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.
Download the resources from the roundtable on serving tomorrow's students.
GET THE SLIDES Review the Key Takeaways Community colleges don't fully understand the students of the pandemicThere are six mistakes that colleges are making when it comes to serving today's students, both currently and post-pandemic:
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.
Attributing enrollment drops entirely to virtual
learning
Primarily online institutions have experienced enrollment growth across all demographic groups, suggesting that students' migration away…