The COVID-19 pandemic has affected higher education worldwide. Two NAFSA member leaders, Heidi Fischer, MA (chair-elect for Region VIII) and Melissa Whatley, PhD (Research & Scholarship network leader for the Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship [TLS] Knowledge Community), have coauthored a research brief detailing the impacts of COVID-19 on international students at community colleges in the United States. The research brief summarizes key takeaways from a June 2020 survey of representatives from a randomly selected sample of community colleges, requesting information about:
- The pandemic's impact on international students at their institution,
- Resources and institutional support for international students at the onset of the pandemic,
- How international education changed at their institution due to the pandemic, and
- How they viewed the future of international education at their institution.
Key takeaways include information about:
- Impacts on international student finances
- Impacts on campus services for international students
- Impacts on international student recruitment
- Impacts on 2020-21 budgets
- Wider impacts on international education at community colleges
The research brief ends with several implications for community college administrators, faculty, and leaders to consider in relation to international education at their institution.