In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan State University, like many universities, closed its on-campus offerings and hastily moved to remote learning in March 2020. In addition to moving all classes online, students were asked to leave on-campus housing if possible. As COVID-19 cases continued to increase through the summer, plans to reopen in the fall were halted and most institutions announced they would continue offering instruction through remote learning. At the start of the spring 2020 semester, we collected data from MSU students enrolled in introductory economics courses about their grade expectations and views of economics as a major. In order to understand how students responded to the disruption generated by the pandemic, we began collecting additional data about the direct effects of the pandemic on their learning environment, including changes to living arrangements, internet access, studying behavior, and general well-being. Survey data were collected at the beginning and end of the spring, summer, and fall terms of 2020. Supplementing this survey data with administrative data on demographic characteristics and actual grade outcomes, we investigate how the pandemic affects students and how students' final grades in their economics course relate to their responses to the pandemic and virtual learning. We find the effects vary with student background characteristics (including race, gender, GPA, and first-generation college status) and final grades are related to internet connectivity, stress, and anxiety. These unique data allow us to provide a descriptive analysis of students' reactions to an unprecedented disruption to their educational environment.
Learning in the Time of COVID-19

NAVIGATING CONTEXT
Learning in the Time of COVID-19
AC
Author :
Andrea Chambers
Learning in the Time of COVID-19
AC
Author :
Andrea Chambers