On-campus and online, studies have found the level of connection a student has with peers and faculty members can directly impact the likelihood of them completing their studies.

When the first COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the US and restrictions forced colleges to close their doors, an estimated 14 million students across the country were left unable to physically attend classes. Overnight, institutions were faced with two options – cancel classes completely, or provide online solutions, fast.

The spread of COVID-19 and subsequent campus lockdowns have forced universities across the US to assess their digital offerings to students. This has highlighted the need to accelerate needed digital transformation and added to existing challenges of reduced student retention within higher education.

Managing remote workers presents an entirely new set of challenges for organisations and goes well beyond simply providing workers with a laptop and scheduling regular online video conferences. In fact, isolation and inadequate IT present two of the biggest challenges for successful remote working.

The US higher education sector is in the midst of a dropout crisis. The overall dropout rate for undergraduate college students is 40%, with approximately 30% of college freshman dropping out before their sophomore year. It is the job of a university to proactively engage with their customers digitally as well as physically, providing guidance, support and encouragement across all of the touchpoints in the student journey.

2020 will be a year that few will forget. While the human impact of COVID-19 has varied significantly from one country to the next, the economic impact has been universal, with the global economy set to decline by 5.2% before the end of the year.