The State of Higher Education 2022 Report
Discover the array of ongoing risks to student enrollment and the perceptions of policies and programs that allowed them to remain
Higher education institutions and the students they serve have been severely impacted by COVID-19. High levels of isolation, disruption due to unscheduled openings and closures, remote learning and heightened burnout among faculty and staff due to increased workloads have combined to create a challenging environment for all colleges and universities.
Despite these disruptions, U.S. adults view higher education as playing a critical role in achieving a great job and a great life. As millions of Americans map their post-pandemic pathways, higher education institutions are poised to have an important impact on the upskilling and reskilling of U.S. adults.
The Lumina-Gallup Student Study builds on insights from the 2020 survey by asking students about ongoing risks to their enrollment and the policies and programs that allowed them to remain. Gallup surveyed more than 11,000 students to help inform institutions about how they can better support current and prospective students, allowing them to achieve additional education and training that can lead to better jobs and lives.
The surveyed groups include:
- Currently enrolled students: 5,215 adults currently pursuing a bachelor's degree or associate degree
- Pre-COVID students: 2,541 adults who were enrolled in a certificate or degree program after high school before COVID-19 but have been unenrolled since
- Students enrolled during COVID, not currently enrolled: 469 prior students who have been enrolled in a certificate or degree program after high school since COVID-19 began, but are not currently enrolled
- Prospective students: 3,002 U.S. adults aged 18-59 who have never been enrolled in a certificate or degree program after high school
Those who had stopped out or had never enrolled before were asked a series of questions about the reasons they were not currently enrolled to better understand how policymakers and institutions can evolve their programming to attract these prospective students.
Read the report press release.
The Gallup-Lumina study reveals compelling statistics on how the pandemic and other factors have impacted enrollment and retention. Read the press release for the full announcement and a summary of key findings.