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Survey of UCI undergraduates reveals concern for peers, community, academics

While mental health of students is relatively stable, 80 percent of students report concern that shift to online classes will cause disruptions to academic progress
Two surveys administered as part of the UCI School of Education’s Next Generation Undergraduate Success Measurement Project found that UCI undergraduates are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in altruistic and community-focused ways, but are nonetheless concerned about how the pandemic will affect their education.

More than 750 UCI undergraduates participated in the two surveys, administered March 11 and April 13. The surveys sought to gain further insights about UCI undergraduates’ experiences and attitudes related to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes to undergraduate education.
"These surveys are unique in that we were able to capture the attitudes and concerns of undergraduate students in real-time, before and after the pandemic, as their college experiences were radically altered,” said Richard Arum, dean of the UCI School of Education and principal investigator of the Next Generation Undergraduate Success Measurement Project. “What we learned is informing how the university serves undergraduates, as we work to maintain high-quality learning experiences and support mental health and physical well-being.”

Key findings from the surveys include:
  • Students report more stress related to academic demands compared to stress in other domains, such as finances, housing, and transportation.
  • 80 percent of students are concerned that the shift to online classes will cause disruptions to their academic progress.
  • The mental health of students is relatively stable and not strongly affected by the pandemic to date.
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Survey participants were asked "In the past seven days, how often did you perceive stress because of academic demands (blue) and practical demands (orange). Stress perceived by academic demands increase from average 4.6 in fall 2019 to 5.4 in spring 2020.
  • Many students have new responsibilities related to caring for their families and siblings.
  • Students reported less stress related to themselves, as opposed to stress related to concerns for their family and larger community.
  • Students perceive UCI’s actions regarding COVID-19 as neither overly lax nor overly stringent, but more stringent than the actions of the government.
  • Students perceive information about COVID-19 from the university, local authorities and the CDC as more trustworthy compared to information from the news media or President Donald Trump.
“There are a few wonderful stories being told here about our undergraduates,” said Jacquelynne Eccles, distinguished professor and member of the project research team. “Chief among them is that their mental health is not significantly affected, that they are processing and trusting information from local authorities well, and that they are concerned about their families, siblings and community.”

For a more detailed breakdown of the survey results, please click here.

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What we learned is informing how the university serves undergraduates, as we work to maintain high-quality learning experiences and support mental health and physical well-being.


​- Richard Arum, Dean and Professor, UCI School of Education. Principal Investigator of the Next Generation Undergraduate Success Measurement Project.

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The surveys were conducted as a part of the UCI School of Education’s Next Generation Undergraduate Success Measurement Project, a state-of-the-art measurement project that is providing insight into the value of college and creating tools that other universities can utilize to better understand their own students. Supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the project is tracking for two years a sample of 1,273 undergraduates comprised of freshmen, junior transfer, and continuing juniors. Everything from transcripts to online classroom behavior, living situations to student moods is being considered. More information on the project can be found here.​
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Additional surveys related to COVID-19 - and to undergraduates’ college experience overall - will be produced over the next few years, and as soon as this summer, following the end of the spring quarter.

“One of the great strengths of the Next Generation Undergraduate Success Measurement Project is that the research team is able to quickly pivot and study UCI undergraduates based on ever-changing, real-world circumstances,” Arum said. “While we never anticipated a pandemic of this scale affecting undergraduate education, we are nevertheless equipped and ready to track its effects and help the university address these challenges.”
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Students were asked: “In your opinion, how trustworthy is the information given to the public about COVID-19?”. Responses scaled from: 1 - not at all trustworthy, to 7 - extremely trustworthy. UCI Officials averaged the highest at 5.5. President Donald Trump averaged 2.5.
More on the Next Generation Undergraduate Success Measurement Project
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