By June, many U.S. colleges and universities have traditionally stopped accepting applications for admissions and have a better idea of who will be in their upcoming classes in the fall.
Not this year.
Epidemic stress has created financial problems for many higher education institutions, as they were already prepared for declining enrollment due to the upcoming demographic cliff. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, enrollment questions for some schools have yet to be answered, with many shakes to fill the spot in the 2026 class.
According to the National Student Clearinghouse, in the fall of 2019, more than 18 million students enrolled in post-secondary institutions in the United States, this spring, the number has dropped by about 1.4 million students, down 9.4 percent since the epidemic began.
The decline in the number of high school graduates, which was estimated before the epidemic, coincided with the decline in high school graduation rates in multiple states, leaving fewer high school graduates applying to enroll in colleges and universities this fall.
Colleges also expect another problem: not only are fewer students enrolled, those who enroll may be less prepared for college curriculum than those admitted before the epidemic.
Related: After the epidemic disrupted their high school education, students are coming to college unprepared
Quality test scores for math and reading have slipped for primary and secondary school students, while academic inequality has widened between white students and black, Latino and Native American students, and between students from wealthy families and low-income backgrounds.
Failure grades have risen for high school and high school students nationwide: for example, in the state of New Mexico and in Houston, Texas, more than 40 percent of students dropped out of at least one class between spring 2020 and spring 2021.
Prior to the epidemic, the percentage of students taking at least one remedial course (a measure of college readiness) at the time of college admissions ranged from about 70 percent for students starting at community college to about 40 percent for students starting four years of school, a number that could be even higher now.
As a college professor who teaches introductory statistics courses in my department, I have noticed that students are less prepared in college, and I have provided more refreshers on topics such as order of operations and square root.
Related: After the epidemic disrupted their high school education, students are coming to college unprepared
However, labels for “unprepared students” or “unprepared students” may be limited. Often, such labels are taken to indicate students’ skills and impress their chances of success in the classroom. A 2020 survey found that labeling students as having or not having abilities can be extremely effective, reducing doubts about competence, feelings of incompetence and feelings of entitlement. As a result, there is less engagement in the course (including effort, interest and attendance) and poor performance.
The impact of these labels is greater for students who are more likely to be seen as less prepared because of the social stereotypes of their group. When students verbally believe that their instructors view intelligence as largely unchangeable, they question who can have “it” and who can’t.
For women in math classes, for example, a professor may be tempted to stereotype to show a stable view of intelligence and reduce performance in the course, recent research shows.
Similarly, the gap in course GPA between Black, Latin, and Native American students and their white and Asian peers was more than double that of classes taught by faculty who supported a more stable view of skills, a survey of more than 15,000 college students found.
Labels of “unprepared student” or “unprepared student” may be limited. Often, such labels are taken to indicate students’ skills and impress their chances of success in the classroom.
There are some possible solutions. Instructors can interact with students and design their courses in a way that supports student growth. Faculty participating in professional development opportunities such as the Student Experience Project have revised their curricula so that their belief in student potential is clearly understood.
Instructors can also connect students to campus resources, normalizing the process of getting help with academic and non-academic challenges. Course evaluation can be low-key with feedback and built-in opportunities for instructors using a variety of strategies to help students improve their course performance.
Such strategies remind students that low preparation is not a definite condition, and that their abilities are not seen as an unchanging feature. By formulating more growth-emotional approaches, trainers can promote a greater sense of self-efficacy and confidence, which predicts better performance even during epidemics.
Of course, some students may need extra preparation to succeed in their college coursework. Others may benefit from breaks to meet basic needs. Still others may need to be clear about their motives and ideas of inspiration or home in order to succeed in college.
To give students a chance to showcase their potential, faculty must move away from labels like “unprepared” and “unprepared”. They must focus on creating a culture of growth in the classroom and try to understand what elements students have not yet mastered so that they can point to effective steps for their improvement.
Universities need to draw on students ’existing resources and strengths and challenge the notion of the immutability of intelligence and power.
Learning does not end with a diploma. A student’s journey does not need to be estimated or defined by their college preparation, their transcripts, and their entrance exam scores. Institutions must be prepared to support students not only during their transition to college – but also through experience until graduation.
Katherine Boucher is an associate professor of psychology at Indianapolis University. He is a Leading Scholar in the Student Experience Project through The College Transition Collaborative and a Public Voice Fellow through The OpEd Project.
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