Many College Students Forgoing Fall Semester

College and universities are restarting across the U.S., and reopening plans vary from fully in-person, fully online or a mix of the two. A growing number of schools are quickly going fully online due to outbreaks after starting the year with in-person classes. New data shows a large portion of college students from every grade level are opting to forgo fall semester completely regardless of their college’s reopening plan.

In a new poll from College Reaction and Axios, 22 percent of college students surveyed said they won’t be enrolling in school in 2020. Many of those opting out are turned off by remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with 73 percent choosing to work full-time instead.

A loss of over one-fifth of a school’s student body is a huge financial hit for many colleges and universities that are already experiencing shortfalls in several other areas. Athletics are another big money maker, and several large conferences have announced they’ll be cancelling fall sports due to COVID-19. Of the college students surveyed, 77 percent said it was a good idea to cancel fall sports.

For students going back to school this fall, a majority of 58 percent said they won’t notify school officials if they see someone breaking the COVID-19 safety protocol. Still, 83 percent said they plan to comply with safety measures.