What Happened to Community College Student Engagement After the Pandemic? (Poster 8)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Thursday 8:00 a.m.
  In Poster Session: Academic Success and Institutional Support

Abstract

This study explores to what extent community college students’ engagement has changed and whether the relationship between engagement and their intention to re-enroll has changed before and after the pandemic. We analyzed the Community College Survey of Student Engagement 2016-2019 and 2021-2023 data with independent t-tests and logistic regression models. Results show that post-pandemic students were less frequently engaged in active and collaborative learning and academic activities crucial for their classroom learning than pre-pandemic students. However, post-pandemic students were engaged more in academically challenging work, interacted with faculty more frequently, and perceived student support from college more positively. Before and after the pandemic, each of the five engagement benchmarks was significantly and positively associated with students’ intention to re-enroll.

Authors

• Jungmin Lee, University of Kentucky

• Olukemi Olubunmi Kolawole, University of Kentucky