SACPA: How post-secondary institutions are coping with COVID-19

“One of them is the National Survey of Student Engagement.”

That survey in particular was actually done in February 2020, right before the pandemic hit the nation.

“We were able to do it again in October-November 2020 and had a basis of comparison to see if things had changed,” Massey said.

She remarked that not surprisingly, things had changed.

“We found that competitively speaking, students were feeling less [of a] sense of connection to the university, less supported, less connected to the day-to-day, to friends and so on,” she said.

The study found that some students lacked the required tools with at-home learning.

Massey said 35 per cent of responding students had insufficient study spaces in their home, 12 per cent had a lack of sufficient internet at home and 10 per cent lacked proper hardware (computers) at home.

“This actually prompted us to think about what other supports we could put in place,” she said.

Massey added another note from the survey was a common sense of isolation among students who were studying from home.

“There were challenges and there continues to be challenges with a remote existence,” she said.

ACADEMICS

Massey noted in her presentation that 4.2 per cent of student dropped out of the U of L in Fall 2020, which is nearly twice the amount seen in Fall 2019.

“That’s sad for us. I think it’s sad for all of us at the university,” she remarked.

“For us, it was a moment of reflection. What else can we do to help them stay on path?”

Students cited mental health challenges, concerns with the online learning model and a lack of connection with other students and a lack of a sense of community. 75 per cent said they left primarily because of the shift to online learning amid the pandemic.

“I want to balance this with [and say] some students again, were doing okay. In fact, overall, our grade point averages – which are one measure of students’ academic success – went up slightly, almost across the board in every faculty,” Massey noted.

“That suggests that some students were finding a way forward, to be successful in this context so again, I go back to this balance that some were coping, some were thriving, and others decided to pause.”

In her presentation, Massey spoke of ways the University of Lethbridge is supporting students through the pandemic.

She said both the Graduate Student Association (GSA) and Undergraduate Student Union (ULSU) have lent a helping hand to students who have been struggling through the pandemic.

“For example, under financial support, the GSA established the Working from Home bursary for graduate students so that they could transform their workspace into an ergonomically, comfortable work environment and some 200 students benefitted from that bursary – graduate students, in particular,” Massey explained.

“The ULSU enhanced its emergency grants for students and because students couldn’t come use the food bank on campus, which they run, they moved to food gift cards so that they could send those to students more effectively.”

Massey also gave kudos to the U of L’s campus care parcel initiative, which helped students in need gain access to food early last year. More details can be found here.

FALL 2021 & OTHER FINDS

Massey spoke about the future of schooling at the U of L, specifically when it comes to the Fall 2021 semester.

“Our colleagues in Alberta Health Services and Public Health are ramping up the rollout of vaccines here in Alberta and we’re encouraging them to get anyone who wants to be vaccinated, to get us vaccinated as soon as possible so that we can get back to it, to who we are and how we can serve the community in Fall 2021,” she said.

An interesting trend the U of L has seen amid the pandemic is a jump in applications to the Health Sciences Faculty.

“Overall Faculty of Health Sciences applications are up 16 per cent for Fall 2021,” Massey said.

“In Public Health, which is sort of the area where one would see epidemiology, [applications are] up 30 per cent. For nursing, up seven per cent at this point in time compared to last year at this point in time and in fact, it’s the highest level in the last five years.”

She attributed this rise to what’s known as the ‘Fauci Effect’, named after Dr. Anthony Fauci, who serves as the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical advisor to U.S. President Joe Biden.

Massey explained the ‘Fauci Effect’ is a catch-all title, or phrase, that says, “he’s inspiring and by extension, the health care providers who have worked so hard throughout this pandemic, are inspiring students to think about applying for programs in health care”.

“This tremendous impact has happened right across North America, including Canada, including Alberta.”

Massey’s full virtual presentation can be viewed below, courtesy the Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs.

(Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs on YouTube)

by Justin Goulet

SACPA: How post-secondary institutions are coping with COVID-19

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