Graduate students significantly more concerned than undergraduates about returning to campus in the era of COVID-19

Abstract

Introduction: As students return to colleges and universities in the fall of 2020, it is important to understand their perception of risk and their desire for in person versus online learning, which may differ between undergraduate and graduate students. Methods: We anonymously surveyed 212 undergraduate and 134 graduate students in the College of Public Health, and 94 graduate students in the College of Education in late June, 2020. We asked them Likert style questions regarding their comfort returning to campus and their preferred learning strategies once back. We compared Strongly agree/Agree with Neutral/Disagree/Strongly disagree using a chi-square test. Results: Graduate students were significantly less likely to look forward to being on campus (38.3% doctoral vs 40.6% master's vs 77.7% undergraduate, p < 0.001), more likely to perceive themselves as high risk (43.3% doctoral vs 40.0% masters vs 17.5% undergraduate, p < 0.001), and were more likely to prefer all classwork online (66.7% doctoral vs 44.6% masters vs 20.8% undergraduate, p < 0.001). Graduate students were also less likely to prefer to be in the classroom as much as possible in the fall (59.2% doctoral vs 67.7% masters vs 74.5% undergraduate, p < 0.001). Most were not concerned about their ability to conduct research. Students generally supported wearing of facemasks indoors. Conclusions: There are important differences in perception of risk and desire for online versus in-person learning between undergraduate and graduate students. Faculty and administrators must acknowledge and address these differences as they prepare for return to campus in the fall.

Selection of An Engineering Institution: Students’ Perceptions of Choice Characteristics and Suitability under the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…For this reason, students entering non-computer allied majors (β=0.26, t=2.92, p<0.000) have considered that better is the location and loyalty, better is the suitability under Covid-19. Similar findings were informed by (Joseph et al, 2005) about good location and locality, which is constructive in fetching enrolments into the campus, and (Ebell et al, 2020) mentioned it encouraging for in-person reporting of students.…”

Selection of an engineering institution: Students’ perceptions on choice characteristics and suitability under Covid-19 pandemic

“…For this reason, students entering non-computer allied majors (β=0.26, t=2.92, p<0.000) have considered that better is the location and loyalty, better is the suitability under Covid-19. Similar ndings were informed by (Joseph et al, 2005) about good location and locality, which is constructive in fetching enrolments into the campus, and (Ebell et al, 2020) mentioned it encouraging for in-person reporting of students.…”

Intersecting Race and Gender Across Hardships and Mental Health During COVID-19: A Moderated-Mediation Model of Graduate Students at Two Universities

“…For instance, graduate students are more likely to be older, work professionally (both currently and previously), have higher amounts of student debt, live off-campus, and have caregiving duties for children and older family members (Polson, 2003 ; Pyne & Grodsky, 2020 ). Unsurprisingly, during the pandemic graduate students have indicated significantly more concerns about the risks and implications of in-person campus activities and learning when compared to undergraduate students (Ebell et al, 2020 ). Furthermore, graduate and professional students have demonstrated soaring rates of depression and anxiety (Chirikov et al, 2020 ).…”