Impact of the Pandemic on Low-Income College
Students*
I think to myself, is
school really worth it? (a first year student)
We know that
when students, especially low-income students, leave higher education,
the probability of them returning is highly unlikely. (Michele
Siqueiros, Campaign for College Opportunity)
With the COVID-19
pandemic lasting so long, low-income families, especially ethnic minorities,
are faced with additional barriers. For many students, universities and
colleges moved to an online format with minimal institutional assistance.
Reports indicate that the gap between low-income and affluent students is
widening, and learning and emotional problems are increasing.
Low
income students are those with family incomes of $25,000 or less. Many
low-income students already were experiencing barriers to performing well at
school, and the COVID-19 pandemic made matters worse. In particular, besides
the technical difficulties related to online instruction, problems arose
when students had to take on increased responsibilities related to caring
for family members while balancing school demands. And with the college
tuition remaining the same, students who rely on work wages have faced the
harsh reality of being let go or a reduction in hours. Many experienced
difficulty in maintaining such basics as food and shelter. Some have dropped
out. The picture worsens when one looks at the declining number of
low-income students applying for college.
According to a survey
of 38,000 college students accessed after the COVID-19 Pandemic:
• 44% of students at two year institutions and 38% at four
year institutions of higher education had basic needs insecurities
(food, water, shelter, clothing)
• 15% a two year and 11% at four
year institutions were experiencing homelessness
• about 50% of
students in two year and 63% at four year institutions stated that they
had concentration issues during the pandemic
• 41% of students at
two-year colleges and 36% at four-year universities stated that they had
struggled bcause of increased need to take care of family members
• 32% of students in two-year colleges and 28% of students in
four-year universities experienced losing at least one of the jobs
• 32% of two-year college students and 42% of four-year college
students faced reduction of working hours and pay.
• 70% of
students who lost their jobs, and 63% students who had reduction in
hours, struggled to meet basic needs. Up to 60% of students were
ineligible for government assistance, due to only having hours cut. 10%
of eligible students were completely unaware of the resources for which
they could apply.
Available data make it clear that
another devastating impact of the pandemic is that many lower-income and
middle-income students are giving up going to college. This not only has
dire implications for their future, it has major ramifications for
society at large.
From our perspective, the many ways COVID-19
is impacting all students increases the urgency for adopting dramatic
measures to address barriers to learning and teaching and reengage
disconnected students. See the National Initiative for Transforming
Student and Learning Supports at https://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/newinitiative.html
.
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