Listening to the wants, needs, and intentions of students and parents allows institutions to make more informed decisions in these uncertain times.

1. Outmaneuver uncertainty NOW NEXT
Fall Refresh
October 2020
Tune in to
student
sentiments
Impact of COVID-19:

2. Listening to the wants, needs, and intentions of
students and parents allows institutions to make more
informed decisions in these uncertain times.
Accenture analyzed 80M+ posts from 27M+ unique authors from
public facing digital and social media platforms with open text API
across large (>15,000 students), 4-year institutions with a mix of
public and private non-profits in the U.S. We looked at posts from
Feb–Sept 2019 and Feb– Sept 2020 in order to compare trends
across years.
What we did
Our first report on this topic was published in June 2020. This is
a refreshed version focusing on sentiments from the start of the
school year.

3. After the distraction of the crisis in spring,
discussion about higher ed has never been higher
Higher Education post volume is up y.o.y.
in summer compared to the spring dip
Decrease from
Spring 2019-20
Increase from
Summer 2019-20
19% 58%
Proportion of health and safety
conversations have gone down as the
student experience topic takes over
‘20 Spring
’20 Summer
’19 Summer
40% 30% 17% 10%3%
25% 34% 13% 12%10% 6%
13% 42% 11% 17%14% 3%
Health and Safety Planning for the Future
Experience
Education
Financial Concerns Other
Conversations of prospective students
are still lower than years past

4. Financial concerns have been deprioritized by all
except faculty, who are now concerned about layoffs
Students Parents FacultyProspective Current
Experience (+1)
Will I ever get the ”normal”
college experience?
Education (+1)
Which institution is best
under current circumstances?
Safety (+1)
Will school be safe by
the time I attend?
Finances (-3)
Can I still afford to enroll?
Experience (-)
What’s the impact to my events,
programs and athletics?
Safety (+2)
How can I navigate the
safety guidelines?
Education (-)
Is online learning as
valuable as on-campus?
Finances (-2)
What’s the impact to my
tuition and financial aid?
Education (+1)
Will my child still receive a
valuable education and degree?
Safety (+1)
Is it safe to send my child
back to campus?
Experience (+1)
Will my child miss out on
certain programs and events?
Finances (-3)
Can I still afford to send
my child to college?
Safety (-)
Is it safe to bring students/
professors back into the
classroom?
Education (-)
Will online learning work /
will I get proper training?
Finances (+1)
Will my job/salary be affected?
Experience (-1)
How will experiences change
based on new revenue models?
Orderofprioritybasedonvolume
Note: Number in parentheses indicates change in rank from Spring 2020 to Summer/Fall 2020

5. Students, parents and faculty are growing
increasingly weary with the situation
After a relatively positive spring, the
summer brought a large uptick in negative
reaction to higher education
Negative emotions expressed included
helplessness, sadness, anger, and fear
Increase posts of negative
emotions from Summer 2019-20
70%
-1pp
-2pp
-1pp
5pp
+2pp
-2pp
Negative Positive Neutral
Percentage point change in proportion of
posts for each sentiment, year over year
Spring ’20 vs. ’19
Summer ’20 vs. ’19

6. Emotional posting was driven by the
political climate and COVID issues
Anger
Fear
Helplessness
Concern
Political climate concerns
Concerns from the right:
• Conservative students facing criticism or
even violence for being Trump supporters
• Colleges radicalizing students
• Racism on social media leading to
rescinding of admissions
Concerns from the left:
• Rumors of potential voter suppression
on campus
• Perceived racial bias in enforcement
of policies
• Police violence on college students
COVID Concerns
• Safety on campus: schools open
despite COVID, unsafe dorms and
campuses, students throwing house
parties amid the pandemic
• Student experience: possibility of no
college football seasons, students
missing the college environment,
colleges bringing people back to
campus just so they can be alone in
their dorms taking online classes is
“cruel”
• Value for money of the degree:
Universities getting tax breaks/support,
but keeping tuition high despite online
learning

7. Students experienced turmoil as they
returned to campus
Virtual Administrative
Activities
1 2 3 4 5
• Confusion at the process, e.g.
registering classes
• Delight at effective tools for online mental
health services and student success
• Confusion over program format on
financial aid or visa eligibility (e.g. GI Bill)
Clubs and Activities
• Concerned that activities besides
sports would be cancelled—but mostly
events became smaller or virtual
• Parties on campus brought anger—
both for the university reaction as well
as for the students holding the parties
Sports
• Support for the College
Athletes Bill of Rights
• Helplessness at the constantly
evolving situation of college
sports
Social Justice and Equity
• Students rallying around the black community,
DACA, and undocumented students
• Discussion around topical headlines, e.g. CA
Prop 209 affirmative action ban, schools going
test optional after criticism of ACT/SAT biases
• Low income students at a disadvantage for
accessing distance learning and internet
Career Services,
Job and Interviews
• Prospective students
indicate they are making
decision where and
whether to attend
college based on career
goals and interests

8. Despite this, common back-to-school measures
were largely supported by students
Testing Requirements
Signing Codes of
Conduct/Self-Attestation
Reconfigured housing/dining
Modified semester calendar
Tuition/room & board
discounts
Modified classroom
spaces/delivery
Effective safety precaution Overly restrictive
Effective safety precaution Overly restrictive
Effective safety precaution Overly restrictive
Effective safety precaution Overly restrictive
Effective safety precaution Unnecessary
Fair and appreciated Insufficient
Crucial amenity for the school year
Students were by and large supportive of testing,
incl asymptomatic and frequency of testing
Profit over safety
Perceived as university trying to release itself
from liability and gaining profit
Creative alternative housing embraced
Students appreciative of salvaging any part of
the college experience
Making the most of campus life changes
As with alternate housing, any part of the campus
experience that can be salvaged is welcomed
Confusion with scheduling alternate class formats
Covid-19 outbreaks on campuses creating
uncertainty with last minute switch from hybrid
learning to online schedules
Value not reflective of educational experience
Tuition value should account for exclusion of
campus experience

9. Prospective students are grappling with additional
anxieties during this application season
16%
36%
48%
>1/3 of prospective student
conversations continue to center
around perceived value for money
Affordability OtherValue for $
Uncertainty over the need to
or ability to take ACT/SAT
Virus trends in certain
geographies
Call for greater access at
selective schools enabled
by remote instruction

10. Accenture’s education offerings equip colleges and
universities to thrive in a post-pandemic world
Financial
sustainability,
operating model,
modern tech
Zero Based Reboot of Financial
Structure
• Large private research institution
Shared Services
• Public university system
ERP and CRM Implementations
• Multiple recent
Safety &
security
Contact Tracing, Monitoring, Vaccine
Tracking and Managing
• Various states and counties
Capacity/Density Management
• Large private research institution
Cybersecurity
• Large private research institution
Institution
trust
Branding and Institutional
Marketing
• Exclusively online institution
Social Media Sentiment
• Accenture’s Student Sentiment
Study
Academic
programs &
student
experience
Program Portfolio Reboot
• Large private institution
Enrollment Analytics & Recruitment
Website Assessment
• Private special-focus institution
Digital Student Engagement Platform
• Large private research institution

11. Contacts
Jonathan Fry
Managing Director
Global Education Lead
jonathan.a.fry@accenture.com
Samantha Fisher
Managing Director
North America Education Strategy Lead
samantha.fisher@accenture.com
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting,
interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all of these services. We combine unmatched experience
and specialized capabilities across more than 40 industries — powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology
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innovation to help clients improve their performance and create lasting value across their enterprises. Visit us at
www.accenture.com/highereducation
About Accenture

12. This case study will focus on college and university discussions detected in publicly available data found on
social media platforms and digital platforms with searchable RSS feeds. All data was collected in accordance
with each platforms’ terms of service. Public data was collected using Brandwatch to crawl mentions of colleges
and universities, excluding community colleges and online for-profit institutions. Keyword filters were then
applied to the conversations to isolate trends relating to pre-determined topics of interest from 2019 and 2020,
in order to identify how COVID-19 has impacted various stakeholders and prospective students’ opinions and
attitudes.
Descriptive statistics include identifying peaks in volume over time and searching for qualitative potential
explanations of online activity. We measure top mentions and co- occurring themes to gain greater qualitative
insight into the nature of perceptions and concerns around higher education in the wake of COVID-19. Topics
are then qualitatively analyzed to understand the nature of discourse surrounding relevant conversations. The
volume and percentage of discussions within each topic are also measured. Sentiment analysis is conducted
using automated scoring within Brandwatch and is considered accurate at an 85% confidence level, providing
general guidance on how perceptions are shifting- rather than an exact breakdown. Audience segmentation is
only available on self-reported information contained in some user’s profiles, so all audience segmentation
outside of age and gender is a result of qualitative analysis and is not able to be definitively quantifiable.
Methodology
This document is intended for general informational purposes only and does not take into account the reader’s specific circumstances, and may not reflect the most current developments. Accenture disclaims, to the fullest
extent permitted by applicable law, any and all liability for the accuracy and completeness of the information in this presentation and for any acts or omissions made based on such information. Accenture does not provide
legal, regulatory, audit, or tax advice. Readers are responsible for obtaining such advice from their own legal counsel or other licensed professionals. This document makes reference to marks owned by third parties. All such
third-party marks are the property of their respective owners. No sponsorship, endorsement or approval of this content by the owners of such marks is intended, expressed or implied.