Health and education concerns about returning to campus and online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic among US undergraduate STEM majors

Objective We examined undergraduates' concerns about returning to campus and online learning from home. Participants Undergraduates majoring in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) at US universities/colleges. Methods Participants completed an online survey in July 2020. We content-analyzed responses to open-ended questions about concerns about fall 2020. Results Students (N = 64) were 52% women, 47% low socioeconomic status (SES), and 27% non-Hispanic white. Concerns about returning to campus included student noncompliance with university COVID-19 prevention guidelines (28%), infection risk (28%), poor instructional quality (26%), inadequate university plans for preventing/handling outbreaks (25%), negative impacts on social interactions (11%), and transportation/commuting (11%). Concerns about learning from home included difficulty focusing on schoolwork (58%), lack of hands-on/experiential learning (24%), negative impacts on social interactions (19%), family/home environment (15%), concerns that online learning wastes time/money (10%), and inadequate technology/Internet access (5%). Conclusions Universities should address student concerns and provide resources to overcome barriers to effective learning.