When the world experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, it required the radical alteration of many facets of life. Educational institutions were no exception. All educational institutions had to discover and implement ways to provide education to their students even though their students could not see each other's faces, stayed six feet apart, and had…

In the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, students entering college in fall 2021 had an unprecedented culmination to high school and transition to college. This chapter explores the experience of entering college students following these unprecedented circumstances, examining high school disruptions, including changes in the learning…

This study examined the journeys of first-year undergraduate theological students during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to figure out what, if anything, aided the students in completing their coursework with passing grades. COVID-19 has impacted organizations and individuals around the world, prompting changes to ensure that things kept…

This essay explores the conceptual and practical implications of an honors forum relating to artful expression and the phenomenon of sequester in place (SIP). As monthly general education offerings for first-year students, Honors Forums feature an array of thematic events associated with the freshman cohort. Noting challenges relating to remote…

Prior research has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted American college students; however, few studies have focused on first-year students and their experiences with attending college during unprecedented circumstances. To address this gap, first-year college students (N = 268) completed online questionnaires assessing their…

COVID-19 developed challenges worldwide. As educators did their best to develop online courses overnight, high school students faced many restrictions during the pandemic. High school students lost life experiences, educational experiences, and social experiences. As they enter college, these students struggle with trauma and inexperience.…

This article reports on a study of academic experiences and outcomes for a sample of 1,346 freshman students who completed a virtually taught first-year mathematics course during the fall 2020 semester. Overall student achievement during the fall 2020 semester, during which courses were taught in a virtual modality, remained at the same level as…

The COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to better understand the transition from secondary school to higher education regarding students' assessment and written-exam experiences. We used mixed methods to investigate students' experiences of first-year university physics exams and cancelled secondary school exams, regarding their motivational…

Responding to pervasive mental and physical stresses of the COVID-19 crisis, the author assigns first-year students various routine wellness practices for one hour each week along with requisite reflective writing exercises. Student expectations, experiences, and outcomes are presented.

As the pandemic turned instruction entirely remote in several countries, students are presented with the issues of having to re(construct) what these different institutions (university, family) look like, their boundaries, and physical spaces. The transformation to remote education poses extra challenges not only to instructors, but also to…

This paper discusses a global program for first-year engineering students that typically combines a spring semester course with an international module in the summer. This year, due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the course component of the program was redesigned for the post-COVID environment. The purpose of this paper is to present the…

The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis was to understand how first-generation college students have experienced involvement in college during the pandemic at a New England University. Astin's (1999) theory of student involvement served as the theoretical framework for the study as it focuses on the interconnected relationship…

This descriptive phenomenological study looks into the lived experiences of teacher education college students on what it is like to learn math online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, online math learning may pose even more significant challenges. Hence, the researchers conducted the study to better understand and support the…

The first year at university is always challenging, but particularly in 2020 when COVID-19 triggered lockdowns and a rapid shift to online learning. This mixed methods study tracked the wellbeing and engagement of 60 new students in an undergraduate teacher education program at an Australian university throughout the first trimester of 2020.…

This study investigates how students experienced a sense of place and a sense of belonging in both in-person and virtual learning environments by analyzing student interview data. As educators and university students grapple with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we consider how students experience the presence and absence of sense of place and…