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Journal of American College Health Volume 71, 2023 - Issue 8
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Major Articles

Health and education concerns about returning to campus and online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic among US undergraduate STEM majors

Lindsay E. Palmera Department of Mathematics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;b Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;c Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USAORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5415-9186View further author information
, MSORCID Icon,
Sherry L. Pagotod Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USAORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2462-8797View further author information
, PhDORCID Icon,
Deja Workmana Department of Mathematics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USAORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1973-2426View further author information
ORCID Icon,
Kathrine A. Lewisa Department of Mathematics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;b Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;c Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;d Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USAORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0586-0849View further author information
, MSORCID Icon,
Lauren Rudind Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USAORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8367-5956View further author information
ORCID Icon,
Nina De Lunaa Department of Mathematics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USAORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9418-9059View further author information
, BSORCID Icon,
Valeria Herrerad Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USAORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9936-9841View further author information
, BS, RDNORCID Icon,
Nathanial Browna Department of Mathematics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USAORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3097-4466View further author information
, PhDORCID Icon,
Jessica Bibeaud Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USAORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8270-2302View further author information
, MAORCID Icon,
Kaylei Arcangel,d Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USAORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4763-9309View further author information
, MSORCID Icon &
Molly E. Waringd Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USACorrespondence[email protected]
ORCID Iconhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9884-9824View further author information
, PhDORCID Icon show all
Pages 2604-2611 | Received 19 Nov 2020, Accepted 05 Sep 2021, Published online: 19 Oct 2021
 
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Abstract

Objective: We examined undergraduates’ concerns about returning to campus and online learning from home. Participants: Undergraduates majoring in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) at US universities/colleges. Methods: Participants completed an online survey in July 2020. We content-analyzed responses to open-ended questions about concerns about fall 2020. Results: Students (N = 64) were 52% women, 47% low socioeconomic status (SES), and 27% non-Hispanic white. Concerns about returning to campus included student noncompliance with university COVID-19 prevention guidelines (28%), infection risk (28%), poor instructional quality (26%), inadequate university plans for preventing/handling outbreaks (25%), negative impacts on social interactions (11%), and transportation/commuting (11%). Concerns about learning from home included difficulty focusing on schoolwork (58%), lack of hands-on/experiential learning (24%), negative impacts on social interactions (19%), family/home environment (15%), concerns that online learning wastes time/money (10%), and inadequate technology/Internet access (5%). Conclusions: Universities should address student concerns and provide resources to overcome barriers to effective learning.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America and received approval from the Penn State and University of Connecticut Institutional Review Boards.

Additional information

Funding

This project was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (PI: Brown, NSF #2028344; PI: Pagoto, co-PI: Waring, NSF #2028341). Additional support for Dr. Pagoto was provided by National Institute of Health (NIH) grant K24HL124366.

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