Higher education institutions in the post-Covid era: transformation through crisis and outstanding issues

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic certainly was a cause of new challenges, but it has also exacerbated the already- existing weaknesses inherent in the ecosystem of higher education. The scope of institutional adaptation thus required was immense and remains both under-recognized and under-explored in the academic debate. The pace and depth of the transformation have not been even; institutional, political, legal, economic, and cultural factors were at play. No one-size-fits-all strategic approach to Covid-19 and its implications was possible. As law and regulatory efforts follow developments in society, several gaps and loopholes were left unattended in the early stage of the pandemic, thus frequently forcing HEIs to improvise. Notwithstanding the substantial and measurable degree of digital and institutional transformation HEIs attained, the pandemic left the fabric of the community of HEIs ruptured. Against this backdrop, this chapter outlines the key challenges and the takeaways, and makes a call for action.