Abstract
There has been no shortage of dire predictions and lamentations over the negative impact the pandemic has had on higher education. There is no denying that student enrollment, graduation, and mobility were disrupted last year.
A Pearson Global Learner Survey of 7,000 people, conducted in August 2020, revealed that three out of every four global learners believe that COVID‐19 has fundamentally changed higher education as we know it and it is unlikely that there will be a return to a pre‐COVID world.
The consensus was reached that the world of education is forever changed.
That may not be such a bad thing. COVID‐19’s most enduring residual may turn out to be accelerating already existing trends and creating an appetite for change.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic more than a year ago, higher education executives, administrators, and faculty have had the opportunity to examine the inefficiencies in higher education and, because of the disruptions caused by the virus, carefully examine the residuals left in its wake.
When the final chapter is written about the impact of the virus on higher education, the benefits may eventually outweigh the negatives.
Let's examine how COVID‐19 helped to address and change five areas of higher education:
1 Online learning. Over the past year, students have attended classes both in person and online. They know they can do this. In a March 2021 survey of colleges and universities in the U.S., conducted by Academic Impressions, 39% of respondents stated that their school or department will be increasing their hybrid and/or online programs in the coming semester.
In another survey, conducted in March 2021 by the U.S.‐based educational technology and textbook rental firm Chegg, 50% of all students surveyed in 21 countries described their college's online learning offerings during the pandemic as good, and 76% in the U.S. and 65% worldwide said they would prefer their schools offer more online courses if it meant they would pay less in tuition.
The expanded use of technology and a willingness to embrace online learning allowed many schools to teach virtually because that was the only option available. It's too soon to tell if the hybrid model will increase access to higher education and impact current social and economic inequalities or if the ability to study year round, anywhere and anytime, will improve progression, retention, and graduation rates. But the potential for improvement is real.
2 Alternative providers. Over the past year, students realized they wanted and needed faster, affordable, and flexible higher education options. Colleges and universities realized they could grow their enrollment pie and increase their bottom line by partnering with alternative educational providers and employers.
Prior to COVID‐19, and with few exceptions, colleges and universities were reluctant to acknowledge and award credit earned with alternative educational providers.
Professor Scott Galloway predicts that technology firms will increasingly partner with world‐class universities to offer 80% of traditional four‐year degrees at 50% of the price.
Richard Garrett, Chief Research Officer for the higher education research firm Eduventures, predicts that certificate programs will continue to grow in the future and coding boot camps will outdo master's degrees in computer science.
In March 2021, Google announced that its five career certificates will be available through Guild Education, a company that connects employers with education options for their employees. Google's career certificates are also available through Coursera, a company that increased the number of people registered on its platform from 46 million in 2019 to 77 million in 2020.
3 Recruitment. The pandemic also created a climate for change in the way students are recruited. Virtual college fairs and tours became the new normal. The shift to remote recruitment activities reduced both national and international travel and exposed the inefficiencies of in‐person recruiting.
Technology has played, and will continue to play, a bigger role in college recruitment and admission. Processes will be streamlined in the future to create a faster and friendlier student‐centric experience. And the emergence of digital recruitment providers, or aggregators, cannot be underestimated.
4 Academic calendar. The traditional calendar will eventually become obsolete. Students will be accepted and admitted throughout the year and begin their academic careers either online or in person whenever it is convenient to do so. Or they may decide to take a gap year or begin an internship, either of which will contribute to accumulating credits toward degree completion.
5 Mental health services. In March 2021, the non‐profit arm of Chegg surveyed 17,000 students from 21 countries about their mental health. More than half of students worldwide, and three‐quarters of U.S. students, reported their mental health suffered during the past year. The pandemic has shown that a redesigned health office, addressing the mental health and well‐being needs of students, will be central in a reimagined university.
After the pandemic ends, additional positive higher education trends will become more apparent than they are now. One thing is certain: The pandemic helped to create an environment and an appetite for fixing parts of the higher education system that were broken.
“COVID‐19’s most enduriing residual may turn out to be accelerating already existing trends and creating an appetite for change.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR.
Marguerite J. Dennis
Marguerite J. Dennis has been a higher education administrator for more than 40 years, at St. John's University in New York; Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.; and Suffolk University in Boston. She is the author of six books on higher education administration, college admission and financing, and student progression and retention and currently works as a consultant to colleges and universities in the United States and around the world. She can be reached at margueritedennis@gmail.com
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