When the chaos of the pandemic eventually subsides and the dust settles, American higher education as a whole may look very different: Wealthy institutions will remain relatively unchanged, but a stratum of even leaner public universities and smaller private colleges are likely to have moved further away from the classic spectrum of a university education. 

Their academic offerings, taught by a faculty whose jobs are less secure, will be focused more tightly on job outcomes. And in the aftermath of a crisis that has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable students, they may employ fewer student-support specialists and may call on faculty and staff members more often to fill those shoes.

Photo: Timothy Hurst

After several attempts, the puzzle pieces of a postsecondary life were finally beginning to align for 39-year-old Lindsay Pryor. Her dream of becoming a registered dietician had never been closer. Then came the pandemic. The mother of two soon found herself in danger of losing a full scholarship from her Native American tribe, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

To keep vulnerable students from giving up on college—or never enrolling in the first place—some Colorado institutions are working overtime to stay connected to students. Other supports such as new payment plans and more seamless transfer programs are helping, too. 

The spring semester is well underway for college students. At the beginning of the month, thousands of them returned to the State University of New York system's 64 campuses—the largest public higher education system in the country—with new COVID protocols and restrictions in place.

But as high school seniors continue applying to college, SUNY is seeing one of its biggest declines in applications. SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras discusses these challenges, plus looming budget cuts, mental health supports, and interventions to keep vulnerable students engaged and focused.