In late August 2021, some 16 percent of adults 18 years old and over who had household members planning to take postsecondary classes in fall 2021 reported that all plans to take classes in the fall had been canceled for at least one household member. The most frequently cited reason they reported for the cancellations was not being able to pay for classes/educational expenses because of changes to income from the pandemic (48 percent).
The emergence of the coronavirus pandemic brought major disruptions to American society. Health systems were stressed,1 millions of jobs were lost,2 businesses were shuttered,3 and many public schools were closed.4 The pandemic also had a direct impact on postsecondary education. During the spring of 2020, many postsecondary institutions shifted instruction from in-person classes to online-only classes. In fall 2020, many postsecondary institutions began to reintroduce in-person instruction through hybrid education or in-person classes.5 Due to ongoing spikes in coronavirus cases, however, some institutions reverted to increased online offerings.6 Although the pandemic has persisted into the 2021–22 academic year, near-universal eligibility for the coronavirus vaccine among postsecondary students and faculty may transform plans for both institutions and their students.
In some respects, postsecondary institutions had made some progress in transitioning to online education prior to the pandemic. In 2019, for instance, about 37 percent of all students in degree-granting institutions were taking at least one of their classes online, and 18 percent were taking all their coursework online. The range of academic programs that are available online, as well as concerns about the pandemic more generally, have contributed to a policy-level interest in the extent to which students have modified their postsecondary attendance plans in response to the pandemic.
This spotlight uses data from the 2021 Household Pulse Survey (HPS)7 to explore ways in which student plans for fall 2021 postsecondary education changed as a result of the pandemic. The HPS is conducted by the Census Bureau in collaboration with 16 other federal agencies and offices, including the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The HPS has provided weekly or biweekly national and state estimates since April 23, 2020, when data collection began. The survey gathers information from adults about their employment status, spending patterns, food security, housing, mental health, access to health care, transportation, and household educational activities. The HPS includes questions regarding (i) household postsecondary attendance plans, (ii) whether those plans shifted as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and (iii) if the plans shifted, specific reasons why they shifted.
This spotlight focuses on adults 18 years old and over who were in households where a member or members (including the respondents themselves) planned to take classes from a postsecondary institution in fall 2021. This indicator uses data collected during the period of August 18 to August 30, 2021 to examine changes in postsecondary education plans and reasons for canceling those plans. Findings are also presented by racial/ethnic group and household income level.
Select a subgroup characteristic from the drop-down menu below to view relevant text and figures.
NOTE: Because this survey is designed to represent adults 18 years old and over, the estimates indicate the percentages of adults in households with prospective postsecondary students who reported a given change, rather than the percentages of students themselves. Respondents could choose more than one response to reflect the fact that different prospective students within the household may have had distinct changes in postsecondary plans or that an individual prospective student within the household may have had multiple changes in postsecondary plans. Data in this figure are considered experimental and do not meet NCES standards for response rates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey, August 18 to August 30, 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 302.80.
1 Includes persons reporting Pacific Islander alone, persons reporting American Indian/Alaska Native alone, and persons of Two or more races.
NOTE: Because this survey is designed to represent adults 18 years old and over, the estimates indicate the percentages of adults in households with prospective postsecondary students who reported a given change, rather than the percentages of students themselves. Data in this figure are considered experimental and do not meet NCES standards for response rates. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey, August 18 to August 30, 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 302.80.
NOTE: Because this survey is designed to represent adults 18 years old and over, the estimates indicate the percentages of adults in households with prospective postsecondary students who reported a given change, rather than the percentages of students themselves. Data in this figure are considered experimental and do not meet NCES standards for response rates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Household Pulse Survey, August 18 to August 30, 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 302.80.
NOTE: Because this survey is designed to represent adults 18 years old and over, the estimates indicate the percentages of adults in households with prospective postsecondary students who reported a given change, rather than the percentages of students themselves. Respondents could choose more than one response to reflect the fact that different prospective students within the household may have had distinct reasons for changes in postsecondary plans or that an individual prospective student within the household may have had multiple reasons for changes in postsecondary plans. Data in this figure are considered experimental and do not meet NCES standards for response rates. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded data.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Household Pulse Survey, August 18 to August 30, 2021. See Digest of Education Statistics 2021, table 302.85.
1 Melvin, S.C., Wiggins, C., Burse, N., Thompson, E., and Monger, M. (2020, July). The Role of Public Health in COVID-19 Emergency Response Efforts From a Rural Health Perspective (Preventing Chronic Disease, Vol. 17, E70), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2020/20_0256.htm. Blumenthal, D., Fowler, E.J., Abrams, M., and Collins, S.R. (2020, July). COVID-19—Implications for the Health Care System, New England Journal of Medicine, 383, 1438–1488. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmsb2021088.
2 Handwerker, E.W., Meyer, P.B., Piacentini, J., Schultz, M., and Sveikauskas, L. (2020, December). Employment Recovery in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic (Monthly Labor Review), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2020/article/employment-recovery.htm.
3 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2021, January 27). Quarterly Data Series on Business Employment Dynamics News Release (Economic News Release). Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cewbd_01272021.htm. Leer, J., deRitis, C., Sweet, R., DeAntonio, D., and Zandi, M. (2020, November). Business Closures and Entrepreneurship During COVID-19. Moody’s Analytics. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://www.moodysanalytics.com/-/media/article/2020/business-closures-and-entrepreneurship.pdf.
4 Education Week. (2020, March 6). Map: Coronavirus and School Closures in 2019–2020. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://www.edweek.org/leadership/map-coronavirus-and-school-closures-in-2019-2020/2020/03.
5 Smalley, A. (2021, March 22). Higher Education Responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19). National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved November 12, 2021, from https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/higher-education-responses-to-coronavirus-covid-19.aspx.
6 Quintana, C. (2020, July 29). ‘The Virus Beat Us’: Colleges Are Increasingly Going Online for Fall 2020 Semester as COVID-19 Cases Rise, USA Today. Retrieved November 29, 2021 from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/07/29/covid-college-fall-semester-2020-reopening-online/5530096002/.
7 The speed of the survey development and the pace of the data collection efforts led to policies and procedures for the experimental HPS that were not always consistent with traditional federal survey operations. For example, the timeline for the surveys meant that opportunities to follow up with nonrespondents were very limited. This has led to response rates of 1 to 10 percent, which are much lower than the typical target response rate set in most federal surveys. While the responses have been statistically adjusted so that they represent the nation and states in terms of geographic distribution, sex, race/ethnicity, age, and educational attainment, the impact of survey bias has not been fully explored.
8 Includes college, university, community college, trade school, or other occupational school (such as a cosmetology school or a school of culinary arts).
9 Because this survey is designed to represent adults 18 years old and over, the estimates indicate the percentages of adults in households with prospective postsecondary students who reported a given change, rather than the percentages of students themselves. Respondents could choose more than one response to reflect the fact that different prospective students within the household may have had distinct changes in postsecondary plans or that an individual prospective student within the household may have had multiple changes in postsecondary plans.
10 Includes persons reporting Pacific Islander alone, persons reporting American Indian/Alaska Native alone, and persons of Two or more races.
11 These family income levels are “Less than $25,000,” “$25,000 to $49,999,” “$50,000 to $74,999,” and “$75,000 to $99,999.”
12 Respondents could choose more than one reason.
13 Examples include loss of day care or adult care programs.