College students across the country had their studies and on-campus life disrupted suddenly during the spring 2020 semester. Most universities and colleges quickly transitioned to online course delivery, closed campus housing, and dramatically changed university life for students accustomed to living, working, and studying on a college campus. A new study, supported by a National Science Foundation RAPID grant, will examine how these changes impacted engineering students in undergraduate programs, particularly vulnerable students such as those facing housing and hunger insecurity or behavioral health issues.

“We all experienced a sudden disruption of teaching and learning in spring 2020 due to COVID-19,” said Harriet Nembhard, dean of the University of Iowa College of Engineering and member of the research team. “Our work will examine how that disruption affected students differently and how we can address those differences now and in the case of potential future disruptions.”