Jalam Ford

4/12/22

Prof. Weaver

Covid’s Effect on College

            March 2020 was a very hard time for everyone, the world began shutting down in response to the quickly spreading virus Covid 19. At the end of November, when it was first brought up no one really thought too much of it until February 2020 when the death tolls began to climb. Stores began closing earlier, businesses started closing temporarily and schools switched to online with no option of being face-to-face. There were many students who stopped out or even dropped out, postponing their college education.

            Firstly, a leading reason to students holding off on their education was the rising college costs after covid effects settled in. Families had to make sacrifices to keep their financial stability and for a lot of households’, college was unfortunately one of those sacrifices. The students who went from high school after an entire year online in 2020 immediately went into another year of online schooling. Hechinger report shows “Out of the country’s 2.6 million students who started college in fall 2019, 26.1 percent, or roughly 679,000, didn’t come back the next year, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. That was an increase of 2 percentage points over the previous year’s level, and the highest share of students not returning for their sophomore year since 2012.” Several students even lost parents and some even both due to covid with them being left without a way to pay for school. According to the article “College Dropout Rates” by Melanie Hanson, she mentions that nearly around 3 out of 10 freshman students in college have dropped out before their sophomore year, and 38% of college students have recently dropped out due to financial pressure.

            Secondly, Covid not only came with illness, but also some other unavoidable effects. Some student’s jobs were the reason why they were getting through school. Once covid hit, a lot of students lost their jobs because either the companies could no longer afford them, or they had to permanently close because of the new health complications. According to the Mckinsey article “after ten years of working to pay for school, LeKisha Finkley was preparing to graduate with an associate degree in spring 2020. She earned enough scholarship money to finish her last semester at Southwest Tennessee Community College. She walked the tightrope of bartending while getting a near 4.0 grade point average in her classes. Her plan was to go to Howard University to get her bachelor’s degree in psychology. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.” She lost her job and just as her classes switched to strictly online, she could no longer afford to pay for internet. That is only one of thousands of situations that occurred to college students.

            Then, very many students were left not knowing which direction to go in. Very many students were feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and stressed because of these new changes. Online schooling being the only option for students and teachers had most in disarray. The communication wasn’t great. Often there was always at least 2 students with connection issues so if they couldn’t get it fixed, they couldn’t do too much about the issue and it’s not like anyone could help them fix the issue because everyone was on their own. Since online classes were on a tight schedule sometimes students couldn’t get their questions answered because there were so many other students per class. A lot of students also dropped out because of having to work as well as school, so once they left work, they had the stress of having to get classwork done afterwards. The pressure became too much, and a lot of students postponed their college education and others indefinitely.

Work cited

Martinez, J. (2021, December 13). College dropout rates increase during COVID-19. The Telescope. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from https://www.palomar.edu/telescope/2021/12/13/college-dropout-rates-increase-during-covid-19/

Cheng, Wan-Lae, et al. “Covid-19 Crisis Pushes Us Students into an Uncertain Job Market.” McKinsey & Company, McKinsey & Company, 7 Jan. 2022, https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/sustainable-inclusive-growth/future-of-america/covid-19-crisis-pushes-us-students-into-an-uncertain-job-market.

Dickler, Jessica. “25% of Students Postponed College during Covid, Some Indefinitely.” CNBC, 16 Apr. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/04/16/college-enrollment-sank-due-to-the-covid-pandemic.html.

Krupnick, Matt. “More Students Are Dropping out of College during Covid — and It Could Get Worse.” The Hechinger Report, 10 Feb. 2022, hechingerreport.org/more-students-are-dropping-out-of-college-during-covid-and-it-could-get-worse/

Emily Perales 
English 1102+ Section 298 – Professor, Weaver                                                                                                                                                                                                             email address: eperales2@student.gsu.edu                       

Picture of a young businesswoman using a labtop, looking stressed.

Introduction:

Anxiety is one of the most common issues in college, especially for first-year students. College can be a challenging and stressful experience both personally and academically, which is why it is so important to address what is causing anxiety. Understanding what causes first year college students to suffer from anxiety is important because Mental Health is a topic that deserves more discussion to find more solutions. By addressing this problem, first-year students will have a more positive college experience, and hopefully more colleges will start discussing what causes anxiety and how to handle it. 

Discussion:

   In this article, “Work-life balance as a predictor of college student anxiety and depression,” by Justin M. Sprung and Anna Rogers, they talk about how anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues among first-year students. Many colleges have reported a rise in the number of students seeking mental health services. For example, they state that “College represents a highly demanding experience for students both personally and academically.” (Justin M. Sprung, 2021). Most students are under a lot of pressure to get good grades, but they also have to keep up with personal things outside of school, such as work and family obligations.

  Justin M. Sprung and Anna Rogers also talk about how college is the time where students make their transition from adolescence to adulthood. For example, the authors state that “Between ages 18-25, individuals learn to become self-sufficient and make independent decisions regarding their life and their future.”(Justin M. Sprung and Anna Rogers, 2021).In other words, Students are not only working towards a degree, they are also searching for their identity.  

  Anxiety is most common among young adults. An article titled, “Third of First Year University Students Have Moderate to Severe Depression/Anxiety.” by Nleeson talks about how Transitioning to university life occurs at the same time as the peak period for mental illnesses, which begins in young adulthood. As part of this article, a researcher named Drew conducted a survey asking students what their main reasons are for getting anxiety. The article stated that “Respondents potentially influential factors were parental education; early life adversity, such as divorce and sexual/physical/emotional abuse; and lifetime occurrence of mood and anxiety disorders.” ( Nleeson, 2021). Having family issues like parents’ divorces can distract a student in college.  

  Students were also asked what helps them not to be anxious as much. The researcher Drew, found that, “socializing and getting involved in student clubs, societies, and sports teams is linked to lower odds of developing significant symptoms as well as boosting the recovery of those who already have symptoms of depression or anxiety.” (Drew, 2021). This suggests that students who are more involved in their college or university life, such as joining clubs, will have less anxiety. This is because they have a better time adjusting to socializing.

  In this article, “Family Members’ Expectations for Involvement with Their First-Year College Students.” by Phyllis Zajack, it talks about how family has an impact on first- year college students. It is well known that family members are being more involved with their adolescents on college campuses. In this study, family members were asked to describe their expectations for involvement with their first-year college students. According to the study, “Mothers and fathers expect to have less influence over their students in college than in high school.” (Phyllis Zajack, 2004). This is because they are encouraging their teenager’s independence as they grow older.  

  First-year college students are used to having their parents help them out. College is different because students do not have their parents with them, so they must consult other people for guidance and help. Asking for help can cause anxiety because first-year students are anxious individuals who are afraid of the unknown. There are ways First-year college students can reduce anxiety. The article, “Anxiety in college students”, by North Central college, talks about what causes anxiety. For example, they state that, “College frequently causes overwhelming anxiety because it’s so new and different from any life experience before it, and students’ minds are overloaded.” (North Central College, 2020). Not knowing what will happen will make students’ minds fill in the gaps by overthinking which will cause students to get overwhelmed and stressed.  

  North Central College also talks about some helpful ways college students can reduce anxiety. For example, North Central College states that it’s important to “Take care of your physical health. This includes getting enough sleep, eating well, drinking water, exercising, relaxing, and attending medical and dental appointments.” (North Central College website). Taking care of physical health is important because that can make you feel good about yourself. North Central College also states that students should: “Take technology breaks. Develop awareness of how technology use makes you feel, from comparing yourself to others on social media to playing games to avoid responsibilities.” (North Central College website, 2020). Instead of comparing themselves with other people online, students should disconnect from technology and focus on getting their work done.  

  In conclusion, there are many reasons why first-year college students have anxiety and there are many ways to reduce it. For example, one of those reasons is that students must deal with both their academic and personal life. Students’ academic and personal life are both as important, so they have to find a way to balance both. College is a time where students must discover what they want to do in the future by discovering who they are. North Central College website stated that, “anxious people often are afraid of the unknown.” (North Central College- Website 2020). It is common for first-year college students to feel anxious because this is their first time in a place where they don’t know how things work. 

  However, there are several ways for first-year college students to reduce anxiety. A great way students can reduce anxiety is to practice positive affirmations daily. For example, North central college stated that, “One way to combat negative thinking is by practicing affirmations such as “I can handle this” or “I am good enough.” (North Central College- Website). It is important for students to know they are capable of doing anything they set their minds to. Students often experience overwhelming anxiety in college because the experience is so new and different from previous life experiences. Keeping a student’s mind in a state where it is always working to keep them protected is something they should be thankful for. So, students can spend more time anticipating life’s best moments. 

Citations: 

Justin M. Sprung & Anna Rogers (2021) “Work-life balance as a predictor of college student anxiety and depression”, Journal of American College Health, Gsu library Database 

https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1706540 

Nleeson. “Third of First Year University Students Have Moderate to Severe Depression/Anxiety.” BMJ Open, 1 Dec. 2021,  

 https://blogs.bmj.com/bmjopen/2021/12/01/third-of-first-year-university-students-have-moderate-to-severe-depression-anxiety/ 

 Phyllis Zajack “Family Members’ Expectations for Involvement with Their First-Year College Students.” Psychology Database, 2004. EBSCO, Gsu Library Database 

www.proquest.com/psychology/docview/305140319/39311A92B38046E1PQ/12?accountid=11226. 

Jacob Imm, “Anxiety in College Students.” North Central College website, 4 Dec. 2020,  

www.northcentralcollege.edu/news/2020/12/04/anxiety-college-students. 

                                    Covid-19

 This research is about the negative effects of COVID-19, how it has impacted community colleges, and what community colleges have done to stabilize their student learning and provide safety measures. What has been going on in the background is a serious case because many students aren’t aware of the things community colleges have done for them and often don’t wonder where all the benefits they receive come from.

           Like many institutions, community colleges have a fund for long-term financial crises called Emergency aid programs which helps students in their times of need. During covid, this has been proved effective. Covid has been the worst pandemic for colleges; with increased student enrollment, strategizing fund distribution has not been easy. COVID-19 has forced students of lower-income families to make significant compromises to achieve a postsecondary degree. Most of the time, this results in a lack of sleep, and there is various research that proves how lack of sleep affects not only students’ overall health growth but also their learning process.

           Community colleges are affordable, which means more enrollment from lower-income students; when COVID-19 hit, colleges forced students into online courses. Before COVID-19, community colleges had little to no investment in online classes; online learning requires a lot of pre-planning and many resources for students and teachers. Experienced teachers are also needed; although this could help, it can’t help in some cases. For example, many teachers had experience in teaching online courses before COVID-19, but inexperienced students led to significant grade point drops, “Shift to virtual instruction resulted in 6.7 percentage point decrease in course completion” (Castleman et al., 1); this also increased students withdrawal form courses; note that withdrawal on community colleges are not unlimited and this eventually backfires causing the student to finish the course or drop while it affects their grade point average(GPA).

           Although one can blame students for not putting in enough work to increase their grade points during online courses, the reason isn’t that simple. Most students during COVID-19 became adults who had responsibilities; this included having to take their relatives to hospitals often due to covid cases or Mental trauma from having to quarantine(complete isolation); students also suffered from a lack of Technologies related stuff; Most students required better Wi-Fi or a personal laptop to do their work in peace; this is due to the fact that most students had siblings and one computer at home wasn’t enough for all to share. Community colleges provided technology services to students in need, and 1 in 10 students at community colleges reported receiving financial assistance. Community colleges across the country also offer computer access to students in their campus library; many students stay after school and take tests or use the computer for their work; a library is a quiet place where students can focus in peace.

           With the sudden shift to Online learning, Evidence shows an increase in students’ depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues increasing during COVID. Reports also show delayed graduations, affecting many lower-income students with internships and jobs. The numbers are much higher than before COVID. Insecurities cause many mental health issues. For example, a better-fed student will most likely get a higher grade on an exam than a student who isn’t. For a long time, food insecurity has been a thing, but Covid has made it much worse than before, but community colleges are countering this problem.

           “Long Beach City College in California in 2019 provided hot breakfast for about 1,800 students across ten separate events” (Madeline St. Amour, 1). “San Antonio College, part of the Alamo Colleges District in Texas, provided nearly 89,000 pounds of food for 633 students (getting food for a total of 3,455 individuals” (Madeline St. Amour, 1). “Calhoun Community College in Alabama disbursed 26 emergency grants from March through September 2020, more than twice the amount they usually disbursed before the COVID-19 pandemic.” (Madeline St. Amour, 1).

           Some students are also insecure about their financial situation due to job loss. Students are less likely to give attention to their classes at home because they aren’t used to it and are often lazy; students often tend to oversleep upon learning that they don’t have to go to class in person and attend an online course. “Research to date on the efficacy of online versus in-person learning suggests that students tend to do far worse in online classes.” (Bird et al., 4). Not having to go to work might be a good opportunity for students. Research suggests that having lost jobs, students tend to have more free time; this allows for more time on their courses; this also helps students learn more about the world since the pandemic has everyone stuck at home. For example, many people of the younger generation and elderly are on TikTok; they are learning a lot by just watching short videos; were it not for covid, no one would have the time to do so.

           Overall, the pandemic has had many adverse effects on student learning and grade and some positive effects. Community colleges are doing what they can, and students are doing what they can. With the way Covid is looking, one can only hope for the world to be normalized again; or it probably won’t. All we can do is what’s best for us currently. All we can do is help by providing what we can to people in need. Many community colleges have fundraisers to help students because government emergency funds aren’t enough sometimes.     

                                                Works Cited:

Kim, Swan, and Donna Kessler-Eng. “Understanding the Challenges of Teaching Writing Online during the Pandemic at an Urban Community College.” HETS Online Journal, vol. 11, Spring 2021, pp. 138–65. Article,

“CUNY Plans Expansion of Mental Health Services to Address Escalating Need of Students Struggling with Effects of Pandemic.” CUNY Newswire, 16 Oct. 2020, https://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2020/10/16/cuny-plans-expansion-of-mental-health-services-to-address-escalating-need-of-students-struggling-with-effects-of-pandemic/.

“Community Colleges See Demand for Food Bank Services Swell.” Community Colleges See Demand for Food Bank Services Swell, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/01/07/community-colleges-see-demand-food-bank-services-swell.

Whatley, Melissa, and Heidi Fischer. “The International Student Experience at U.S. Community Colleges at the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Journal of International Students, vol. 12, no. 1, Jan. 2022, pp. 42–60. Article

Castleman, Benjamin, and Gabrielle Lohner. “Negative impacts from the shift to online learning during the COVID-19 crisis: evidence from a statewide community college system.” EdWorkingPaper (Annenberg Institute at Brown University), no. 20-299. Providence: Annenberg Institute, Brown University, 2020. Online. Internet. 21 Apr 2022. . Available: https://www.edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ai20-299.pdf.

Zottarelli, Lisa K., et al. “Basic needs initiatives at Texas community college Hispanic-serving institutions: Changes in service offerings during the Covid-19 pandemic.” Community College Journal of Research and Practice 46.1-2 (2022): 138-144.

“How Covid-19 Changed Students’ Plans for Community College in Fall 2021.” Community College Research Center, https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/easyblog/covid19-fall2021-community-college-plans.html.

   Winton-Salem  State  University  is  number  one  topped  ranked  HBCU  in  North  Carolina.  Presenting  the  “Rams,”  a  college  that  provides  many  under. grade  in  master’s  and  bachelor’s  degrees.  Accredited  by  the  “Southern  Association  of Colleges  and  Schools  Commission  on  College,”  along  with  10  other  accreditations.  One  hundred  and  seventeen  acres  of campus  brings  students  from  military  to0  upcoming  freshmen.  Their  students  are  trained  to  be  abled  to  handle  real world  obstacles  to  prepare  them  for  their  career.  For  years  they  have  built  an  empire  of  becoming  best  in  the  nation. Winston- Salem  focuses  on  making  sure  their  students  are  receiving  the  best  experience  at  the  HBCU,  knowing  the importance  in  their  history,  and  what  they  have  to  offer  to  their  students.     

      Winston-Salem  was  founded  on  September  twenty  eighth,  of  eighteen  nighty-two  by  Simon  Green  Atkins.  The  up brining  of  the  university  history  was  based  off  creating  challenges.  “Students  would  meet  the  challenges  of  the  day equipped  with  an  education  designed  to  intellectually  prepare  “head,  hand,  and  heart,”  a  saying  from  Winton-Salem (www.wssu.edu).  Opening  the  about  page  you  are  greeted  with  smiling  faces  of  5  students  on  bikes.  A  welcoming introduction  about  Winston-Salem  and  below  are  two  links  to  the  left  “points  of  pride”  and  to  the  right  “our  history.” They  started  off  with  only  twenty-five  students  with  one  instructor.  Shown  an  image  of  a  black  and  white  picture  of their  first  class.  We  get  the  chance  to  see  and  read  how  Winston-Salem  first  started  off  as  a  small  college.  Now  in today’s  time  one  instructor  and  twenty-five  students  is  one  single  class.  Every  college  has  a  history  to  be  proud  of  and Winston-Salem  shows  a  big  pride  no  other  college  could  relate.  The  about  us  page  goes  further  into  debt  about  how their  college  got  started  and  how  it  continued  to  grow.  Below  from  their  introduction  they  have  an  important  year  by year  of  information  you  could  be  interested  in.  The  webpage  includes  a  click  down  of  chief  administrators  that  are  and were  involved  with  the  school.  You  get  the  full  name  and  years  of  terms  that  they  serve,  this  will  help  your  research  of looking  into  what  these  people  did  for  Winston-Salem.  A  good  amount  of  knowledge  can  be  gain  from  reading  the fascinating  history  about  this  school.

    There  are  more  than  forty  undergraduate  programs  in  majors  and  ten  graduate  programs  that  is  offered.  Many programs  specializing  in  liberal  arts,  business,  education,  nursing  and  social  work.  On  the  main  page  shows  our  audience  colorful  buttons  to  click  through  for  each  major.  Their  academic  page,  “Areas  of  Study”  you  can  click  through the  slides  with  pictures  to  match  with  that  major.  This  technique  will  grab  a  visitor  of  the  page  attention  to  investigate more  about  that  major  by  seeing  one  picture.  To  continue  with  the  Ram  theme,  the  academic  page  shows  the  different varieties  of  majors  and  minors  that  you  can  choose  from  in  bold  red.  Click  on  the  link  that  best  suits  you  for  more information  for  any  questions  that  you  have.  As  we  explore  more  of  the  academic  page,  Winston-Salem  once  said,  the college  promise  is  to  “Enter  to  learn,  depart  to  serve”  (www.wssu.edu).  They  believe  that  statement  is  audacious, challenging,  and  demanding  to  the  students  that  decide  to  further  their  education  with  them.  The  school  is  preparing students  to  make  a  difference  in  the  world  with  preparing  for  todays  in  demand  jobs.  Putting  this  quote  on  the  page can  give  a  sense  of  what  the  college  expects  for  their  students  or  for  anyone  thinking  about  applying.  You  can  find departments  that  is  linked  in  with  the  college  campus.  Academic  resources  and  student  programs  can  be  located  on  this page  for  extra  support.  This  page  layout  makes  everything  that  you  are  looking  for  easy  to  find  without  having  to  scatter  around  different  pages  to  find  what  you  need.

     Being  loud  and  proud  of  their  accomplishments  throughout  their  entire  page. We  can  find  “points  of  Pride,”  about  of the  about  WSSU  page  to  see  the  breakdown  of  how  many  accomplishments  they  received  over  the  years.  At  the  top  of the  screen  in  Winston-Salem  students  showing  school  pride  in  their  shirts  as  well  as  holding  up  a  “W.”  If  that  doesn’t show  school  pride,  I  don’t  know  what  does.  It  gives  a  comforting  feeling  to  the  visitor  in  the  page  to  be  happy  and proud  that  you  are  part  of  the  Ram  family.  Here  are  some  of  WSSU  achievements  coming  from  the  points  of  pride  page (www.wssu.edu) . Winston-Salem  is  number  two  in  U.S.  for  value  (Money  magazine).  Top  ten  best-value  college  in N.C.  (SmartAssest.com),  top  ten  HBCUs  changing  the  world  (college  magazine),  top   ten  military  friendly,  top  twenty-five best  HBCU  in  the  U.S.  (College  Raptor).  A  lot  of  social  accomplishments  that  has  gotten  the  word  out  on  Winston-Salem.  Not  jus t social  media  is  giving  the  word  out,  but  the  academic  charts  as  well.  They  made  number  one  for Historically  black  nursing  school  in  the  nation (NursingProcess.org),  number  one  for  HBCU  in  N.C.  for  psychology (psychology  degree  guide),  best  “A”  elementary  education  programs  in  the  nations.   Each  of  their  ranks  and  programs can  be  clicked  on  to  show  you  more  information  about  that  award,  pictures  so  some  of  the  awards.  They  have  a  short list  called  “Facts  at  a  glance,”  to  sum  up  what  year  they  were  established,  student  enrollment,  motto  and  more.  This page  is  great  for  showing  us  how  has  the  school  has  to  offer  to  their  students.  It  gives  you  a  chance  to  learned  about how  they  earned  the  award,  when  they  earned  that  award  and  what  the  award  is  about.  A  school  that  wins  a  lot  of awards  is  a  school  you  should  be  looking  into.  They  sectioned  out  the  award  page  to  brag  on  how  their  school  is  the best  in  the  North  Carolina  region.  Winston-Salem  has  a  history  of  competing  to  be  the  best  and  they  are  setting  the ranks  very  high  on  national  list  that  no  other  college  in  their  area  can  reach.

     Great  opportunities  can  be  fulfilled  at  this  outstanding  HBCU.  If  you  need  to  read  upon  anything  about  them  the webpage  is  the  way  to  go.  It’s  organized  by  every  link  you  could  be  interested  in  to  give  you  an  easier  search  then having  to  search  it  anywhere  else.  They  look  forward  into  bringing  new  talented  students  that  are   ready  to  learn  into their  school.  They  want  you  to  be  the  next.  Once  said  from  Winston-Salem  (www.wssu.edu),   “Ignite  your  passion, discover  your  strength,  and  prepare  to  make  difference  in  the  world.”