Resilience and Transformation: The Pandemic's Effects on Texas Community Colleges. EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1309
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| Title: | Resilience and Transformation: The Pandemic's Effects on Texas Community Colleges. EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1309 |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Katherine Hughes, Holly Kosiewicz, Trey Miller, Arslan Khalid, Daniel Vargas Castaño, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University |
| Source: | Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. 2025. |
| Availability: | Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 35 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Office of Postsecondary Education (ED) |
| Contract Number: | P116Z220024 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education Two Year Colleges |
| Descriptors: | COVID-19, Pandemics, Community Colleges, Online Courses, School Closing, Technology Uses in Education, Adjustment (to Environment), Leadership Responsibility, Educational Practices, School Culture, Academic Persistence, Resilience (Psychology), Coping, Distance Education, Resources, Interpersonal Communication, Student Personnel Services, Student Needs, Empathy |
| Geographic Terms: | Texas |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted higher education, particularly community colleges serving significant proportions of traditionally disadvantaged students. This mixed methods study examines how Texas community colleges responded to the crisis and the extent to which they institutionalized pandemic-driven changes. Using state-wide student-level administrative data, and survey and interview data from administrators at ten community colleges, we found that the study colleges rapidly expanded online instruction by leveraging existing learning management systems and faculty expertise, while extending advising, counseling, and basic needs services into virtual and hybrid formats. Guided by organizational resilience theory, our findings show that colleges absorbed the pandemic's disruptions and engaged in transformative change. Through distributed leadership, cross-functional collaboration, and a heightened focus on student well-being, they redefined instructional practices, support infrastructures, and institutional culture, becoming more adaptable and empathetic organizations. These findings may help explain why persistence and completion remained stable post pandemic, despite sharp declines in enrollment in 2020 and 2021. More broadly, the study advances understanding of resilience in postsecondary contexts and offers insights into how crises can drive organizational learning and transformation. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED678273 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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