Learners have had the time to stop and reflect on what’s most important to them—a learning experience that will enable them to have a career that can face unexpected challenges…
COVID-19
This page is updated regularly sharing articles by, and interviews with, higher education leaders reflecting on the industry’s response to COVID-19 and its broader implications.
Related Resources
The EvoLLLution®, and its parent company Modern Campus®, are developing additional resources designed to help leaders stay on top of the constant changes happening across this industry. Access these critical resources now:
• Innovation Is Not Our Antithesis: Lessons from Higher Education’s Response to COVID-19
• Coronavirus on Campus: 7 Ways to Use Your CMS as a Super Tool for Crisis Management
• Webinar Series: Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis
• Your Ultimate Guide to Serving Learners Remotely
• Your Ultimate Guide to Offering Great Online Programming
• Continuing Education’s Role in the Post-Pandemic New Normal
• Webinar Series: Positioning Your Digital Presence for the New Normal
The Future of Postsecondary Learning and the Digital Landscape
Geoff Foy | Associate Provost for Graduate Programs and Continuing Education, Pacific Lutheran UniversityAlthough the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed higher education into the digital learning space, its success within it depends on institutions creating programs and partnerships that engage students early on and…
Creating the best possible on-campus or hybrid student experience in the context of COVID-19 requires adhering to the rules outlined by the institution and government. Otherwise, campuses will have to…
Creating an Education for Industry 4.0
Gregory Crawford | President, Miami UniversityThe COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the future of the learn-and-work ecosystem to now. Programs like Work+ are being innovated to address it head-on and create an experience in which learning…
Coaching—used in many industries but is less common in higher ed—can be used as a leadership tools to help learners think and understand more clearly about their career paths. Much…
COVID-19 and the Need for Market-Ready Skills
Jim Franklin | Director of Academic Programs in the College of Business, Western Governors UniversityEconomic activity has been disparate over the course of the pandemic, with certain professional sectors increasing their profits and others undergoing layoffs and cutting expenses or indebting themselves. In order…
Although institutions have been able to pivot quickly to the remote environment, many are still grappling to maintain a strong student experience, especially online. Moving to the remote environment has…
COVID-19 Writes a Prescription for Change: Unbundling/Rebundling Learning
Holly Zanville | Research Professor and Co-Director of Program on Skills, Credentials and Workforce Policy in the Institute of Public Policy, George Washington University Van Ton-QuinlivanStackable credentialing models provide the flexibility, responsiveness and student-centricity needed to support consistent engagement and employment outcomes, benefiting learners, employers and institutions alike. The traditional methods of higher education delivery…
The pandemic and the move online it forced higher institutions to make have had positive consequences, too. Online student supports have been ramped up and effective, so much that some…
Improving Digital Content Strategy in the Age of COVID-19
Bill Pepicello | Former President, University of PhoenixInstitutions must consider creating easy-to-use and fully integrated digital ecosystems, like the ones students are already used to, to elevate it up to what it can be. Beginning with the…
Even the most well-prepared tech savvy institutions can fall short of students’ expectations—it’s important to listen to student needs and deliver them a high-touch experience. 2020 has been filled with…
Redesigning Workforce Programming Online
Carlos Cortez | Chancellor, San Diego Community College DistrictFor San Diego Continuing Education, the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just prompt them to launch online instruction but a whole online learning platform: ICOM Academy. This new initiative serves to deliver…
The COVID-19 pandemic has turned an already fragile higher education landscape into one of anxiety and doubt. It has created financial havoc, derailed student expectations and fueled uncertainty about the…
Public Health in a Remote Environment: How the University of Hawaii is Delivering Contact Tracing
William Chismar | Dean of Outreach College and Interim Dean of Myron B Thompson School of Social Work, University of Hawaii at Manoa Sarah SimmonsTo help accelerate the re-opening of state economies, it’s essential to reduce the spread of coronavirus and the COVID-19 illness it causes. The first step to actually accomplishing this work…
Variously called project-based, hands-on, laboratory, experiential or tactile education there is no question that learning while doing is one of the most effective ways to learn a new concept or…
The COVID-19 Wake-up Call: Instructional Designers are Key to Creating Accessible and Inclusive Learning Models
Renee Pilbeam | Manager of Online Learning, Special Projects and Strategic Initatives, Arizona State UniversityThe role of the instructional designer is often misunderstood or, perhaps, not understood at all. In the wake of COVID-19, the abrupt shift online left many instructors scrambling to figure…
To accelerate the re-opening of state economies, it’s essential to reduce the spread of coronavirus. The first step to doing so is to hire trained contact tracers in every community,…
The Future of Instruction: Dividing Semesters in Half
Eric Boynton | Provost and Dean, Beloit CollegeIn response to the pandemic, course structures have been disrupted and possibly forever changed for future instruction. Higher education is reshaping traditional models, and shorter courses may be the answer…
COVID-19 has forced every college and university to re-evaluate its value proposition as more and more of the traditional student experience moves online or remotely. One part of the value…
Workforce Development Responds Directly to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Jo Alice Blondin | President, Clark State Community College Lesli BeaversOf the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, workforce professionals are reaching out to healthcare partners to identify ways to be of service. A partnership between county health departments, healthcare facilities…
With the revamp in higher education in response to the pandemic, this could very well be the moment credential innovation was waiting for. Now is the time to use credentials…
COVID-19 as a Catalyst for the Intentionally Designed Continuous Learning Model
Marie Cini | Former President, CAEL Steven TaylorThe COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly brought a great deal of pain and sadness to the lives of Americans. COVID-19 also exposed the cracks in our education and employment systems that…
The COVID-19 pandemic has closed schools across the continent and sent teachers, staff and students home to work remotely. By the beginning of April 2020, it was apparent that this…
Get Ahead of the Curve: Preparations for a Successful Fall Semester Must Start Now
Mick Starcevich | Former President, Kirkwood Community CollegeAs the COVID-19 pandemic evolves from an urgent public health crisis to an economic catastrophe, higher education institutions are bracing for long-term impact while working around the clock to continue…
As part of the effort to ensure social distancing during the pandemic, universities sent students home en masse to learn online. However, it is estimated that 70% of faculty had…
July Is Coming: Medical Education and Physician Trainee Turnover in 2020
Sarah Diekman | Resident Physician and Student in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, John Hopkins UniversityWorldwide, physicians are at the center of the fight against COVID-19. Throughout the United States, academic medical professionals are addressing staffing and supply shortages in the midst of this pandemic.…
While faculty and learners remain in the remote environment until further notice, communication is the lifeline between each other and the institution. Students need to feel connected to their campus,…
The New Big Player: Workforce Education Heading Into Recession
Anton Reece | President, West Kentucky Community and Technical CollegeWith adult learners looking to upskill and reskill, workforce education will become critical in serving these learners as we head into a new normal. Learner demographics—and whole institutions—will be looking…
Before the COVID-19 crisis, most institutions worked and made decisions within their own departments, causing a silo effect across campus. But in this time of need, it’s more important than…
Leading Higher Education’s Emergence Post COVID-19: A Call to Action
Alicia B. Harvey-Smith | President and CEO, Pittsburgh Technical CollegeNovel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has forced the United States to push the ‘pause’ button on life as we knew it. While corporations and small businesses were forced to cut production,…