Barriers and Facilitators for Attending In-Person Classes as Identified by Public Health Undergraduate Students Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered students’ expectations for in-person learning, including their perceptions about the value of attending classes as course materials are more readily accessible through online modalities. We aimed to explore the barriers and facilitators of public health undergraduates for attending residential in-person courses during a semester two years into the pandemic through a qualitative approach. A survey distributed at the end of the Winter 2022 semester included close- and open-ended items regarding their estimated attendance of classes within the semester and reasons why they did or did not attend in-person classes, and suggested facilitators to get them to attend class, respectively. The most reported reasons for attending their in-person classes included helping students focus on course material and managing their schedule. The most reported barriers for attending class included inconvenient commutes and costs outweighing the benefits. The most described facilitator to get students to attend in-person class was mandatory or graded attendance. Anxiety over COVID-19 exposure was overwhelmingly not a reason for missing in-person classes. As the COVID-19 pandemic ensues and we integrate back to in-person learning, instructors must be aware of the potential factors that affect student attendance. If instructors are aware of these factors, they can then address the barriers or emphasize the facilitators for attending class to fully support student learning.