Reading, Writing, and COVID: The Impacts of the Pandemic on One University’s Business Students Reading and Writing Behaviors

In January 2020, scenes online of pain and suffering in Chinese hospitals heralded a pandemic that would negatively impact not just people’s health, but would hinder efforts by organizations worldwide, including the operations of almost all universities. In March 2020, colleges and universities moved learning to virtual delivery and canceled on-campus activities with little or no advance warning due to the threat posed by the coronavirus. Students and faculty alike had to adapt to the new reality of forced distance education, isolation and an uncertain future in the wake of COVID-19. As might be expected, student learning took a hit in many ways, but the pandemic also brought about changes in students’ learning behaviors. This article investigates the impact of a stay-at-home order in one state on the reading and writing activities of students due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers surveyed over 600 students at a large, regional university in the Southeastern United States to specifically examine how the onset of the pandemic impacted how much more they engaged in reading and writing activities due to the changes ushered in, both in their college classes and in their lives, due to COVID-19.