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Opinion: Census Day is Wednesday; coronavirus means college towns will be undercounted
The Conversation
Opinion: Census Day is Wednesday; coronavirus means college towns will be undercounted
Published: April 1, 2020 at 7:58 a.m. ET
By Dudley L. Poston, Jr.
The Census determines the level of federal funding communities receive
{snip}
Census Day is April 1, but the collection effort has already started. On March 12, households began receiving mailed invitations from the Census Bureau with instructions about how to respond. This will be followed up by four more reminder letters, through April 27.
For those who still haven’t responded by then, nonresponse follow-ups start on May 13 and continue until July 31, when census takers visit households they haven’t yet heard back from. However, Wilbur Ross, who as Commerce Secretary oversees the Census Bureau, has warned that the dates may change as a result of coronavirus.
Since 1950, college students have been counted at their “usual residence” as of census day. Most attend college away from their family homes and live on or near their campuses, so are not counted at their parents’ homes.
In private colleges, almost two-thirds live on campus, 20% off campus and 17% at home with their parents. In public colleges, around 40% live on campus, 40% off campus and 20% with their parents.
Dorm closures
Students living off campus in apartments or other housing may have already received a mailed census form. Those living in on-campus dormitories or housing owned by their university are classified as living in “group quarters” — this is similar to residents of nursing homes, seminaries, prisons, hospitals and vocational training facilities.
The on-campus students are counted in one of three different ways. Either a university official completes a single form for all students in the dormitory based on administrative data — the Census Bureau estimates that around 55% of on-campus students will be counted this way — or students answer the census questions themselves by filling in forms or, in rarer cases, via face-to-face interviews with census workers on April 1.
{snip}
Opinion: Census Day is Wednesday; coronavirus means college towns will be undercounted
Published: April 1, 2020 at 7:58 a.m. ET
By Dudley L. Poston, Jr.
The Census determines the level of federal funding communities receive
{snip}
Census Day is April 1, but the collection effort has already started. On March 12, households began receiving mailed invitations from the Census Bureau with instructions about how to respond. This will be followed up by four more reminder letters, through April 27.
For those who still haven’t responded by then, nonresponse follow-ups start on May 13 and continue until July 31, when census takers visit households they haven’t yet heard back from. However, Wilbur Ross, who as Commerce Secretary oversees the Census Bureau, has warned that the dates may change as a result of coronavirus.
Since 1950, college students have been counted at their “usual residence” as of census day. Most attend college away from their family homes and live on or near their campuses, so are not counted at their parents’ homes.
In private colleges, almost two-thirds live on campus, 20% off campus and 17% at home with their parents. In public colleges, around 40% live on campus, 40% off campus and 20% with their parents.
Dorm closures
Students living off campus in apartments or other housing may have already received a mailed census form. Those living in on-campus dormitories or housing owned by their university are classified as living in “group quarters” — this is similar to residents of nursing homes, seminaries, prisons, hospitals and vocational training facilities.
The on-campus students are counted in one of three different ways. Either a university official completes a single form for all students in the dormitory based on administrative data — the Census Bureau estimates that around 55% of on-campus students will be counted this way — or students answer the census questions themselves by filling in forms or, in rarer cases, via face-to-face interviews with census workers on April 1.
{snip}
