The gravity of the situation many are facing is not lost on me—my background centers on both online education and enrollment management, so my thoughts immediately jumped to how colleges and universities can prepare for what is to come—which, by the way—is largely unknown as there is nothing in recent history with which we can compare this. What institutions can do right now, however, is review current data and compare them to archived and historical data trends. This can help administrators prepare for what is to come by monitoring financial, enrollment, and registration trends and to proactively and nimbly adjust strategic planning approaches.

The current situation related to COVID-19 made me want to consider we do know and what we can rely on as we plan for next steps in the coming months and years. I like research and data-based information—I find it somewhat reassuring to read about what is firmly known—and so my thoughts wandered over to some of the most concrete and straightforward enrollment research that I relied on in both my Online and SEM roles.

The first, The New Generation of Students, a 2018 publication written by Jeffery Selingo, reported that fewer students than ever before are venturing further away from home for college, and Gen Z in particular has a very comfortable relationship with technology that reduces much of the stigma previous generations occasionally felt when related to online education. As Selingo points out, “Knowledge is everywhere for these students. They are accustomed to finding the answers instantaneously on Google while doing homework or sitting at dinner” (p. 9). In times like these, I find this knowledge comforting because it means that our young adult learners are likely not struggling with learning how to use new technology—true, this doesn’t solve other crises they may be facing like housing and food security—but it does mean that a mandatory transition to online learning will be less burdensome than it would have been for their parents and grandparents.

Transitioning everyone to an online format during the middle of a term or semester might be manageable for many students, but what does this mean for new and returning enrollment at traditionally brick and mortar institutions now that almost all classes in the US and Canada have moved online for the foreseeable future? Tours, campus visits, and preview days are cancelled. Interviews and professor meetings are all virtual. There are likely hesitations on housing deposits for fall.

Of course, our traditional Gen Z young adult learners aren’t our only students we need to check in with. Rural, place-bound, underrepresented, and non-traditional populations are just as important to the overall fabric of enrollment at our institutions. So I turned to another publication I often referenced when thinking about recruitment and retention, The Adult Student, which discusses the need for innovative delivery options that are appealing to working adults, stay at home parents, and those who are otherwise place-bound.

Some suggestions for innovation include credit for prior learning, competency-based education, and “either fully online or hybrid classes” (Blumenstyk, 2018, p. 27). This publication points out that adult learners aren’t always seeking new degrees or full time education as they have in the past, but today’s adult learners require affordably attainable skill-sets that will help them either advance their career or allow them to transition into a new one.

Similarly, Selingo (2018) posits that “To teach Gen Zers, colleges need to give them options—to learn independently or in a group; and virtually, in a classroom, or out in the world, applying new concepts and skills” (p 31). Perhaps the higher education marketplace is ripe for a transition to more flexible and online opportunities and COVID-19 is the not-so-gentle push forcing us into this territory.