How to Support Students During COVID-19 Follow these tips from Strada affiliates to help learners through the pandemic April 21, 2020 By Andrew Pelesh Read Time Strada Article Advising Completion Consumer Voice COVID-19 Navigating Education ... The majority of Americans are concerned, cautious, or worried about the COVID-19 pandemic, and students pursuing postsecondary education are feeling its disruptive effects. With additional pressures on students who were already facing hurdles in ordinary times—especially adult learners, students of color, low-income, and first-generation students—what can educators and student-success professionals do to offer support and prevent students from stopping out? Experts from across Strada Education Network and our partners have been hard at work responding to these challenges. Here is a sampling of their advice: Informed communication is essential The challenges created by COVID-19 have introduced an additional layer of stress in all of our lives. For many students already navigating trying issues in normal times, the pandemic can create an emotional overload. “When students feel disconnected, it undermines their success,” said Renae Roemmich of InsideTrack in a recent webinar, “Supporting Students in Times of Crisis.” But brain science can inform a response to students experiencing trauma. Listening and understanding, Roemmich said, rather than trying to immediately offer a solution to a problem, is more effective. A compassionate, informed response can help guide a student from survival and self-protection mode to a more relaxed, safe state where their prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for thinking and learning, can reactivate and help them make decisions. Brain science suggests that listening and understanding to a student first is more effective than immediately offering a solution to a problem. Don’t say everything is going to be fine—especially when it might not be For learners, telling their advisor that they’re planning to leave school can be one of the most difficult conversations of their lives. But it can also be tough for the advisor. In these situations, it can be all too tempting to dismiss hard emotions and offer a cliché response, such as, “Everything is going to be fine.” But the fact is, that might not be true for some students. Instead, said Lula Torres of InsideTrack in the “Supporting Students in Times of Crisis” webinar, it’s important to make students feel supported. When it comes to difficult conversations, she tells students, “We’re in this together and we’re going to create a supportive community around you.” The CLEAR framework is another technique to guide students toward informed decision-making in these scenarios. Confirm that you’ve heard them, legitimize their valid concerns, evaluate the whole picture of what they’re dealing with, and then respond with advice. Reach students where they are, and provide up-to-date career advice With campuses across the country shuttered, the shift to online learning has happened nearly overnight. Becky Warren of the University of Arkansas Community College-Batesville has adapted to the new, virtual normal by taking her department’s career advising online. She meets with students via video chat and utilizes the kinds of project management software normally built for enterprises to create a digital career office where students can get direct feedback on their resumes and more. She’s also making sure students know her office is open and available through advertisements on social media. “Rather than trying to let (students) reach out to us, we’re trying to put those advertisements out there in a way that finds them,” she commented during “Academic Advising and Student Support from a Distance,” a recent webinar hosted by Emsi. As learning has changed during the crisis, so have the needs of the nation’s employers. According to Linda Head of Lone Star College, COVID-19 is “changing the world of work…and it’s changing every day.” This means that educators must be nimble in adjusting their program offerings to accommodate students graduating into a new economy. At Lone Star, Head has worked with faculty and administrators to quickly add mastery of online instruction to their K-12 education programs and SAP certification to their business administration degrees. For more tips from education and employment experts, along with actionable data, a schedule of virtual events, and strategies for the future, visit Strada’s COVID-19 resource center. Group 13 Group 11 Group 12 To create a PDF of the webpage, choose in opened window 'Save as PDF' option in 'Destination' select or something like that and click to save or print button. Got it Andrew Pelesh Learn More In the news from Strada May 13, 2022 Examples From the Field: University of Minnesota Rochester At the innovative Rochester campus of the University of Minnesota, our vision is to “inspire transformation in higher education through innovations that empower graduates to solve the grand health challenges of the 21st century.” Strada Article BCC May 13, 2022 Examples From the Field: University of Oregon Ducks Rise: Empowering Underrepresented Minorities and Low-Income Students Through Research Internships and Intentional Student Experiences Strada Article BCC May 13, 2022 Examples From the Field: University of Texas System Developing In-Demand Skills Among Undergraduates for Better, More Equitable Post Completion Outcomes Strada Article BCC May 13, 2022 Fulfilling the Promise of Higher Education Access to college isn't enough. Neither is completion of degrees. It's time to focus on outcomes Strada Article BCC April 7, 2022 ‘I Didn’t Know I Had All This in Me’ Credit for prior learning helped Loyce Shelley see herself in a new way — and complete her degree. Strada CAEL Article Adult Learners Career Connection Completion Employers Equity & Oppo... Navigating Education On Purpose Engagement & ... ... March 2, 2022 How Local Partners Can Rebuild the Workforce Equitably Even before the pandemic, employers struggled to find the skilled labor they needed to fill jobs. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... February 23, 2022 Growing Fairly: How to Build Opportunity and Equity in Workforce Development The labor market in the United States faces seemingly contradictory challenges: Many employers have trouble finding qualified applicants for current and future jobs, while millions of Americans are out of work or are underemployed—their paths to living-wage jobs blocked by systemic barriers or lack of adequate skills. Strada Article Innovation in Wor... Adult Learners Career Connection Equity & Oppo... Navigating Education ... February 1, 2022 How Credentials Can Create Opportunity for More People The origin story of Grow With Google, like so many initiatives at the global technology company, begins with data. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Adult Learners Employers Nondegree On Purpose ... January 5, 2022 5 Ways To Integrate Career Connection Into College Experience Recent Strada research points to a striking disparity between first-year students’ aspirations for career planning in their undergraduate years and seniors’ actual experiences. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose Public Viewpoint Research ... December 2, 2021 4 Ways To Build Better Education-Workforce Partnerships More than 18 months into the pandemic, the employment headlines can seem like an algebraic riddle: If U.S. employers are seeking workers to fill 10.9 million jobs, how can 8.4 million workers be unemployed? Strada CAEL Article Connections to Ca... On Purpose ... November 17, 2021 How To Make Sure Education After High School Is Worth the Investment Economist Beth Akers insists she’s not a college debt crisis denier. College is expensive — more than double the cost today compared to the 1980s. And too many students pay too much for it, she said, not only in relation to what they can afford now, but also to what they will earn after graduation. Strada Article Degree and Creden... On Purpose ... November 4, 2021 How To Set Students Up for Success After Graduation As provost and later president at the University of Utah, Ruth Watkins called out the “hollow promise” a university delivers to college students who have access to higher education but leave without completing a degree. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... October 21, 2021 How To Better Serve Latino Students Deborah Santiago’s parents always made clear she and her three siblings would go to college. Strada Article Navigating Education Advising On Purpose Engagement & ... ... October 7, 2021 How the HBCU Experience Builds Leaders Roslyn Clark Artis grew up in southern West Virginia, the only African American in her graduating class. The daughter of a coal miner, she dreamed of becoming a lawyer and applied to every public university in her home state, hoping to find an affordable route to college. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... September 22, 2021 6 Ways Our Conversations Are Shaping What We Know Strada CAEL Inside Track Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... September 8, 2021 6 Ways to Upskill Women for In-Demand Jobs Strada CAEL Inside Track Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose Technology ... August 25, 2021 How To Connect 2-Year Students to a 4-Year School — and a Career Nationwide, about 80 percent of students enrolling in community college say they intend to continue at a four-year college or university to earn a bachelor’s degree. But only 15 percent of community college students achieve that goal within six years. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... August 12, 2021 3 Ways New Philanthropy Models Help More People Faster Strada Article Degree and Creden... On Purpose ... July 29, 2021 Things To Know Now About the Future of Nondegree Credentials Strada Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Employers On Purpose ... July 14, 2021 How Student Supports Can Reverse Enrollment Declines Strada Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... June 22, 2021 ‘Concerned, Worried, and Anxious’ — Insights From Recent High School Grads Strada Article Navigating Education Advising On Purpose ... June 8, 2021 What Will Reconnect Disrupted Learners to Education? Strada Article Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Advising On Purpose ... May 26, 2021 How Community Colleges Can Lead Our Economic Recovery Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... May 11, 2021 Mentoring, Networking, Scholarships — How This Program Pulls Them Together Strada Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... April 27, 2021 How Work Changed for Good in 2020, According to Employers Recruiting, hiring, and training improvements are here to stay, employer survey says Strada Article Connections to Ca... Employers On Purpose ... April 14, 2021 Innovator Spotlight: Project Basta This career exploration and readiness program’s formula for learner success combines social capital, self-discovery to launch career pathways for first-gen grads Strada Article Measuring the Val... Pathways with Pur... Career Connection Completion Navigating Education Spotlight Institute for the... ... April 13, 2021 How To Improve Value of Higher Ed? Increase Career Support Just half of college alumni feel it was worth it to take out loans to attend college, with even lower levels of satisfaction from Black and Latino alumni about their loans. Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... April 1, 2021 Powering Purpose Invest now in community colleges to fuel economic opportunity Strada Article Serving the Adult... Adult Learners Institute for the... ... March 31, 2021 Ready for Work? How To Prep New Grads for Tech Jobs Talent Path’s Learn-and-Earn Model Bridges Skills Gap Between College and Career Strada Article Connections to Ca... Degree and Creden... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ... March 16, 2021 How to Make Online Ed Work for Students Can the pandemic induce higher education to jump-start the future of learning? Strada Article Connections to Ca... Navigating Education Advising Employers On Purpose ...