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The rate of students at universities who likely have depression is double what it was a year ago, that’s according to a survey released today from UC Berkeley and other institutions.

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The ongoing pandemic caused by the continued prevalence and spread of the novel coronavirus has been especially trying for first-generation college students, with a new survey finding that the cohort was especially vulnerable to experiencing financial hardships, food and housing insecurity, mental health disorders, and obstacles to transitioning to online courses.

In a shot heard around the country, on May 21, 2020, UC’s Board of Regents suspended the requirement and use of standardized tests, including the SAT and ACT, for freshman applicants.  UC will be test optional for campus selection of freshman in fall 2021 and 2022, and “beginning with fall 2023 applicants and ending with fall 2024 applicants, campuses will not consider test scores for admissions selection at all, and will practice test-blind admissions selection.”

Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Consortium is administering a special survey on the impact of COVID-19 on student experience at 10 US public research universities. The SERU COVID-19 Survey assesses 5 areas of the student experience for both undergraduates and graduate students impacted by the pandemic and campus closures: (1) the transition to remote instruction, (2) the financial impact of COVID-19 on students, (3) student health and wellbeing, (4) belonging and engagement, and (5) future plans.

The lack of academic integrity combined with the prevalence of fraud and other forms of unethical behavior are problems that higher education faces in both developing and developed countries, at mass and elite universities, and at public and private institutions. While academic misconduct is not new, massification, internationalization, privatization, digitalization, and commercialization have placed ethical challenges higher on the agenda for many universities.

In a recent study, Saul Geiser, a researcher at Berkeley, found that the correlation between family income and SAT scores among University of California applicants is three times as strong as the correlation between their family income and their high school G.P.A.

The Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) is pleased to announce the following new additions to the Research and Occasional Papers Series (ROPS):

Family background factors like parental income, education, and race now account for over 40% of the variance in SAT/ACT scores among UC applicants, according to a new publication by CSHE researcher Saul Geiser. 

Recent years have witnessed a rise in the level of nationalism in many countries with tightened immigration policies and stronger governmental oversight of multinational research collaborations. At the same time, competition among countries and universities for international students has increased significantly, while the demographics of young populations in many countries are shifting.

Now, the onset of a historic global pandemic, with its serious travel challenges and dramatic economic effects, raises yet another threat to the future of internationalization on U.S. campuses.

The Center for Studies in Higher Education is currently accepting applications from UC Berkeley doctoral students, who are writing dissertations focused on higher education, to join a stimulating research seminar to be held in 2020-2021.

The University of California could reopen just one-third to one-half of dorm rooms this fall in order to maintain safe distances among students amid the coronavirus outbreak, a top UC official said Monday, raising questions about what would happen to others without campus housing.