How Online Peer-to-Peer Tutoring Can Improve Financial Outlooks in Higher Ed during COVID-19
Due to the sudden economic instability brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic, institutions of higher education in the US are losing funding from traditional sources. This financial insecurity extends beyond campus to the families considering what they can afford in this new climate.
Compounding this is a general sense of the unknown – students and parents are unsure of their financial futures. They are unsure of the safety of attending any school in person. They are unsure of their goals and future plans. It is no surprise there is an expected 15% drop in fall enrollment.
In this moment, maintaining healthy student retention and progression rates within colleges and universities is even more important. But the emphasis has changed a bit. We have to understand the nature of the barriers before looking for ways to improve retention and progression.
There are both new financial and psychological issues at play in determining whether students enroll, and after that, stay.
Financial Impact of COVID-19 for Students
Families in America are in trouble. Brookings has found that low- and moderate-income families make up more than half of the US population. Since the onset of the Coronavirus, approximately 30% of these families have lost their job. Add to that 44% are struggling with decreased work time and lower earnings.
Furthermore, the rate of food insecurity has doubled since the beginning of the pandemic according to Brookings research.
Every dollar counts for students and their families. They are now busy calculating if they can afford the plans they had in mind at the beginning of the year.
WHY PROGRESSION HELPS STUDENTS FINANCIALLY:
Reversing non-matriculation could save an estimated yearly average of $6,585 for students. Talk to students about your plans for helping them graduate on time. Include peer-to-peer tutoring and financial literacy programming in your plan.
Psychological Impact of COVID-19 for Students
In 2017, the national Healthy Minds Study reported that one out of three students in higher education suffered from a mental health problem. The problem has only grown. As reported recently by Forbes, student depression, anxiety, and loneliness have increased exponentially in higher education since the onset of COVID-19:
- Increase in depression by 20%
- Increase in loneliness by 16%
- Increase in anxiety by 11%
A huge number of students are now exhibiting high-risk characteristics, from low-income, to mental health issues, to a host of other barriers.
HOW MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS:
As an institution of higher education, your highest goal is the growth and development of your students. This growth is much more difficult for students struggling with their mental health.
As noted in a report by the American Council on Education, students with consistent mental health issues have lower GPAs and struggle with progression and retention. In fact, students suffering from poor mental health are twice as likely to leave school without graduating.
Addressing mental health has direct consequences on cost of studies to students. It also has a direct impact on the Return of Investment (ROI) for institutions. In fact, there is even an ROI tool you can customize for your institution: ROI for College Mental Health Services and Programs.
Financial Impact of COVID-19 for Schools
Endowments are weakening, much tuition from international students is lost, and fundraising is less fruitful in a time where everyone is tight for funds. Add to that an expected dip in enrollment – possibly as high as 15% – and higher education institutions are looking for solutions.
HOW MUCH RETENTION IMPACTS SCHOOLS:
The average school loses almost $10 million per year due to attrition. Addressing issues of progression and retention is good for both students and the institutions that serve them.
How Online Peer-to-Peer Can Help
Peer-to-peer tutoring offers emotional support in addition to academic improvements. In fact, the two go hand in hand. Not only do peer tutors have a shared experience to bond over. Since they have no power over grades or assessments, students feel more supported. The anxiety of judgement melts away, and barriers to learning are removed.
Psychology Today notes that mediated social activity is healthy for students continuing their learning during pandemic. This includes activities like online book clubs, language exchanges – anything involving cooperative learning with peers. Peer-to-Peer tutoring fits a social need, in addition to an academic one.
Positive peer relationships can improve emotional health. This in turn increases student ability to focus and retain information.
This type of support is most helpful to high-risk students – a category that is expanding exponentially during the Coronavirus pandemic. Students who are suffering financial loss and increased depression, anxiety, and loneliness benefit the most. But everyone involved in tutoring, including the tutor, shows improved learning.
STATISTICS SHOWING HOW TUTORING HELPS
Before the onset of COVID-19, students who received tutoring were 86% more likely to graduate, according to a study conducted by the Educational Policy Institute.
In fact, tutored students returned at a rate 3.02% higher than expected had they not sought tutoring—representing a 9–12% increase in retention rates.
Now that the stakes are even higher, and the general student body is in greater need of social connection, institutions that take extra measures to provide easy access to virtual peer tutoring services will see financial benefits. And so will students.
Building or strengthening this infrastructure now will provide institutions with an advantage moving forward.
Wrapping It Up
As schools shift their focus slightly from recruitment to stronger infrastructure for progression and retention, colleges and universities across the country become even more vital for the emotional health of our youth. Strong mental health services, peer tutoring, financial literacy training, and other key supports will make the difference.
Furthermore, this infrastructure provides both the school and the student with added financial benefits in a time when nothing is certain.
Looking forward to the following recruitment cycles, those institutions who can outline their successes in helping students progress through this period will have an advantage. Now is the time to focus on providing students with the support they need to regain their sense of purpose and connection.
#StudentSuccess #HigherEducation #Coronavirus
Career Development Leader | Student-Centered Advocate | Expert in Career Services, Employer Relations, and Talent Pipeline Development | Program Manager
4 å¹´Well written and a good read, Jehangir. Barriers to learning are definitely occurring more acutely in the midst of the pandemic. Peer-to-peer- mentoring does seem to provide much needed social as well as learning support.