Some of this perceived disengagement undoubtedly is a symptom of the ongoing health crisis, which exposed many students to new degrees of illness, stress and competing responsibilities in their personal lives. “What we are hearing is students are personally overwhelmed, emotionally overwhelmed—and facing financial hardship, technology issues and difficulties with child care that are preventing them from logging on,” says Tim Renick, founding executive director of the National Institute for Student Success at Georgia State University.
