At the start of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, universities everywhere shifted online almost overnight. What started as a gradual transition with the rise of MOOCs in 2012 was rapidly accelerated, as more than 90 percent of U.S. classes moved to digital learning in 2020.
At the same time, however, student satisfaction, belonging, connection, and opportunity to collaborate with peers dramatically decreased. In fact, undergraduate programs in the United States experienced significant declines in enrollment over the year. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, community colleges have shown the steepest decline at around 19 percent, which is almost 19 times the pre-pandemic loss rate.
