2020 Census & Study

Lessons Learned from the 2020 Census Count

The shift to distance learning due to the COVID-19 outbreak forced students living both on- and off-campus to return home, complicating the U.S Census Bureau’s 2020 enumeration operations. As a result of the pandemic, the Bureau suspended field operations and modified their efforts to ensure college students displaced from their residence halls or off-campus housing because of the coronavirus were counted as living at school, an important consideration for federal benefits for the regions around campuses. The shift also altered the methods institutions historically utilized to respond to the Bureau, moving from methods that allow student self-response to campus officials reporting information on behalf of the student using administrative records.

In anticipation of the forthcoming 2030 Census, the Bureau recently reached out to partner with AACRAO to solicit feedback on the process or processes that institutions used to provide information for the 2020 Census count. The association hosted a listening session with Bureau representatives, conducted a member survey, and will gather a working group to inform and improve the Census Bureau’s data collection process and minimize any undue burdens for stakeholders.