Over the course of the past year, ACE has
surveyed college and university presidents to capture how they are responding
to the challenges of COVID-19. In February 2021, presidents reported on how the
pandemic affected their spring enrollment and financial health, as well as
adaptations made to their student services. In this second survey of the spring
2021 term, developed in partnership with our colleagues at the TIAA Institute,
244 presidents* identified their most pressing concerns; changes in admissions
processes and application numbers for fall 2021; long-term adaptations made to
institutional operations; institutional practices to promote diversity, equity,
and inclusion; and mental health and well-being. What follows is a summary of
our key findings. This is the last survey in our Pulse Point series on
COVID-19.
Most Pressing Issues for
Presidents
In the February survey, presidents were given a list of 19 issues
and asked to select up to five they viewed as most pressing. In the April
survey, presidents were given a list of 20 issues and asked to select up to
five they currently view as most pressing (see Figure 1). For the fifth time in
our survey series, the pressing issue most commonly selected by presidents was
“mental health of students.” Almost three-quarters of all presidents (73
percent) identified student mental health as a pressing issue, up slightly from
72 percent in February.
- Across all sectors, “mental health of students” was the most
commonly selected pressing issue; however, presidents at public two-year (79
percent) and public four-year (78 percent) institutions were slightly more
likely than presidents at private four-year institutions (70 percent) to report
this.
- Over half of all presidents reported “enrollment numbers for
the summer and/or fall” (53 percent) as a pressing issue.
- While nearly half of all presidents selected “mental health of
faculty and staff” (48 percent) as a pressing concern, this was a large
decrease from the 58 percent of presidents who indicated this in the February
survey. Despite this decline, mental health of faculty and staff remained the
third most commonly selected pressing issue among presidents.
- “Racial equity issues” was among the top five most pressing
concerns among college and university presidents, with 40 percent of leaders
selecting this as a pressing issue, up from 37 percent in the February survey.
-
The fifth most commonly selected pressing issue
was “long-term financial viability of the institution,” with 32 percent of
college and university presidents selecting this issue, down from 41 percent in
the February survey.
Undergraduate Applications
and Admissions
The pandemic has undoubtedly changed which
students access higher education, as well as their path to enrolling. Many
families continue to face higher financial burdens and uncertainty about the
future as a direct result of COVID-19. As the pandemic has continued into
college application and admissions season, we asked presidents whose
institutions enroll undergraduate students (96 percent of our sample) about the
effects of COVID-19 on undergraduate applications and admissions processes for
fall 2021 relative to fall 2019 (prior to the pandemic).
Changes in Undergraduate
Admissions for Fall 2021
Slightly less than half of all presidents (47 percent) reported a
decrease in undergraduate applications for fall 2021 relative to fall 2019. A
little more than one-third of all presidents (37 percent) reported an increase
in undergraduate applications, and 16 percent reported applications stayed
about the same.
- Nearly two-thirds of presidents at public two-year
institutions (65 percent) noted a decrease in undergraduate applications for
fall 2021, compared with fall 2019. This was much higher than the share of
presidents at public four-year (49 percent) and private four-year (35 percent)
institutions who reported a decrease.
-
About half of presidents at private four-year
institutions (48 percent) reported an increase in their undergraduate
applications for fall 2021 relative to fall 2019, a much higher share than that
of presidents at public four-year (40 percent) and presidents at public
two-year (16 percent) institutions.
Reported Increase in
Applications
Among presidents who reported an increase in
undergraduate applications, nearly half (47 percent) noted an increase of “10
percent or less,” 31 percent noted an increase of “11 to 20 percent,” 10
percent noted an increase of “21 to 30 percent,” 7 percent noted an increase of
“31 to 40 percent,” and 5 percent noted an increase of “41 percent or more.”
Presidents at public and private four-year institutions who
observed an increase in applications largely attributed this shift to their
marketing and outreach efforts, as well as changes to their admissions
requirements. These efforts included increased advertising, hiring of
enrollment management firms, and improved communication with applicants, often
alongside waived fees and optional standardized testing. A smaller share of
respondents leading four-year institutions also attributed application
increases to financial aid access and affordability more broadly. In addition,
some respondents from private four-year institutions noted that they benefited
from in-person operations, with one college leader explaining, “We have
increased marketing efforts and have continued on-campus recruitment with a number
of health and safety restrictions.”
Presidents from both private four-year and
public two-year institutions also attributed higher application numbers to
their programmatic offerings, including career-focused majors and STEM
education. Respondents from public four-year institutions were more inclined to
report that they benefited from applicants who wanted to enroll in an
institution closer to home.
Reported Decrease in
Applications
Among presidents who reported a decrease in
undergraduate applications for fall 2021 relative to fall 2019, 46 percent
noted a decrease of “10 percent or less,” 36 percent noted a decrease of “11 to
20 percent,” 17 percent noted a decrease of “21 to 30 percent,” and 1 percent
noted a decrease of “31 to 40 percent.”
Institutional leaders who observed a decrease in applications for
fall 2021 most often cited students’ pandemic-related personal challenges,
financial difficulties, and perceptions of online learning as important factors
in the decrease. Presidents at public four-year and public two-year
institutions were particularly inclined to note the hardships experienced by
prospective applicants, including health and safety concerns, childcare
challenges, and uncertainty over the future. Similarly, several respondents
noted that the pandemic posed serious financial challenges for students. One
community college president shared:
“Our students were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Many had to leave school to find work to support their families. Many had to
care for their children with schools shutdown. And many lost their employment,
making college even more of a hurdle. Despite the additional resources we were
able to provide to students through state and federal assistance, we could not
address every need.”
Presidents at public four-year institutions
noted that students’ perceptions of online learning, competition for
applicants, and adjusted admissions requirements in other sectors were factors
driving in the decrease of fall 2021 applicants. Presidents at private
four-year institutions disproportionately cited the pandemic’s negative impact
on their outreach efforts (e.g., college fairs) and prospective students’
limited remote access to guidance counselors during the application process as
factors in the decrease in applicants for the fall.
Decrease in Applications for
Specific Populations
We sought to better understand how the pandemic may be affecting
application numbers for different student populations. Presidents were given a
list of 15 student demographic groups and asked to indicate those for which
their institution had a noticeable decline in applications for fall 2021. It is
important to note that interpretation around what would be a “noticeable
decline” was not provided. The findings below report the share of presidents
who reported seeing declines in application numbers for particular demographic
groups.
- The three most commonly chosen groups for which presidents
reported a noticeable decline in applications were international students (34
percent), low-income students (31 percent), and Black or African American
students (28 percent).
- International students were among the most commonly selected
population among presidents at public four-year (41 percent) and private
four-year (31 percent) institutions. However, presidents at public two-year
institutions most frequently selected low-income students (46 percent).
-
Presidents at public two-year institutions were
much more likely to report a noticeable decline in applications among
low-income students, Black or African American students, and Hispanic or Latino
students than presidents at public and private four-year institutions.
Changes in Admissions
Policies for Fall 2021
Many institutions have reported changes in their admissions
process as a result of the pandemic. To get a better understanding of the
pandemic’s effects on the admissions process, we provided presidents with a
list of nine common policy changes and asked them to indicate whether their
institution made the change because of the pandemic, made the change prior to the
pandemic, or have not made the change.
- Over half of all presidents indicated that their institution
made standardized tests like the SAT and ACT optional (56 percent) and extended
deadlines for submitting admissions documents (54 percent) because of the
pandemic.
-
The majority of presidents reported that their
institutions did not change admissions requirements for select programs (87
percent), waive on-campus housing requirements for first-year students (71
percent), nor waive enrollment deposits (66 percent) because of the pandemic.
Operational Adaptations Due
to COVID-19
The February survey asked presidents about
adaptations made to student services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The
April survey asked presidents questions about operational changes their
institution made because of the pandemic.
Strategic Plans
Presidents were asked if the COVID-19 pandemic
disrupted the implementation of their institution’s strategic plan. The
majority of presidents indicated that the pandemic had disrupted the
implementation of their strategic plan, with 9 percent of presidents reporting
that it disrupted implementation “to a great extent,” 51 percent reporting a
disruption “to some extent,” and 26 percent reporting “very little” disruption.
Twelve percent of presidents reported no disruption in the implementation of
their institution’s strategic plan, and 2 percent of presidents reported that
their institution did not have a strategic plan.
Presidents who reported some level of disruption
in the implementation of their institution’s strategic plan were asked if their
strategic plan would be modified to take the effect of the pandemic into
account. Twelve percent of presidents reported that their strategic plan would
be modified “to a great extent,” 54 percent reported that their strategic plan
would be modified “to some extent,” 24 percent reported that their strategic
plan would be modified “very little,” and 9 percent reported that their
strategic plan would not be modified at all.
Presidents who noted that their strategic plan would be modified
to account for the effect of the pandemic were asked to elaborate on how their
plans might be modified. Several presidents noted that their institutions were
in the process of reevaluating and gathering stakeholder feedback on their
strategic plans, hoping to have a clearer shift in direction by the summer or
fall. Respondents most commonly cited goals of adjusting institutional
priorities in response to demand for online learning and telework—a priority
among presidents at private four-year and public two-year institutions, in
particular. Those with more definitive understandings of their refined
strategic plan commonly anticipate delayed timelines for accomplishing goals,
with many also relaying interest in shorter-term strategic plans to account for
continued changes in college resources and markets.
Reevaluations of enrollment targets and financial health were
additional priorities, most notably for leaders of private four-year and public
two-year institutions. For many respondents, these interests relate to plans of
increased diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and resources for
underserved students. As one private four-year institution president respondent
shared:
“Our trajectory was to become a more adult serving, adult
friendly institution[—]this will remain. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
efforts have been more pronounced. Shaping our business model to be more
affordable, while building better systems that enable us to reduce costs are
important.”
Institutional Operations
We wanted to capture how institutions will adapt their operations
in a post-pandemic world. Presidents were given a list of eight adaptations
related to institutional operations and asked to indicate if their institution
will implement the change, is considering implementing the change, or is not
planning to implement the change.
- Over half of all presidents reported that their institution
will implement changes to expand online learning offerings (55 percent) and
continue telehealth or telemedicine services (53 percent). Slightly less than
half of all presidents reported that they will implement changes to provide
remote access to student services (47 percent).
- The areas in which presidents at public four-year institutions
were more likely to indicate their institution will implement changes include
expanding online learning offerings (54 percent), continuing telehealth or
telemedicine services (53 percent), and providing remote access to student
services (45 percent).
- Over two-thirds of presidents at public two-year institutions
reported their institution will implement changes to expand online learning
offerings (71 percent), provide remote access to student services (69 percent),
and expand HyFlex learning offerings (67 percent).
-
The areas in which presidents at private
four-year institutions were more likely to indicate their institution will
implement changes include continuing telehealth or telemedicine services (49
percent), followed by expanding online learning offerings (45 percent), and
revising policies related to remote work and flexible work arrangements (45
percent).
Fall Vaccine Requirements
With expanded eligibility and supply of the COVID-19 vaccine
across the country, some institutions have indicated they will require
students, faculty, and staff coming to campus in the fall to be vaccinated
prior to the start of the term. We asked presidents if they are planning to
require the vaccine, are considering requiring the vaccine, are not planning to
require the vaccine, or have not yet decided about requiring the vaccine for
students, faculty, and staff prior to coming to campus this fall.
- Slightly less than half of all presidents reported that they
will not require the vaccine for faculty and staff prior to coming to campus in
the fall (48 percent each). A lower share of presidents reported that they will
not require the vaccine for students prior to coming to campus (44
percent).
- A higher share of presidents reported that they will require
the vaccine for students (12 percent) than the share who reported that it will
be required for faculty and staff (7 percent each).
Institutional Practices to Promote
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the vast
inequities our nation’s communities of color face in all areas of American society,
including healthcare and higher education. Coupled with an ongoing reckoning
with racism in our nation, this has led many institutional leaders to reinforce
or expand their efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion on their
campus. Presidents were asked a series of questions around what their
institutions are doing to promote racial equity and inclusion on campus.
Promoting an Anti-Racist
Campus Climate
Presidents were provided with a list of 12 anti-racist
initiatives and asked to select whether each initiative was in place for the
current academic year and would be in place for the upcoming academic year.
Overall, presidents indicated greater implementation of these initiatives in
the current year than in the 2021–22 academic year.
- The most commonly selected anti-racist initiatives that
presidents marked as underway on their campus in the current 2020–21 academic
year were “discussions on racism and racial equity for students, faculty, and
staff” (85 percent), “hosting multicultural events on campus to promote
cross-cultural learning” (76 percent), “increased efforts in recruiting and
hiring underrepresented faculty and staff” (75 percent), and “reviewing
institutional policies that may hinder equity” (68 percent).
-
For the 2021–22 academic year, the majority of
presidents indicated that several anti-racist initiatives will be in place,
including “discussions on racism and racial equity for students, faculty, and
staff” (54 percent), “increased efforts in recruiting and hiring underrepresented
faculty and staff” (52 percent), and “hosting multicultural events on campus to
promote cross-cultural learning” (51 percent).
The pandemic has resulted in heightened visibility
around anti-Asian racism in our country. Presidents were asked what actions
their institution has taken in response to increased incidents and heightened
awareness of anti-Asian racism. Colleges most commonly responded by issuing
statements denouncing violence against Asian American and Pacific Islander
(AAPI) communities. These messages often promoted campus resources supporting
students, faculty, and staff. Leaders also reported “creating space for AAPI
employees to speak and be in community” and “reaching out to AAPI students to
provide [a] support network” in their institutional responses. These efforts
took various forms, including campus forums, rallies, vigils, and remote
conferences. Some presidents reported new mandated DEI training for campus
community members and/or modified campus programming. A smaller number of
respondents noted that their institution has created councils or task forces.
DACA and Undocumented
Students
Given the challenges faced by DACA and undocumented students, we
sought to better understand how institutions meet the unique needs of this
population. Presidents were presented with a list of six student supports and
asked to select those that their institution tailored specifically for DACA and
undocumented students. It is important to note that institutions may provide
support for DACA and undocumented students, but may not have tailored
institutional support specifically for this population.
- Overall, 43 percent of all presidents indicated they had
tailored financial resources for their DACA and undocumented students. Over
half of all presidents at public four-year (51 percent) and public two-year (51
percent) institutions indicated their institution had tailored financial
resources, as did 39 percent of presidents at private four-year institutions.
- Presidents at public four-year institutions (35 percent) were
much more likely than presidents at public two-year (21 percent) and private
four-year (19 percent) institutions to indicate they had tailored mental health
services for DACA and undocumented students.
- Presidents at public four-year institutions (35 percent) and
public two-year institutions (30 percent) were more likely than presidents at
private four-year institutions (22 percent) to indicate their institution had
peer group support specifically for DACA and undocumented students.
-
About four in 10 presidents (39 percent)
indicated their institution did not have tailored student supports specifically
for DACA and undocumented students.
Mental Health and Well-Being
Mental Health Initiatives and
the DEI Plan
Many institutions are creating and implementing diversity,
equity, and inclusion plans to dismantle systemic racism and create welcoming
communities for their historically underrepresented students, faculty, and
staff. To gain a better understanding of how these DEI plans may more actively
support the mental health of marginalized communities, presidents were asked
whether their DEI plans included initiatives that support the mental health of
historically underrepresented students.
- More than half of all presidents (55 percent) indicated their
campus diversity, equity, and inclusion plan includes initiatives that support
the mental health of historically underrepresented students.
-
Public four-year institution presidents (69
percent) were much more likely to indicate their DEI plans included mental
health initiatives for historically underrepresented students than presidents
of public two-year (50 percent) and private four-year (46 percent)
institutions.
New Practices and Broader
Efforts to Address Mental Health
Student mental health has been one of the most pressing issues
for college and university presidents across all of our COVID-19 surveys. In
this survey, we sought to better understand how institutional leaders were
addressing this issue on their own campuses. Presidents were given a list of 10
practices and efforts that support mental health and were asked to select those
that were new on their campus, relative to those in place prior to the
pandemic.
- The most commonly selected new practice to support mental
health was “continuing or adopting new telehealth mental health services” (72
percent), followed by “forming partnerships with external mental health
providers” (48 percent), “investing more resources in the existing counseling
center” (45 percent), and “hiring more counselors in the counseling center” (43
percent).
- Presidents at public four-year institutions (87 percent) were
much more likely to indicate that they were “continuing or adopting new
telehealth mental health services” than presidents of private four-year (75
percent) and public two-year (64 percent) institutions.
- The most commonly selected new practice among presidents at
public two-year institutions was “forming partnerships with external mental
health providers” (68 percent). Presidents of public two-year institutions were
also more likely than presidents of four-year institutions to indicate this was
a new practice or effort to support mental health.
-
Public four-year institution presidents (59
percent) were much more likely to indicate “hiring more counselors in the
counseling center” as a new practice than presidents of private four-year (47
percent) and public two-year (26 percent) institutions.
Allocation of Mental Health
Resources in the New Academic Year
COVID-19 has brought budget challenges alongside rising concerns
about student mental health and well-being. Presidents were asked how their
budget had changed to support the mental health of students, faculty, and staff
for the 2021–22 academic year.
- Over half of all presidents (52 percent) indicated that their
budget to support the mental health of students, faculty, and staff had
increased for the upcoming academic year.
-
Presidents at private four-year institutions (58
percent) were more likely than presidents at public institutions to report that
their budget had increased to support the mental health of students, faculty,
and staff for next academic year.
Presidents who indicated that their budget had
increased to support the mental health of students, faculty, and staff were
then asked to indicate the respective percent increase in their budget for the
2021–22 academic year. Over half of all presidents (52 percent) indicated a
budget increase of “1 to 5 percent,” 33 percent indicated a budget increase of
“6 to 10 percent,” 5 percent indicated an increase of “11 to 15 percent,” 2
percent indicated an increase of “16 to 20 percent,” and 8 percent indicated an
increase of “more than 20 percent.”
Resources and Policies for
Addressing the Mental Health and Well-Being of Faculty and Staff
The mental health and well-being of faculty and staff has also
been a top-of-mind issue for college and university presidents, especially as
the pandemic continues to impact the personal and professional lives of those
who teach, research, guide, and support students in classrooms and labs. In
order to better understand how institutions are supporting faculty mental
health and well-being, we provided presidents with a list of eight common
resources and policies and asked them to select those that their institution
was extending to faculty.
- Nearly three-quarters of all presidents (71 percent) indicated
that they had “revised their work-from-home policies” for faculty, followed by
“expanded counseling services” (56 percent) and “adjusted tenure and promotion
decision-making policies” (33 percent).
- “Revised work-from-home policies” was the most commonly
selected policy to support faculty mental health and well-being across
presidents of all sectors, with 73 percent of presidents at public four-year
institutions, 72 percent of presidents at private four-year institutions, and
68 percent of presidents at public two-year institutions selecting this policy.
- Presidents at public four-year institutions (52 percent) were
more likely to indicate their institution had “adjusted tenure and promotion
decision-making policies” than presidents at private four-year institutions (43
percent). Four percent of presidents at public two-year institutions indicated
that they adjusted tenure policies; however, it is important to note that
public two-year institutions are less likely to have these policies.
-
Presidents at public two-year institutions (26
percent) were more likely to indicate their institution was extending
“emergency aid or other funding” for faculty than presidents at public
four-year (12 percent) and private four-year (15 percent) institutions.
We asked presidents a similar question about what resources or
policies they had extended to support staff mental health and well-being, as
the pandemic has impacted the lives of these individuals who guide and support
students, as well as ensuring ongoing operations of the institution. Presidents
were provided a list of common resources and policies that support the mental
health and well-being of staff, and were asked to select all that apply.
- Three out of four presidents (75 percent) indicated that they
had “revised their work-from-home policies” to support the mental health and
well-being of staff, followed by 66 percent of presidents who indicated that
they had implemented “flexible schedule and/or hours” and 55 percent who
indicated that they had “expanded counseling services.”
-
Presidents at private four-year institutions (74
percent) were more likely to indicate that they expanded “flexible schedule
and/or hours” to support staff mental health and well-being than presidents at
public four-year (67 percent) and public two-year (53 percent) institutions.
* Of the 244 presidents, 98 lead private
four-year institutions (40 percent), 69 lead public four-year institutions (28
percent), 53 lead public two-year institutions (22 percent), nine lead
for-profit institutions (4 percent), eight lead private graduate-only
institutions (3 percent), six lead private two-year institutions (2 percent),
and one leads a less than two-year institution (0.4 percent).
The survey was launched on
April 19 and closed on April 30.