The pandemic created sudden barriers for all students, from preschool through post-doc. Delays in learning have been widespread, with the greatest disparities among students of color. The sharpest pandemic decline in college enrollment was among Indigenous students, who disproportionately experienced economic hardship along with health care and remote learning disparities.
40%COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO LOST A JOB, INTERNSHIP, OR JOB OFFER
45%TCU (TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES) STUDENTS WHO HAD NOT EXPERIENCED ONLINE OR HYBRID LEARNING PRE-PANDEMIC
80%COLLEGE STUDENTS REPORTING THAT THE PANDEMIC NEGATIVELY IMPACTED THEIR MENTAL HEALTH
42%STUDENTS WHO SAY THE PANDEMIC INFLUENCED THEIR CHOICE OF MAJOR
66%COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO SAY PANDEMIC CHANGED HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT THEIR FINANCIAL FUTURE
38%STUDENTS AT FOUR-YEAR SCHOOLS EXPERIENCING FOOD INSECURITY
628,000INDIGENOUS HOUSEHOLDS WITHOUT ACCESS TO STANDARD BROADBAND (FOUR TIMES THE RATE IN GENERAL POPULATION)
All schools struggled during the pandemic, but those serving students of color have had a harder time and may well take longer to return to pre-pandemic levels of enrollment.
11.3%SPRING 2021 DROP IN COMMUNITY COLLEGE ENROLLMENT FROM SPRING 2020
18.4%SPRING 2021 DECLINE IN PUBLIC COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AMONG NATIVE AMERICAN MEN 11.2%
35%DECLINE IN ENROLLMENT DURING PANDEMIC AMONG NATIVE AMERICAN– SERVING NON-TCUS
5.9%SPRING 2021 DROP IN UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENT FROM SPRING 2020
11.2%SPRING 2021 DECLINE IN PUBLIC COLLEGE ENROLLMENT AMONG NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN
13%SPRING 2021 DROP IN ENROLLMENT AMONG INDIGENOUS STUDENTS
56%DECLINE IN ENROLLMENT DURING PANDEMIC AMONG TCUS