Administrators Polled on COVID Protocols, Admission Test Policies, Enrollment Forecasts, Views on Digital SAT, and More

NEW YORK, August 17, 2022 / — According to a July survey by The Princeton Review® that polled nearly 200 college administrators nationwide about their institution’s 2022–23 policies and protocols, “school’s in”—literally: 97% of the administrators said the majority of their school’s courses will be conducted on-campus, in-person, face-to-face. 

Those faces will likely be unmasked, according to the administrator’s answers to survey questions on COVID policies: 71% of the administrators said their colleges will not require unvaccinated students, faculty, and staff to wear masks or observe social distancing on campus. COVID protocols on campuses are far from eliminated, however. Other findings of the survey reveal significant variations in campus policies across respondents by school type (public/private) as well as by region.

The Princeton Review today shared the findings of its Summer 2022 College Administrator Survey—the 3rd such annual survey by the education services company. The survey report is posted on the company’s website here. It lists the survey’s 15 questions and answer choices, and it shows the percentages of respondents that chose each answer by: respondents overall, school type (public/private) and school region (NE, NW, MW, SE, SW).

Topics on the survey ranged from course modalities and COVID protocols to enrollment forecasts and admission test policies for 2022 (and expected policies for 2023). Administrators were also asked to rate the importance of APÒ, IBÒ, and dual enrollment coursework in their school’s admission decisions and to offer their perspective on the Digital SATÒ which will debut internationally in 2023 and in the U.S. in 2024. A final question asked administrators to rank four topics—academics, affordability, health, and social justice—based on which they expect will be the key concerns among their school’s students and which they expect will be the key concerns among their fellow administrators in the coming school year.

Survey Topics and Findings

COVID Vaccinations, Masking, and Testing

Asked if their schools are requiring students to have up-to-date vaccinations, 50% of respondents overall said yes while 50% said no. Among administrators from private colleges 62% said yes while 71% of administrators from public colleges said no.

Asked if their schools are requiring staff and faculty to have up-to-date vaccinations, 43% of respondents overall said yes while 57% said no. Among administrators from NE colleges 58% said yes while 76% of administrators from SE colleges said no.

Asked if their schools are requiring non-vaccinated persons to wear masks and observe social distancing, 29% of respondents overall said yes while 71% said no. However, among administrators from MW colleges 41% said yes while 59% of their fellow administrators from MW colleges said no.

Asked if their schools will conduct periodic testing of students, faculty, and staff for COVID, 25% of respondents overall said yes while 75% said no.  Among public college administrators an even higher percentage, 86%, said no.

Enrollment Forecasts

Nearly half—46%—of respondents overall said they expect their fall 2022 enrollment to be about the same as their fall 2021 enrollment while 29% said they expect their fall 2022 enrollment to be higher and 25% expect it to be lower. Among private college administrators 34% expect their fall enrollment to be higher while among public college administrators 21% expect their fall enrollment to be higher. 

Admission Test (SAT®/ACT®/IB®) Policies

Asked what their school’s 2022 admission test policy has been, 87% of respondents overall said “test optional (but considered scores)” while 10% said “test blind or test free,” and 3% said “required test scores.”

Asked what they expect their school’s 2023 test policy to be, 82% of respondents overall said “test optional (but will consider scores)” while 9% said “test blind or test free,” 3% said “will require test scores” and 6% said “have not decided on policy.”

Views on AP®, IB®, and Dual Enrollment Courses

Asked to rate the relative importance of such coursework in admission decisions at their schools, 54% of respondents overall deemed it “important” or “very important,” while 37% said “considered,” and 9% said “not considered.” By region, 61% of administrators at colleges in the SE and 65% of administrators in the SW said such coursework was “important” or “very important.”

Views on Digital SAT®

While 14% of respondents overall said they believe the new version of the test will be an improvement, 2% do not believe it will be an improvement and 84% were undecided.

Key Topics on Campuses for 2022-23

Administrators were asked to rank four topics according to which they expect will matter most among their students and which will matter most among their fellow administrators in this school year. The four topics were: academics (quantity and quality of course offerings), affordability (cost of attendance and level of financial aid for students), health (protocols to prevent spread of COVID and meet needs for medical services), and social justice (commitments to promoting diversity and addressing discrimination).

  • Among respondents overall, academics was ranked as likely to be their school’s students’ #1 concern. Next in rank order was #2 affordability, #3 health, and #4 social justice. Opinions varied, however, by school type and by region. While administrators at private colleges and schools in the NE, MW, and SE ranked academics as their students’ #1 concern, administrators at public colleges and schools in the NW and SW ranked affordability as their students’ #1 concern.
  • Among respondents overall, academics was also ranked as likely to be their fellow administrators’ #1 concern, though the rank order of the other three topics differed: #2 was health, #3 social justice, and #4 affordability. Opinions varied by region. Administrators at schools in the NW, MW, and SE ranked academics as their fellow administrators’ #1 concern, while administrators at schools in the NE and SW ranked health as their fellow administrators’ #1 concern.

About the Survey

The Princeton Review Summer 2022 College Administrator Survey was conducted from July 1 to July 26. The 15-question survey was sent to college administrators at 656 institutions including schools profiled in the company's book, The Best 388 Colleges: 2023 Edition (August 23, 2022), and its website feature, 2023 Best Regional Colleges. Of 182 administrators that completed the survey, 64% were from private colleges and 36% were from public colleges. By region: 35% were from colleges in the NE, 26% from the MW, 21% from the SE, 15% from the SW, and 3% from the NW. The Princeton Review’s full report on the survey, is downloadable at https://stg-www.princetonreview.com/cms-content/TPR_Summer_2022_Admin_Survey.pdf. An infographic of selected findings is viewable at https://stg-www.princetonreview.com/press/summer-2022-survey#Infographic. Releases on The Princeton Review’s 2021 and 2020 surveys of college administrators are in the company’s Media Center.

Today, The Princeton Review also released its annual “Best Colleges for 2023” rankings. The rankings this year name the top 25 colleges in 50 categories based on The Princeton Review’s surveys of 160,000 students attending the 388 schools in its book, The Best 388 Colleges, 2023 Edition (Penguin Random House, August 23, 2022). The lists are tallied in categories that span academics, amenities, school services, campus culture, extracurriculars, and more. They are posted on The Princeton Review’s website here, and published in a full chapter in the book.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review® is a leading tutoring, test prep, and college admissions services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school–bound students achieve their education and career goals through its: online and in-person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors; online resources; more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House; and dozens of categories of school rankings. Founded in 1981, The Princeton Review is now in its 41st year. The company’s Tutor.com brand, now in its 21st year, is one of the largest online tutoring services in the U.S. It comprises a community of thousands of tutors who have delivered more than 21 million one-to-one tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review is headquartered in New York, NY. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit PrincetonReview.com and the company's Media Center. Follow the company on Twitter (@ThePrincetonRev) and Instagram (@theprincetonreview).

SOURCE: The Princeton Review
WEBSITE: www.princetonreview.com

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AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered and owned by the College Board, which is not affiliated with and does not endorse The Princeton Review.

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CONTACT: Jeanne Krier, Publicist for The Princeton Review, PressOffice@review.com

NOTE TO EDITORS: Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief, The Princeton Review, and David Soto, Senior Director of Data Operations, are available for interviews on the survey.

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