Abstract
Media reports suggest the switch to online courses due to COVID-19 has "demotivated" undergraduates. Our semester-long study of motivation for biology was in progress when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. We analyze changes in student (N = 182) motivation from before and after. Across variables, subgroups of students changed in adaptive and maladaptive ways; some remained stable. In cross-tabulations, one significant difference was found by sex, and a number of adaptive and maladaptive differences by race and socioeconomic status (SES). Despite obvious burdens on low-SES groups, undergraduate motivation was affected positively and negatively in this sample; only some variables were related to intention to remain in STEM.