Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on the College Students\u27 Experience

The Covid-19 pandemic has altered higher education as universities began closing their campuses in late March 2020 and started shifting courses from traditional face-to-face lectures to online or hybrid learning experiences. Traditionally, students attend college to meet other students, learn new information through their courses, apply what they have learned in various settings, and experience the campus’ social life. Covid-19 has forced the college students’ experience to change for the last two semesters and for the near future. The new learning environment consists of a majority of courses moving online, while limiting face-to-face interaction to small groups for certain courses. In addition, students experienced changes to their social interactions as a result of social distancing guidelines. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact Covid-19 has had on college students’ experiences. An online survey was distributed to undergraduate and graduate students from Minnesota State University, Mankato. The survey consisted of five sections, including demographics, daily activities/routines, social life/interactions, work/life balance, and school/learning experiences. Each of the main sections focused on the effect that Covid-19 has had on a participant’s life prior to the pandemic, at the beginning of the pandemic, and within the last two weeks of the pandemic. Results of our study indicate that the Covid-19 pandemic severely impacted the lives of college students. More specifically, significant findings were found when comparing participants’ experiences prior to, at the beginning of, and during the last two weeks of the pandemic across the domains of daily routines, social life/interactions, work/life balance, and school/learning practices. Across these four areas, similar trends were found. Respondents’ average scores dropped at the beginning of the pandemic when compared to their experiences prior to the pandemic. Then, when compared to the beginning of the pandemic, participants’ average scores across the domains have increased when they rated their experience during the most recent two weeks of the pandemic. These results highlight the resiliency and flexibility that college students have exhibited throughout the past year. We hope that by learning more about challenges students are facing and strategies they are implementing to cope, colleges may be able to make changes that lead to improved student success