Do your most pressing post-pandemic challenges align with the challenges cited by other schools? Is “intercollegiate athletics” a top 10 priority?
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College and university presidents surveyed this spring to identify their top COVID-19 challenges. How does your institution's post-pandemic challenges compare? And is “intercollegiate athletics” a top 10 concern right now?
Executive Summary
244 college and university presidents responded to a recent survey conducted by the American Council on Education and the TIAA Institute
Presidents surveyed represented four-year public, four-year private, and two-year public institutions
Mental health of students was most commonly selected pressing issue
Enrollment numbers for the summer and/or fall was second most commonly cited pressing issue
Mental health of staff and faculty; racial equity; and financial stability of the university round out the top five most commonly cited pressing issues
'Intercollegiate Athletics' did not rank in the Top 15 most pressing issues on campus
Increase in number of universities making SAT and ACT standardized exams optional during pandemic; NCAA follows suit to for its initial eligibility criteria
Presidents polled about whether they will require students, faculty, and staff to be vaccinated before returning to campus for fall 2021 term
The most commonly cited new practice to support mental health was “continuing or adopting new telehealth mental health services”
Presidents' top pressing issue of student mental health aligns with a recent NCAA survey which found student-athletes citing elevated mental health and well-being challenges
Survey Background
Over the past year, the American Council on Education (ACE), in partnership with the TIAA Institute, surveyed college and university presidents to gauge how they are responding to the challenges of COVID-19. AV highlights several key findings from the ACE/TIAA Institute survey results.
In part one of the survey, which was completed in February 2021, presidents described how the pandemic had affected their institution’s spring enrollment, financial health and what adaptations were made for student services. In part two of the survey which was completed this April, 244 university presidents were asked to update their most pressing issues on campus and, in turn, provided a point of comparison to their February responses.
Top Takeaways from the April 2021 Survey
According to the survey sponsors, across all sectors, “mental health of students” was the most commonly selected pressing issue; however, presidents at public two-year (79%) and public four-year (78%) institutions were slightly more likely than presidents at private four-year institutions (70%) to report this as the most pressing issue. Over half of all presidents reported “enrollment numbers for the summer and/or fall” (53%) as a pressing issue which ranked second behind mental health of students.
While nearly half of all presidents (48%) selected “mental health of faculty and staff” as a pressing concern, this was a noted decrease from the 58% of presidents who indicated this in the February survey. Despite this decline, mental health of faculty and staff remained the third most commonly selected pressing issue among presidents.
“Racial equity issues” was among the top five most pressing concerns among college and university presidents, with 40% of leaders selecting this as a pressing issue, up from 37% in the February survey.
The fifth most commonly selected pressing issue was “long-term financial viability of the institution,” with 32% of college and university presidents selecting this issue, down from 41% in the February survey.
Presidents Reported Less Concern about Athletics as Springtime (and Vaccines) Arrived
When the first part of this survey was conducted in February 2021, 16% of presidents and chancellors polled cited “intercollegiate athletics” as one of their pressing issues.
Fast forward to April 2021 and the second part of this survey showed that number drop to only 9%. In terms of the overall number of pressing issues considered, “intercollegiate athletics” ranked No. 16 (out of 20 categories) on the list of most pressing issues on campus according to presidents participating in the survey. Fundraising, on-line learning, and faculty recruitment were some of the categories ranked immediately above athletics in this most recent survey.
One could discern that the progress of the vaccination rollout along with the continued viability of the ongoing championship seasons moving forward this spring diffused concerns from the president’s office about athletics and, more specifically, student-athletes having another season upended.
From an NCAA Division I perspective, the completion of both men’s and women’s Division I basketball tournaments -- aka March Madness -- also would buoy optimism noting the revenue generating ramifications tied to a successful completion of those events.
Presidents Eye Admissions Application Numbers
The April 2021 survey results showed that slightly less than half of all presidents (47%) reported a decrease in undergraduate applications for fall 2021 relative to fall 2019. A little more than one-third of all presidents (37%) reported an increase in undergraduate applications, and 16% reported applications stayed about the same.
Nearly two-thirds of presidents at public two-year institutions (65%) noted a decrease in undergraduate applications for fall 2021, compared with fall 2019. This was much higher than the share of presidents at public four-year (49%) and private four-year (35%) institutions who reported a decrease.
About half of presidents at private four-year institutions (48%) reported an increase in their undergraduate applications for fall 2021 relative to fall 2019, a much higher share than that of presidents at public four-year (40%) and public two-year (16%) institutions.
Presidents at public and private four-year institutions who observed an increase in applications largely attributed this shift to their marketing and outreach efforts, as well as changes to their admissions requirements. These efforts included increased advertising, hiring of enrollment management firms, and improved communication with applicants, often alongside waived fees and optional standardized testing. A smaller share of respondents leading four-year institutions also attributed application increases to financial aid access and affordability more broadly.
In addition, some respondents from private four-year institutions noted that they benefited from in-person operations, with one college leader explaining, “We have increased marketing efforts and have continued on-campus recruitment with a number of health and safety restrictions.”
Presidents from both private four-year and public two-year institutions also attributed higher application numbers to their programmatic offerings, including career-focused majors and STEM education. Respondents from public four-year institutions were more inclined to report that they benefited from applicants who wanted to enroll in an institution closer to home.
For universities who have not seen an uptick in admissions applications for fall 2021, institutional leaders most often cited students’ pandemic-related personal challenges, financial difficulties, loss of employment, and perceptions of online learning as important factors in the decrease. Presidents at public four-year and public two-year institutions were particularly inclined to note the hardships experienced by prospective applicants, including health and safety concerns, childcare challenges, and uncertainty over the future.
When looking at particular student sub-populations, the three most commonly chosen groups for which presidents reported a noticeable decline in admissions applications were international students (34%), low-income students (31%), and Black or African American students (28%).
Universities Go Test-Score Optional; Prompt NCAA Eligibility Center to Temporarily Align their Test-Score Policy
The April 2021 survey results showed that 56% of respondents indicated their institution made standardized tests like the SAT and ACT optional within their admissions application processes. That campus-level flexibility aligned with what the NCAA opted to do -- at least temporarily -- with its initial eligibility criteria for the next two recruiting classes. The NCAA announced in April that students who initially enroll full time during the 2021-22 or 2022-23 academic years and intend to play Division I or II athletics will not be required to take a standardized test to meet NCAA initial eligibility requirements.
“Many testing centers around the world remain closed or with limited capacities, and this makes it hard for some prospective student-athletes to take a standardized test,” NCAA Eligibility Center Vice President Felicia Martin said. “Our members decided that extending the 2021-22 COVID-19 initial-eligibility policies was most fair for current high school juniors who will initially enroll in college during the 2022-23 academic year.”
Similar to 2021-22 policies, student-athletes enrolling in a Division I school during the 2022-23 academic year will be academically eligible by earning a 2.3 grade point average in 16 NCAA-approved core courses, with 10 core courses (seven in English, math and science) completed by the start of their seventh semester in high school (before senior year).
The NCAA has organized a task force to review the use of test scores as part of NCAA initial eligibility standards in Divisions I and II. The task force will begin meeting this spring and will review recommendations for the Division I Committee on Academics and the Division II Academic Requirements Committee for consideration.
“The task force will consider a number of factors associated with the use of test scores in eligibility decisions, including the equity and accessibility impact, the movement among some in higher education toward test-optional admission policies and an evaluation of the effectiveness of standardized tests as a predictor of academic success,” Martin said. “NCAA members are committed to making decisions in the best interest of college-bound student-athletes.”
What Direction are Presidents Going in Terms of Requiring Students, Faculty, and Staff to be Vaccinated Prior to Returning in Fall 2021?
With expanded eligibility and supply of the COVID-19 vaccine across the country, some institutions have indicated they will require students, faculty, and staff coming to campus in the fall to be vaccinated prior to the start of the term. For the survey, presidents were asked whether they are planning to require the vaccine, are considering requiring the vaccine, are not planning to require the vaccine, or have not yet decided about requiring the vaccine.
Results indicated that slightly less than half of all presidents reported that they will not require the vaccine for faculty and staff prior to coming to campus in the fall (48% each). A lower share of presidents (44%) reported that they will not require the vaccine for students prior to coming to campus.
A higher share of presidents reported that they will require the vaccine for students (12%) than the share who reported that it will be required for faculty and staff (7% each).
Promoting an Anti-Racist Climate on Campus
The survey explained that presidents were provided with a list of 12 anti-racist initiatives and asked to select whether each initiative was in place for the current academic year and would be in place for the upcoming academic year. Overall, presidents indicated greater implementation of these initiatives in the upcoming 2021–22 academic year than in the current year.
The most commonly selected anti-racist initiatives that presidents marked as underway in the current 2020–21 academic year were “discussions on racism and racial equity for students, faculty, and staff” (85%), “hosting multicultural events on campus to promote cross-cultural learning” (76%), “increased efforts in recruiting and hiring underrepresented faculty and staff” (75%), and “reviewing institutional policies that may hinder equity” (68%).
For the 2021–22 academic year, the majority of presidents indicated that several anti-racist initiatives will be in place, including “discussions on racism and racial equity for students, faculty, and staff” (54%), “increased efforts in recruiting and hiring underrepresented faculty and staff” (52%), and “hosting multicultural events on campus to promote cross-cultural learning” (51%).
Mental Health Support Services are a Post-Pandemic Priority
In the survey, presidents were given a list of 10 practices and efforts that support mental health and were asked to select those that were new on their campus, relative to those in place prior to the pandemic. The most commonly selected new practice to support mental health was “continuing or adopting new telehealth mental health services” (72%), followed by “forming partnerships with external mental health providers” (48%), “investing more resources in the existing counseling center” (45%), and “hiring more counselors in the counseling center” (43%).
Presidents at public four-year institutions were much more likely to indicate that they were “continuing or adopting new telehealth mental health services” (87%) than presidents of private four-year (75%) and public two-year (64%) institutions. The most commonly selected new practice among presidents at public two-year institutions was “forming partnerships with external mental health providers” (68%). Presidents of public two-year institutions were also more likely than presidents of four-year institutions to indicate this was a new practice or effort to support mental health.
Public four-year institution presidents (59%) were much more likely to indicate “hiring more counselors in the counseling center” as a new practice than presidents of private four-year (47%) and public two-year (26%) institutions.
The amplified attention presidents are giving mental health resources for students on campus will certainly benefit a student sub-population that has indicated heighted mental health strains -- student-athletes. The NCAA reported in February 2021 that an NCAA-wide survey of nearly 25,000 student-athletes found elevated rates of mental exhaustion, anxiety, hopelessness, and feelings of being depressed during the preceding fall. Mental health concerns remained highest among demographic subgroups typically displaying higher rates of mental distress (women, student-athletes of color, those on the queer spectrum, those living alone or away from campus, and those reporting family economic hardship).
Student-athletes in their senior years and those attending only virtual classes displayed heightened mental health concerns in the fall, as well. In most instances, the rates of reported mental health concerns experienced within the last month were 1.5 to two times higher than have been reported by NCAA student-athletes in pre-pandemic studies.
Student-athlete respondents noted academic worries (43%), lack of access to their sport (33%), COVID-19 health concerns (31%) and financial worries (24%) as the top factors negatively impacting their mental health. Many student-athletes of color cited personal experiences of racism or racial trauma within the last month as negatively impacting their mental health, with levels of endorsement from Black student-athletes more than twice that of other athletes of color (31% and 13%, respectively).
The full report of the ACE/TIAA Institute’s college and university presidents’ survey is available here.
Athletics Veritas is presented for information purposes only and should not be considered advice or counsel on NCAA compliance matters. For guidance on NCAA rules and processes, always consult your university’s athletics compliance office, conference office, and/or the NCAA.
