Education Interrupted: Drop in # of Students per Dept at UMW

Topic Selection

I picked this data set because I wanted to focus on the number of students in each department before and after COVID-19 drastically changed the school system. COVID-19 was in its prime in early 2020 and I believe it led to a decline in the number of students enrolling in college classes. To my surprise it was not as drastic of a change as I thought it would be. I found the data for number of students per dept on the Grade Distribution Report – Institutional Analysis and Effectiveness from the 19-20 and 20-21 reports.

Media Reflection

I chose to create an infographic so that I could portray pictures of college life before and after COVID-19. I feel like this really tells the story of the decline in students and also throws the numbers out there to really hit home.

Process

Canva made the process of creating the infographic pretty simple. Luckily, I have used Canva before, so I just had to do some playing around with it to create a template that looked decent. All of the little touches to the infographic and some of the background pictures came from searching through the provided images tab on Canva.

Credits

At first, I wanted to give video production another shot, and I used Copilot to give me some ideas, but I was not feeling creative enough for it. Here is the conversation:

Me: can you give me ideas on creating a short video incorporation visual imagery relevant to telling the story of how Covid-19 affected the number of college students continuing their education

Copilot: Creating a short video to tell the story of how COVID-19 affected college students' education can be powerful and impactful. Here are some ideas to help you get started:

### 1. **Introduction**
- **Opening Scene**: Start with a montage of bustling college campuses pre-pandemic, showing students attending classes, socializing, and participating in campus activities.
- **Title Screen**: Display the title of your video with a somber background music to set the tone.

### 2. **Impact of COVID-19**
- **Visuals**: Use news clips and headlines about the pandemic's onset and its impact on education.
- **Statistics**: Incorporate graphs and charts showing the decline in college enrollment and the shift to online learning.

### 3. **Student Experiences**
- **Interviews**: Feature short interviews with students discussing their personal experiences, challenges, and how the pandemic affected their education plans.
- **B-Roll Footage**: Show students attending virtual classes, studying at home, and dealing with the isolation.

### 4. **Challenges Faced**
- **Visuals**: Highlight key challenges such as financial difficulties, mental health issues, and lack of access to technology.
- **Quotes**: Use impactful quotes from students, educators, and experts to emphasize these challenges.

### 5. **Adaptation and Resilience**
- **Success Stories**: Share stories of students who overcame obstacles, adapted to new learning environments, and found innovative ways to continue their education.
- **Visuals**: Show students participating in virtual graduations, online study groups, and other creative solutions.

### 6. **Future Outlook**
- **Expert Opinions**: Include insights from educators and experts on the long-term effects of the pandemic on higher education.
- **Hopeful Imagery**: End with hopeful visuals of students returning to campus, engaging in hybrid learning, and looking forward to the future.

### 7. **Conclusion**
- **Call to Action**: Encourage viewers to support initiatives that help students continue their education.
- **Credits**: Roll credits with acknowledgments and any additional information.

### Additional Tips
- **Music**: Choose a soundtrack that matches the emotional tone of your video.
- **Transitions**: Use smooth transitions between scenes to maintain a cohesive flow.
- **Subtitles**: Add subtitles for accessibility and to ensure your message reaches a wider audience.

Would you like more detailed suggestions on any specific part of the video?

Me: could you make me an infographic on that topic

Copilot:

Me: what should the title of the project be

Copilot: Sure! Here are some more title options for your project:

1. **"Education Interrupted: The COVID-19 Impact on College Students"**
2. **"Pandemic and Progress: Navigating College During COVID-19"**
3. **"From Campus to Screen: How COVID-19 Changed College Education"**
4. **"Resilience in Education: College Students Amidst the Pandemic"**
5. **"Learning in Lockdown: The College Experience During COVID-19"**
6. **"Adapting to Change: College Life in the Age of COVID-19"**
7. **"The New Normal: College Education Post-COVID-19"**
8. **"Challenges and Triumphs: College Students' Journey Through the Pandemic"**
9. **"Virtual Classrooms: The Shift in College Education Due to COVID-19"**
10. **"Surviving and Thriving: College Students' Stories During the Pandemic"**

Do any of these titles resonate with you, or would you like more options?

Instead, copilot gave me some inspiration for an infographic and a title, and I took it and ran with it. Other credits for the UMW images in the infographic come from the departments’ Facebook accounts:

UMW Historic Preservation Club | Fredericksburg VA | Facebook

UMW Music | Fredericksburg VA | Facebook

UMW Modern Languages and Literatures | Fredericksburg VA | Facebook

For the logo next to the title on the infographic I found a UMW logo on their website:

Logo UMW-Monogram

Happy Learning!

Number of Students Per Dept at UMW in Fall 2019 vs. Fall 2020

Dataset Source

I found the data for number of students per dept on the Grade Distribution Report – Institutional Analysis and Effectiveness from the 19-20 and 20-21 reports.

Charts

Data File

Here is a link to my spreadsheet where I created the pivot tables and charts: Data Project Spreadsheet. Before I copied the pivot table and chart over to one spreadsheet this is where I organized the Fall 2020 data: Data Project Spreadsheet 2.

Data Trend Analysis

I picked this data set because I wanted to focus on the number of students in each department before and after COVID-19 drastically changed the school system. COVID-19 was in its prime in early 2020 and I believe it led to a decline in the number of students enrolling in college classes. To my surprise it was not as drastic of a change as I thought it would be. The departments that declined in students the most were: Historic Preservation, Music, Modern Language and Literature, Business, and Theatre and Dance. There were some departments that rose in students, but it only ranged from about 5-15. The departments like Music and Theatre and Dance are not surprising that they dropped students because it requires them to interact and be in person. When analyzing this data, I thought for sure that the sciences would be affected more because of the in-person lab classes. Although, I do believe that the school systems especially at the university level did a great job at adapting to the situation at hand to ensure that students could continue their education. Overall, there was a decline of 2,835 students between the Fall 2019 and Fall 2020 semesters.

How Did I Find and Organize This Data?

I worked with the Grade Distribution Report listed on UMWs website. I was able to download both the 19-20 and 20-21 school years reports as an excel sheet. I then formatted it into a table and analyzed the table to determine which information I wanted to focus on. I deleted some rows and the other sheets that I knew I would not be using. I then created a pivot table in a new worksheet, so that I could just focus on the rows for departments and number of students. When it listed departments it gave a row that is called blank, so I went back to my other sheet and deleted those rows that did not list a department and refreshed my pivot table. I then took the information from the pivot table and had Excel generate a chart for me. I did this on both school years reports and copy and pasted the pivot table and chart onto one sheet to consolidate it all and compare.

Happy Learning!