Starting college is a huge step for the millions of students who wish to further their education by going to school. It takes a special mindset to continue the drive, motivation and dedication that is required to be successful within a higher-academic setting. However, this drive alone will not always lead to ultimate academic success. Studies are showing that a sense of belonging is just as essential to continued academic success as the hard work completed to get students thus far.
Since the ongoing pandemic, many college students have reported feeling a severe disconnect from their colleges and universities. With their experiences of having to adapt to non-traditional college lives in mind, we can gather that this is a generalized and fair feeling! Needless to say, college life is already hard to adjust to. When the added stress of a pandemic is introduced, this only makes that process worse for the student.
In order for students to be successful in this state of the world, it is absolutely necessary for colleges and universities to give students the proper resources for them to feel engaged, supported and aligned with their school. I asked a University of Denver student how she feels our institution could better provide us with these crucial assets.
Alexa Prickett, a senior who came to DU in 2020, shared some insight on how she felt about her experience at DU since COVID. “I came into college my freshman year in the height of COVID, with the majority of my classes being online, and I really struggle doing school online,” she said, painting the picture of the problems she faced during this crucial time in her life.
Like many other students in this position, Prickett felt a severe disconnect from her academics, as well as extra-curricular activities that she would normally be engaged with—as she is also a member of the University of Denver’s Club Dance Team.
“Dance-related commitments were decreased substantially with us only having one practice a week,” Prickett stated. Had Prickett been given this avenue to release her struggles, she believes she may have felt more connected to the University as a whole when she first came to DU.
“Not having the outlet of dance all the time like I used to was very difficult for me also,” Prickett describes. Prickett is a perfect example of how students were severely affected during COVID, leading to feeling a disconnect within the University that they had worked so hard to come to.
“My first week at school, my first birthday away from home, I spent in an online orientation alone,” Prickett shared, showing us how much this disconnect affected her personal life, as well as her academic life. She found it hard to establish friendships during this time, and she believes that the new mountain campus will help with student engagement and connecting with others that are experiencing these growing pains together.
In order to allow students to feel more engaged at DU, it is essential for us to continue to establish places, clubs, environments and opportunities for students to form connections within their University. Although the University of Denver has made some steps in the right direction, we need to continue this momentum for overall happiness and success.
We must take student engagement into consideration when planning for the academic success of current students at the University of Denver. Since all of us have faced struggles that arose with the pandemic, many of us can relate to the issues that have been reported for students during this time. Increasing student engagement could have a direct effect on our overall experiences.
