The gaps in access, equity, and success that existed before the pandemic cannot be alleviated by returning to the status quo.
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Not prioritizing removal of existing barriers to success
Compounding effects of learning loss, financial insecurity and mental health concerns means that existing institutional barriers are going to become even greater obstacles to students’ success.
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