Higher Education Admissions and the Coronavirus Pandemic
COVID’s Impact on Higher Education Admissions
By: Ashley N. Donaldson
In the last few weeks, the Coronavirus pandemic has dramatically, and perhaps permanently, changed everyday life. Higher education has been no different, replacing in-person classes with virtual instruction and support services. Most institutions gave students a short window to vacate campuses and stay away, leaving campuses as ghost towns to help slow the spread of the virus. While immediate impacts are evident, the long-term effects on higher education are not.
Impact on Enrollment
Many enrollment and admissions officers are worried about the impact campus closures may have on enrollment as hosting students on-campus can be one of the most powerful recruitment strategies available. A survey of 250 college enrollment officers found that three-quarters of respondents were most concerned with meeting their institutional enrollment goals for the fall of 2020. Others, including Moody’s Investor Service, are also concerned. The credit rating agency recently downgraded its outlook for the higher education sector from stable to negative citing “unprecedented enrollment uncertainty.”
A particular concern for future enrollment centers on international students. A loss of these students would certainly negatively impact universities. From a financial standpoint, international students often pay full tuition and estimates indicate these students account for over $2.5 billion in tuition and fees. Without these students, institutions would need to consider the significant budgetary impact of their absence, as well as the impact on their learning environment and general student experience. The response from enrollment officers has been to admit more domestic students to try and compensate.
The enrollment of domestic students, however, is also in question. A national survey of 300 inbound college students found the Coronavirus was prompting a quarter of them to rethink their college choices. Nearly one-third of students surveyed indicated they wanted to be closer to home, while almost as many said they feared losing tuition money. Some think domestic students may be less inclined to enroll amid economic uncertainty. However, if the economy continues to recess, institutions might actually see a rise in domestic student enrollment; colleges saw an additional 3 million students enroll during the last recession in 2008. Overall, it seems clear that colleges may admit more local and domestic students as compared to previous years.
Creative Strategies and Policy Changes
Despite future uncertainty and an inability to bring students physically to campus, admissions officers have adjusted admitted student programming and sought creative virtual strategies to attract and enroll future students. One of the most popular options reported are virtual tours and live information sessions with admissions counselors based on a compiled list of strategies from over 200 institutions. While some of the virtual options are pre-recorded, such as campus tours, many institutions are offering live virtual events in order to connect more directly with admitted students and provide opportunities to answer questions.
In response to the needs of admitted international students, enrollment officers indicated additional strategies such as policy changes may be necessary. Approaches have included: deferring admissions, admitting more international students, and extending deposit dates. Some institutions have decided to push back their admissions-deposit deadlines for both international and domestic students. Oregon State University was one of the first to extend its deadline by a month to June 1 and, now, more than 150 other institutions have followed suit.
With both ACT and SAT canceling exam testing dates through May, institutions have also reconsidered test-optional admissions policies. Most recently, the University of California system has adopted test-optional admissions policies. While the U-C system decision only impacts current high school juniors, other institutions like the University of Toledo have decided to remove testing requirements for the incoming Fall 2020 classes. At least a half-dozen colleges have recently announced changes to their testing requirements, more may follow in the upcoming weeks.
Closing Thoughts
The Coronavirus pandemic has created a high level of uncertainty for many areas within higher education, but perhaps none more than admissions and enrollment. While typically the arrival of spring brings a flood of students to college campuses for visits and recruitment fairs, this year has forced admissions and enrollment officers to utilize creative strategies to reach admitted students. With higher education institutions continually more reliant on tuition as a source of funding, any changes to enrollment levels will have significant impacts on college budgets. Only time will tell if many of the virtual and other options employed have been effective strategies and what the true impact on college enrollment will be.