Understanding Individual Experiences of COVID-19 to Inform Policy and Practice in Higher Education

<p>Utilizing findings from more than 200 interviews with students, staff, and faculty at a US university, this volume explores the immediate and real-life impacts of COVID-19 on individuals to inform higher education policy and practice in times of crisis.</p><p>Documenting the profound impacts that COVID-19 had on university operations and teaching, this text foregrounds a range of participant perspectives on key topics such as institutional leadership and loss of community, managing motivation and the move to online teaching and learning, and coping with the adverse mental health effects caused by the pandemic. Far from dwelling on the negative, the volume frames the lived experiences and implications of COVID-19 for higher education through a positive, progressive lens, and considers how institutions can best support individual and collective thriving during times of crisis.</p><p>This text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators in higher education with an interest in the sociology of education, higher education management, and eLearning more broadly. Those specifically interested in student affairs practice, as well as the administration of higher education, will also benefit from this book.</p> <p><strong>Part I: Setting the Stage</strong> </p><p>1: Introduction <br><em>Amy Aldous Bergerson and Shawn R. Coon</em></p><p>2: Thriving as a Lens for Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on Higher Education Faculty, Staff, and Students <br><em>Amy Aldous Bergerson and Latu Kinikini</em></p><p>3: Interpretive Methods as a Window into Individual Experiences and the Pandemic <br><em>Shawn R. Coon and Amy Aldous Bergerson</em></p><p>Part II: The Experiences of Faculty</p><p>4: Teaching Online and Caring for Students and Colleagues <br><em>Willie Chen, Denise Brenes, and Amy Aldous Bergerson</em> </p><p>5: Community, Communication and Expectations for Teaching <br><em>Willie Chen, Denise Brenes, and Amy Aldous Bergerson</em> </p><p>6: Pandemic Privilege <br><em>Amy Aldous Bergerson and Shawn R. Coon</em></p><p>Part III: The Experiences of Staff </p><p>7: Working from Home Challenges: Resources, Tools, and Quality <br><em>Bobbi Davis and Amy Aldous Bergerson</em> </p><p>8: Loss of Organic Community and Decentralized Communications <br><em>Sierra Stevens and Shawn R. Coon</em></p><p>9: The Burnout Warning <br><em>Marilisa Vega and Shawn R. Coon</em></p><p>Part IV: The Experiences of Students </p><p>10: Online Learning During COVID <br><em>Diane Lê Strain, Mayumi Kasai, and Chris Wallace-Carrete</em></p><p>11: Mental Health, Motivation, and Emotions <br><em>Jessi Gerowitz, Karla Motta, and Marilisa Vega</em></p><p>12: Connectivity, Community, and Sense of Belonging <br><em>Shenrui Yang, Karla Motta, and Jessi Gerowitz</em></p><p>Part V: Conclusion </p><p>13: Complications for Institutional Thriving Across Stakeholders <br><em>Christopher Wallace-Carrete, Amy Aldous Bergerson, and Shawn R. Coon</em> </p><p>14: The Way Forward: Rethinking Thriving in Crisis <br><em>Shawn R. Coon and Amy Aldous Bergerson</em> </p>