Access to Reliable Internet and Digital Devices Tied to College Graduation Rates During COVID-19 

Rutgers researchers suggest institutions address digital inequalities that persist beyond the pandemic

Digital inequality – challenges in accessing or maintaining an internet connection and functional digital devices – affected on-time graduation for U.S. college students over the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study co-authored by Rutgers researchers.

“These challenges affected educational outcomes for college students even more so than the usually cited – and more fixed – factors of being a first-generation student, or from a racial/ethnic minority background,” said Vikki Katz, a former professor of communication at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information and now professor in the School of Communication at Chapman University. 

Published in PLOS One, the study was co-authored by Katz, Amy Jordan, a distinguished professor of journalism and media studies and Katherine Ognyanova, associate professor of communication, both at the School of Communication and Information.

The authors define “under-connected” as meeting as least one of these criteria:

• The students’ internet had been cut off due to inability to pay.
• They had hit the cap on their smartphone’s data plan before the end of a month.
• They had had a broken laptop for 10-plus days.

The researchers found that students who reported lower remote learning proficiency took longer to graduate. Students with inadequate or inconsistent internet and digital devices developed less remote learning proficiency than their better-connected peers…

The study builds on the authors’ previous research published in 2021 in PLOS One, in which they surveyed 2,913 undergraduates at four-year institutions in 19 states and Washington, D.C., to asses student experiences during the first weeks of pandemic-driven learning.  

For the follow-up study, the researchers analyzed the longer-term impact of digital inequalities, surveying 1,106 Rutgers University-New Brunswick undergraduates during the spring semester of February and March 2022, when the university operated on a hybrid model.

Their findings highlight the pandemic’s varied consequences for higher education, the authors said. Students struggled with unreliable internet access and inadequate devices, while also facing challenges with time management, self-motivation and balancing work and caregiving responsibilities

“The pandemic’s effects on undergraduate matriculation and persistence toward graduation threaten to undo a generation of progress in broadening access to higher education,” the authors wrote in the study.

The researchers found that, after controlling for other factors, students who took longer to graduate were more likely to be first-generation, international and male students.

Additionally, students who reported experiencing financial hardship were more likely to face digital inequality, which was associated with a higher number of incomplete course grades.

“The primacy of students’ financial circumstances in explaining who experiences inequalities in digital access, capabilities and outcomes is an essential finding,” the authors noted. “The solutions for resolving under-connected students’ challenges with campus-provided resources are straightforwardly financial.”

As online learning systems remain central to coursework post-pandemic, digital inequalities could persist into 2025, the researchers said.

To address these challenges, they recommend that colleges and universities:

• Integrate digital inclusion into emergency preparedness plans. “Epidemics, climate disasters and other emergencies will require rapid shifts to remote learning,” the authors wrote. “Students should not be ‘presumed connected’ as digital tools become essential to higher education.”
• Identify and support under-connected students. Universities should have clear plans to provide computers, broadband subsidies or prepaid Wi-Fi hotspots to students who rely on campus technology.
• Recognize financial hardship as a key barrier. “Students’ financial circumstances are central to digital access inequalities,” the authors noted. Solutions, including subsidies and tech support, must be financial.
• Expand device repair and loaner programs. Universities should offer accessible laptop repair services and short- or long-term device loans, just as libraries provide books.