Personality Factors and Their Influence on Student Engagement Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Classic research conducted by Terenzini & Pascarella (1991) and Tinto (1993) concluded that college students learn more if involved in both academic and out-of-class activities. This study examined how unprecedented college campus closures during the COVID-19 pandemic impacted students’ sense of college connection. In this study, participants (N=1,409) completed an online questionnaire that measured participants' college connectedness, shyness, the Big Five (extroversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism), and several aspects of interpersonal communication. It was hypothesized that non-shy and extroverted students would more successfully maintain a sense of college connectedness during the pandemic than shy and introverted students. It was also hypothesized that there would be a significant drop in college connectedness scores compared to a pre-pandemic connectedness study (Psi Beta, 2011). The first hypothesis was supported as there was an inverse relationship between non-shy students and college connectedness. The second hypothesis was also supported; in comparison to the mean of college connectedness prior to COVID-19, college connectedness declined. Additional findings include no significant relationship between extraversion scores and college connectedness, and a significant correlation between honor society membership and college connectedness. Future research might explore other factors that may impact college connectedness, such as immigration status and first-generation status.