This page was last updated on December 9, 2020 at 9:30 am
The rapid spread of COVID-19 has led a large number of colleges and universities to make substantial changes to how they provide instruction, with many closing campuses and shifting to online courses. This web page gathers together Ithaka S+R’s research and analysis and also describes our related services and initiatives.
New resource: Higher Ed’s Response to COVID-19 and Plans for Reopening
Services and initiatives | Research and analysis | In the media
Services and initiatives
For more information or to participate, please contact us.
Assessment of remote learning experiences
We are working with colleges and universities to document and assess faculty and student experiences and student learning outcomes in remote learning contexts prompted by COVID-19. The information collected and analyses will be tailored to the institutional context and designed to inform key decisions around teaching and learning, professional development, and student support.
COVID-19 surveys
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 are again offering versions of our COVID-19 surveys for the fall semester. 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.
Filling gaps in analytical capacity
On a contract basis, we are partnering with colleges and universities to provide support related to COVID-19 in data collection and analysis and internal research and assessment.
Spring 2020 outcomes
We are working with colleges and universities to assess the academic outcomes of undergraduate students in Spring 2020 compared to previous terms. Participating colleges will receive a report with their results (overall and by student characteristics) as well as benchmarks from peer institutions. At this time, there is no cost for an institution to participate, but spots are limited.
Strategic advising for leaders
Through virtual convenings, one-on-one engagement, and formal consulting projects, we are providing strategic guidance for leaders across the communities we serve, helping them plan for the uncertainties of the next academic year and—as important—the long-term future of their institutions.
Research and analysis
Access and equity | Cultural organizations | Higher education in prisons | Leadership | Libraries | Online teaching and learning | Post-pandemic planning | Research practices | Students
Access and equity
- August 25, 2020, Incorporating Equity into Fall Reopening Plans (blog post), Elizabeth Banes, Lee Caron and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- July 21, 2020, Reflections on the Comprehensiveness and Equity Considerations of Institutional Plans for Fall 2020 Reopening (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- July 14, 2020, Streamlining Transfer for CUNY Students in the Bronx (blog post), Martin Kurzweil, Cindy Le, Alexandra W. Logue
- June 18, 2020, Student Veterans Need Targeted Support Due to COVID-19 Educational Disruptions (blog post), Sindy Lopez, Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta, and Emily Schwartz
- April 27, 2020, Online Learning During COVID-19: Digital and Educational Divides Have Similar Boundaries (blog post), Daniel Rossman and Emily Schwartz
- April 23, 2020, Going Test-Optional with Equity in Mind (blog post), Sindy Lopez, Emily Schwartz, James Dean Ward, and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
Cultural organizations
- November 12, 2020, Findings from the Inaugural Art Museum Director Survey: Benchmarking Perspectives from Early 2020 (report), Liam Sweeney
- August 17, 2020, Teaching with Cultural Heritage Online During the Pandemic: New Mellon-Funded Project (blog post), Danielle Cooper, Liam Sweeney and Kurtis Tanaka
- May 6, 2020, Shared Heritage, Shared Responsibility: African Memory Institutions and the Response to COVID-19 (blog post), Oya Y. Rieger
- April 24, 2020, The “Viral Pandemic Exclusion” Clause in Business Interruption Insurance Policies (blog post), Liam Sweeney and Nancy Kopans
- April 13, 2020, To Survive This Pandemic, Some Museums are Pivoting to Virtual Engagement (blog post), Liam Sweeney
- April 6, 2020, Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic: Archiving the Present for Future Research (blog post), Oya Y. Rieger
- March 18, 2020, Cultural Organizations & COVID-19: Documenting Virtual Engagement Strategies (blog post), Liam Sweeney
Higher education in prisons
- May 7, 2020, How Will Postsecondary Education in Prisons Need to Change in Light of COVID-19? Reflections from an interim report on technological equity for incarcerated college students (blog post), Kurtis Tanaka
- March 20, 2020, When Online Education Isn’t an Option: Higher Education in Prisons During a Pandemic (blog post), Kurtis Tanaka
Leadership
- December 9, 2020, Academic Library Strategy and Budgeting During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Jennifer K. Frederick and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- October 28, 2020, Scholarly Societies in the Age of COVID (report), Laura Brown, Roger C. Schonfeld
- July 21, 2020, Reflections on the Comprehensiveness and Equity Considerations of Institutional Plans for Fall 2020 Reopening (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- July 17, 2020, Testing, Tracing, and Supported Isolation: A Synthesis of 57 Fall 2020 College Reopening Plans (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- July 16, 2020, Overarching Findings from 57 Fall 2020 College Reopening Plans (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- July 1, 2020, Transforming Library Leadership Strategy in a Time of Crisis: Introducing the Special Edition Library Survey 2020 (blog post), Jennifer K. Frederick
- June 30, 2020, University Presses in the Age of COVID-19, Part 2: How Press Directors are Looking to the Future (blog post), Laura Brown
- June 29, 2020, Three Questions for Melissa Sturm-Smith: Drake University and COVID-19 (blog post)
- June 24, 2020, The Great Recession Playbook is Gone: Why Higher Ed Needs Government Support to Survive (blog post), Elizabeth Banes, Emily Schwartz and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- June 24, 2020, University Presses in the Age of COVID-19: How Press Directors are Navigating the Challenges of the Pandemic (blog post), Laura Brown
- June 18, 2020, Building a Practice-Sharing Resource on Planning for Fall 2020 (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- June 10, 2020, Resource Launch: Tracking Higher Ed’s Response to COVID-19 and Plans for Reopening (blog post), Elizabeth Banes
- June 2, 2020 , Higher Ed’s Response to COVID-19 and Plans for Reopening (resource)
- April 30, 2020, Leading a Library Today: How Library Directors Are Approaching the Challenges of the Current Moment (blog post), Kimberly Lutz and Roger Schonfeld
- April 28, 2020, Five strategies for humanely conducting surveys in higher ed during a global crisis (blog post), Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- March 20, 2020, Leading in a Time of Uncertainty: Some Reflections (blog post), Roger Schonfeld
Libraries
- December 9, 2020, Academic Library Strategy and Budgeting During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Jennifer K. Frederick and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- November 5, 2020, In the Eye of the Beholder: What’s a Digital Preservation System Anyway? (blog), Oya Y. Rieger and Rebecca Springer
- October 8, 2020, Indications of the New Normal: A (Farewell) Fall 2020 Update from the Academic Library Response to COVID-19 Survey , Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- August 19, 2020, Exploring the Effectiveness and Durability of Digital Preservation and Curation Services: Announcing a New Research Project Funded by IMLS (blog post), Oya Y. Rieger
- August 17, 2020, Teaching with Cultural Heritage Online During the Pandemic: New Mellon-Funded Project (blog post), Danielle Cooper, Liam Sweeney and Kurtis Tanaka
- July 1, 2020, Transforming Library Leadership Strategy in a Time of Crisis: Introducing the Special Edition Library Survey 2020 (blog post), Jennifer K. Frederick
- June 30, 2020, Why Stakeholder Engagement Matters More than Ever (blog post), Rebecca Springer
- June 30, 2020, University Presses in the Age of COVID-19, Part 2: How Press Directors are Looking to the Future (blog post), Laura Brown
- June 24, 2020, University Presses in the Age of COVID-19: How Press Directors are Navigating the Challenges of the Pandemic (blog post), Laura Brown
- May 8, 2020, Assessment Across Higher Ed (blog post), Christine Wolff-Eisenberg and Danielle Cooper
- April 30, 2020, Leading a Library Today: How Library Directors Are Approaching the Challenges of the Current Moment (blog post), Kimberly Lutz and Roger Schonfeld
- April 21, 2020, Research Library Digitization Has Found Its Moment: Long-term Investments Pay Off and Provide Lessons for the Future (blog post), Roger Schonfeld
- April 6, 2020, Documenting the COVID-19 Pandemic: Archiving the Present for Future Research (blog post), Oya Y. Rieger
- March 24, 2020, First This, Now That: A Look at 10-Day Trends in Academic Library Response to COVID19 (blog post), Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- March 23, 2020, Academic Library Response to COVID-19: Real-Time Data Gathering and Dissemination, Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg, The Scholarly Kitchen
- March 15, 2020, Academic Library Strategies Shift to Closure and Restriction: The Next 48 Hours of Academic Library Response to COVID19 (blog post), Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- March 13, 2020, Academic Library Response to COVID19: The First 24 Hours of Survey Data (blog post), Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
Online teaching and learning
- October 22, 2020, Student and Faculty Voices on the Emergency Shift to Remote Learning: An Exploratory Study at a Large Urban Institution (blog post), Christy McDaniel and Jenna Joo
- October 22, 2020, Student and Faculty Experiences with Emergency Remote Learning in Spring 2020 (report), Christy McDaniel, Catherine Suffern, Jenna Joo, Rayane Alamuddin
- September 23, 2020, A Letter to College Administrators: Considerations for Virtual Learning (blog post), Kimmy Cacciato
- August 17, 2020, Teaching with Cultural Heritage Online During the Pandemic: New Mellon-Funded Project (blog post), Danielle Cooper, Liam Sweeney and Kurtis Tanaka
- August 10, 2020, Is Online Instruction as Good as Face-to-Face? Unpacking Assumptions in the Wrong Question Everyone is Asking (blog post), Michael Fried
- June 25, 2020, Student Experiences During the Pandemic Pivot (report). Melissa Blankstein, Jennifer K. Frederick, and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- June 25, 2020, COVID-19 and the Student Experience: Reporting Large-Scale Results from the Spring Semester (blog post), Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- May 8, 2020, Assessment Across Higher Ed (blog post), Christine Wolff-Eisenberg and Danielle Cooper
- May 4, 2020, Constructive Disruption in Higher Education (blog post), Michael Fried
- April 29, 2020, Announcing the COVID-19 Faculty Survey: Available for Implementation May-June (blog post), Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- April 27, 2020, Online Learning During COVID-19: Digital and Educational Divides Have Similar Boundaries (blog post), Daniel Rossman and Emily Schwartz
- March 16, 2020, Dispatches from the Higher Ed #covidclassroom: Teaching and Learning Edition (blog post), Danielle Cooper
- March 13, 2020, COVID-19 and American Higher Education (blog post), Catharine Bond Hill
- March 13, 2020, Duke Kunshan University: A Case Study of Implementing Online Learning in Two Weeks, Kevin Guthrie, Catharine Bond Hill, Martin Kurzweil, and Cindy Le
- March 13, 2020, Getting Online: Lessons from Liberal Arts Colleges (blog post), Jenna Joo and Daniel Rossman
- March 6, 2020, Lessons learned from going online in two weeks (webinar about Duke Kunshan)
Post-pandemic planning
- July 22, 2020, Addressing Challenges Faced by Institutions Supporting Student Veterans: ATI Veterans Community of Practice Comes Together Virtually (blog post), Justin Beauchamp, Sindy Lopez
- July 21, 2020, Reflections on the Comprehensiveness and Equity Considerations of Institutional Plans for Fall 2020 Reopening (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- July 17, 2020, Testing, Tracing, and Supported Isolation: A Synthesis of 57 Fall 2020 College Reopening Plans (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- July 16, 2020, Overarching Findings from 57 Fall 2020 College Reopening Plans (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- June 25, 2020, Student Experiences During the Pandemic Pivot (report). Melissa Blankstein, Jennifer K. Frederick, and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- June 24, 2020, The Great Recession Playbook is Gone: Why Higher Ed Needs Government Support to Survive (blog post), Elizabeth Banes, Emily Schwartz and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- June 18, 2020, Building a Practice-Sharing Resource on Planning for Fall 2020 (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- June 10, 2020, Resource Launch: Tracking Higher Ed’s Response to COVID-19 and Plans for Reopening (blog post), Elizabeth Banes
- June 2, 2020 , Higher Ed’s Response to COVID-19 and Plans for Reopening (resource)
- May 4, 2020, Constructive Disruption in Higher Education (blog post), Michael Fried
- April 17, 2020, State Higher Education Policy is Essential to Economic Recovery (blog post), James Dean Ward, Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta, and Martin Kurzweil
- April 10, 2020, Planning for the Recovery: Advice from a Former College President (blog post), Michael Fried and Jenna Joo
- April 3, 2020, Federal Relief Opportunities for Small Colleges and Universities (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
Research practices
- October 26, 2020, The Impacts of COVID-19 on the Research Enterprise (report), Jane Radecki, Roger C. Schonfeld
- September 9, 2020, Supporting Language and Literature Scholarship in the COVID-19 Era (report), Rebecca Springer and Danielle Cooper
- July 21, 2020, Senior Research Officers: Revolving Portfolios and Strategic Priorities (blog post), Oya Y. Rieger and Roger Schonfeld
- July 8, 2020, What about Research? Scholarship and COVID-19 (blog post), Nicole Betancourt
- June 1, 2020, Data Communities in the Health Sciences (blog post), Rebecca Springer
- May 27, 2020, Speeding Up the Dissemination of Scholarly Information (blog post), Oya Y. Rieger
- April 14, 2020, Technologies at Hand: On Researcher Practices During a Pandemic (blog post), Danielle Cooper
Students
- October 27, 2020, Student Success, Basic Needs, and the COVID-19 Pandemic Institutional Research Perspectives on Holistic Student Success Metrics (blog post), Melissa Blankstein
- October 22, 2020, Estimating the Impact of COVID-19 on Students’ Academic Outcomes (blog post), Daniel Rossman, Rayane Alamuddin
- October 22,2020 Student and Faculty Voices on the Emergency Shift to Remote Learning: An Exploratory Study at a Large Urban Institution (blog post), Christy McDaniel and Jenna Joo
- October 22, 2020, Student and Faculty Experiences with Emergency Remote Learning in Spring 2020(report) Christy McDaniel, Catherine Suffern, Jenna Joo, Rayane Alamuddin
- September 23, 2020, A Letter to College Administrators: Considerations for Virtual Learning (blog post), Kimmy Cacciato
- September 4, 2020, Estimating the Impact of COVID-19 on Students’ Academic Outcomes (blog post), Daniel Rossman and Rayane Alamuddin
- September 3, 2020, What Your Students Want to Hear: Effective Communications in the Time of COVID-19 (blog post), Kimmy Cacciato
- August 3, 2020, Engaging and Supporting Prospective Students: How Can Institutions Draw Upon the Principles of Near-Peer Advising? (blog post), Rebecca Wasserman and Emily Schwartz
- July 30, 2020, Academic Advising Technologies in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond: Exploring the Human Element (blog post), Michael Fried and Christy McDaniel
- July 22, 2020, Addressing Challenges Faced by Institutions Supporting Student Veterans: ATI Veterans Community of Practice Comes Together Virtually (blog post), Justin Beauchamp, Sindy Lopez
- July 21, 2020, Reflections on the Comprehensiveness and Equity Considerations of Institutional Plans for Fall 2020 Reopening (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- July 17, 2020, Testing, Tracing, and Supported Isolation: A Synthesis of 57 Fall 2020 College Reopening Plans (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- July 16, 2020, Overarching Findings from 57 Fall 2020 College Reopening Plans (blog post), Elizabeth Banes and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- July 14, 2020, Streamlining Transfer for CUNY Students in the Bronx (blog post), Martin Kurzweil, Cindy Le, Alexandra W. Logue
- June 29, 2020, Three Questions for Melissa Sturm-Smith: Drake University and COVID-19 (blog post)
- June 25, 2020, Student Experiences During the Pandemic Pivot (report). Melissa Blankstein, Jennifer K. Frederick, and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- June 25, 2020, COVID-19 and the Student Experience: Reporting Large-Scale Results from the Spring Semester (blog post), Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- April 22, 2020, Student Experiences During COVID-19: Actionable Insights Driving Institutional Support for Students (blog post), Nicole Betancourt
- April 9, 2020, COVID-19: Incorporating the Student Perspective into Institutional Decision-Making (blog post), Emily Schwartz and Elizabeth Davidson Pisacreta
- March 31, 2020, COVID-19 and Higher Education: Announcing a New Survey of Students to begin in April (blog post), Christine Wolff-Eisenberg
- March 20, 2020, Communicating COVID-19 in Higher Ed: Student Edition (blog post), Melissa Blankstein and Jennifer Frederick
- March 3, 2020, (Un)attending the #ELI2020Unconference (blog post), Melissa Blankstein
In the media
- July 13, 2020, Surveys as Policy Tools, Jolanta Juszkiewicz, Community College Daily
- June 25, 2020, What Does it Mean to Support Vulnerable Students During the Pandemic? Beckie Supiano, The Chronicle of Higher Education
- June 25, 2020, Students Seek More Advising, Transfer Help and Tutoring, Matthew Dembicki, Community College Daily
- June 25, 2020, Support for Higher Ed Remains Strong, Despite Uncertainty for Fall Enrollments, Survey Finds, Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA
- June 18, 2020, College Programs in Prisons Go Remote, Lilah Burke, Inside Higher Ed
- June 4, 2020, It’s Time for Colleges to Change How They Enroll Students, Martin Kurzweil and Josh Wyner, The Hill
- May 24, 2020, Colleges balance student safety with falling revenues during coronavirus — here’s how universities will be transformed in the fall, Jillian Berman, Marketwatch
- May 13, 2020, Students’ Internships Are Disappearing. Can Virtual Models Replace Them? Goldie Blumenstyk, The Chronicle of Higher Education
- May 12, 2020, How to Survey College Students About the Shift Online, Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive
- April 21, 2020, Higher Education and the Public Good, Catharine Bond Hill, Inside Higher Ed
- April 17, 2020, Libraries Brace for Budget Cuts, Lindsay McKenzie, Inside Higher Ed
- April 16, 2020, Ithaka Library Directors Survey Reflects a Different Time—and Offers Clues for What May Lie Ahead, Lisa Peet, Library Journal
- March 24, 2020, The Networked University in a Pandemic — and Beyond, Jeff Selingo and Martin Kurzweil, Inside Higher Ed
- March 23, 2020, As Coronavirus Spreads, Colleges Make Limited Allowances for Support Staff, Karin Fischer, The Chronicle of Higher Education
- March 19, 2020, 3 Ways Community Colleges Can Support Students During the Coronavirus Crisis, Natalie Schwartz, Education Dive
- March 16, 2020, Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe and Christine Wolff-Eisenberg Discuss Academic Library Response to COVID-19, Lisa Peet, Library Journal
- March 16, 2020, ‘As Human as Possible’, Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed
- March 15, 2020, Latest Coronavirus News, Inside Higher Ed
- March 13, 2020, What ‘Distance Learning’ Looks Like For Students Without Computers Or Wi-Fi, Rebecca Klein, HuffPost
- March 12, 2020, The Campus Closure Divide, Lilah Burke, Inside Higher Ed
- March 11, 2020, Crowdsourced Google Doc of Shutdowns, Paul Fain, Inside Higher Ed
- March 11, 2020, Why Coronavirus Looks Like a ‘Black Swan’ Moment for Higher Ed, Goldie Blumenstyk, The Chronicle of Higher Education
- March 4, 2020, Educators Salvage Canceled Educause Event with an ‘Unconference’, Betsy Foresman, EDSCOOP