While the challenges colleges and universities faced in the spring semester were unprecedented, it’s clear that the disruptions are far from over. Even as the fall semester approaches, institutions are still deciding how many students to bring back to campus and how to deliver instruction effectively. Over the past few months, we have partnered with over 20 colleges and universities to provide actionable insights on student and faculty needs in the wake of the pandemic. To continue helping institutions enhance research, teaching, and learning in the upcoming semester, we will again be offering versions of our COVID-19 surveys.

The instruments released today are intended to be fielded during the fall semester, and parallel end-of-semester surveys will be available in another few months. The student survey covers curricular needs, safety and well-being, intentions for returning in the spring, and perceptions of institutional communications and support. The faculty survey explores complementary topics related to teaching tools and approaches, research practices and preferences, and perceptions of institutional communications and support. Our approach has been developed with a number of instructional modalities in mind and will be relevant whether your institution is fully online or using a hybrid model.

Every institution that fields these surveys will receive dashboards of results in real time, enabling immediate action on results. Past participants have used survey findings to clarify institutional policies, predict enrollment, improve learning management system functionality, fundraise for students in crisis, and connect students with relevant resources and support.

If you have any questions about participation, please be in touch via email (christine.wolff-eisenberg@ithaka.org) or phone (212-500-2369). We look forward to working with you in the coming months.