Parents are worried the pandemic might delay their children’s college plans, want answers from schools
Forty percent of recently surveyed parents of high school seniors said they believe the COVID-19 pandemic “might delay their child going to college.” Sixty percent said they haven’t received any information yet from schools about their plans to ensure student safety during the next academic year, and the vast majority (85%) said they want to hear more from colleges about how they’re preparing. In addition, 40% now want their child to go to a college or university closer to home, and 65% are more worried about the financial impacts of tuition due to COVID-19. The survey “indicates that parents of graduating seniors have deep concerns connected to this outbreak that could threaten the long-term viability of institutions if they don’t respond in the near term.”
Source: Inside Higher Ed
Envisioning the post-pandemic “new normal”
Robert Ruiz, the managing director of Liaison’s BusinessCAS community, recently wrote, “In a world constantly in flux, the most important realization business schools can make today is that they should not — and will not — return to a pre-pandemic state of affairs.” His list of “inevitable long-term changes for graduate management education (GME)” begins with a prediction that online learning “will be divided into tiered, variably priced academic portfolios — such as a top tier featuring courses taught by tenured faculty and industry leaders, a middle tier taught by junior faculty and covering a narrower range of subjects, and so on.” He also believes: cloud-based admissions and enrollment solutions will continue to become the industry standard even after admissions offices reopen; decreased institutional bureaucracy will lead to quicker, more agile decision-making and; some U.S. programs’ “major markets for international students will substantially decline.” He added: “With large conferences on hold, communities like Liaison’s BusinessCAS will step in with a more intimate, collaborative and robust professional networking experience.”
Source: Poets & Quants
College Board cancels June SAT
Noting that “there are things more important than the test” and “encouraging students to gather in June would not be safe for students and the academic administrators involved,” the CEO of the College Board announced the cancellation of the June SAT. He also said that live testing is scheduled to resume on August 29. Additional test dates have been scheduled for autumn. If schools remain closed beyond summer, the test may be offered in a digital version to students at home. “That will require remote proctoring at a scale not yet seen,” he said. In the wake of the College Board’s mid-March decision to cancel tests through May, dozens more schools have made the test optional for admission.
Source: Forbes
Many colleges may continue online learning during fall semester
The upcoming fall semester may not bring the “return to normal” that many students and families have been hoping for. According to a recent survey of more than 260 higher education professionals, most (58%) said their institutions are either thinking about remaining fully online this fall or have already decided to do so. The survey, which was published by the American Association for Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, “also showed that 62% of respondents are considering decreasing, or have decreased, the number of in-person courses for the upcoming fall semester. And 73% are considering increasing, or have increased, the number of online and/or remote courses for that same period.”
Source: Diverse Education