5 Back-to-School Challenges that Colleges & Universities are Facing Right Now

It’s been less than a month since students returned to campus although preparations have been happening for months as administrators grapple with ever-changing rules hoping for a safe, healthy, and successful transition back to school. In these initial weeks, post-secondary leaders report that students, faculty and staff are being compliant, for the most part, when it comes to physical distancing, wearing masks, following vaccination/testing protocols, and public health guidelines, but they do have concerns about the weeks and months ahead.

International students: International students already face several challenges when coming to Canada – visa requirements, study permits, language barriers, cultural differences, adjusting to life in a new country, and like many students, balancing their academics with life outside of the classroom. While schools have dedicated staff and resources designed to ensure than international students are successful in their transition, the pandemic has increased the need for specialized support to navigate fluctuating travel requirements, border measures, vaccination and testing requirements, and coordinate quarantine and housing needs.

Residence and affordable housing: Some schools reduced their residence room capacity focusing on housing students in single or double rooms rather than offering triple or quad options, while others left rooms available for future quarantine needs. Many students deferred admission last year and therefore some schools are seeing increased enrolment, which has resulted in a demand for limited residence. When living on campus is no longer an option for many students, there is a bigger need for affordable student housing.

Hybrid teaching, learning and student services: Back in March 2020, students, faculty, and staff had no choice but to get online and re-create the way they taught, learned, and worked. Although people are slowly coming back together, it is unlikely that things will return to the way they were pre-pandemic. In preparation for the return to campus, schools began to implement a hybrid approach to teaching and service delivery that provides both in-person and online options for students.  What remains to be seen is whether a hybrid model will allow for equitable access to learning and supports given the capacity to deliver both options well, student access to reliable internet, functional needs of schools, and individual preference. 

Mental health: Prior to the pandemic, universities and colleges were seeing increases in the number of students struggling with depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and other mental health issues. While students were better equipped than many to adjust to online learning environments and adapt to new technology that evolved with the pandemic, they experienced more isolation and loneliness than ever before. Financial stress due to loss of work and the lack of affordable housing; adjusting to a hybrid learning environment; and, fear about returning to school, combined with an overall sense of uncertainty about the future, has made things worse. Schools will need to deliver more mental health supports and services when these areas are already overtaxed. 

Burn-out & the ’big quit’: As plans to return to campus have progressed this summer and fall, staff and faculty were once again asked to shift and this time create and adopt a hybrid model that, in most cases, will continue to change. While some staff and faculty are excited about being back at school, some fear returning to an unsafe working environment and others miss the flexibility and freedom that working from home offered. This constant change, demanding workload, and uncertainty has taken its toll.  Schools have already seen more staff opt for early retirement, an increase in requests for accommodations, and higher turnover as people rethink how and where they want to work. These changes will not only be costly from a human resources perspective, but they will also impact productivity, teaching, services and supports for students, as well as have a negative impact on morale.

This summary is based the recent SEMM Forum Town Hall Webinar: School's Back, Now What? featuring: Tom Brophy, Senior Director, Student Affairs and Services, Saint Mary's University; Barbara Crow, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Science, Queen’s University; and, Bob Burge, Registrar, Okanagan College. The webinar was hosted by Graham Donald and the summary prepared by Julie Rahmer of Brainstorm Strategy Group Inc.

The full webinar recording can be found here.

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