- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 1.5 billion students across 190 countries have not been able to physically attend school.
- It’s been determined that just transitioning contents to an online format hasn’t been enough, and overlooking online pedagogy can be just as detrimental as lackluster content.
- This article adds to the conversation about addressing issues about the quality and preparedness of online learning, as well as the potential theoretical solutions.

Boston College

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected higher education institutions on a global level, and has presented numerous different challenges according to this study, bringing into question higher education’s preparedness for crisis, quality concerns for remote learning, financial troubles, and issues with the online delivery of learning. The study also brings to light one silver lining among the the issues: the idea of digital resilience.

Higher education amidst COVID-19: challenges and silver lining


Sarbottam Bhagat & Dan J. Kim (2020) Higher Education Amidst COVID-19: Challenges and Silver Lining, Information Systems Management, 37:4, 366-371, DOI: 10.1080/10580530.2020.182404

Higher education amidst COVID-19: challenges and silver lining

Higher education amidst COVID-19: Introduction

- One of the most difficult challenges stems from the level of preparedness on the parts of the educational institutions to handle crises similar to this pandemic.
- Poorly managed/resourced institutions coupled with socially-disadvantaged students with limited access to internet and technology have affected how educational institutions adequately respond to learners’ needs and their inability to engage in an online learning environment.
- Students with limited or no access to the resources to afford the technology, and students with learning disabilities run the risk of being left out, and the fact that it was happening before the pandemic hit is an indication that the pandemic will only continue to exacerbate the rate at which the inequalities are affecting students’ performance.

Higher education amidst COVID-19: Challenge: preparedness for crisis

- Higher educations’ movement toward remote learning has raised questions about the value of online learning due to limited or inadequate access to technology, as well as the overall quality of online learning.
- Research indicates that students in vulnerable population categories struggle more often than not just to complete online courses, let alone achieve positive learning outcomes.
- Students also find online learning options to be more expensive than the conventional learning environment, and that online learnings do not provide favorable returns given their investment.
- Only 50% of institutions surveyed in this study employ educators with prior online teaching experience.

Higher education amidst COVID-19: Challenge: quality concerns for remote learning

- The pandemic has severely affected the financial situations of most new and current college students, implying that students might need more financial aid than previously anticipated.
- Colleges and universities are facing severe budgetary challenges due to cash flow and uncertainties in enrollment.
- This challenge could persist as long as students feel dissatisfied with online education, and institutions' capacity to manage funds for education in the present economic condition is minimal.

Higher education amidst COVID-19: Challenge: financial

- The majority of educational institutions have now resorted to alternative forms of learning, each with carrying degrees of online learning and face-to-face conventional learning (These include temporarily halting learning to transition to an online format, and altering face-to-face learning to include supplemental online resources).
- Educators, as a result of the online format, are still facing difficulties in maintaining the same level of student engagement and attention as they would achieve in a face-to-face setting.
- Limited capabilities or capacities of universities to make the transition to online learning may stem from large enrollments, inadequate or limited access to the needed technologies, systems, dedicated tech support, and storage capacity.

Higher education amidst COVID-19: Challenge: online delivery

- Adapting to the online learning environment requires that we delve more into the science of learning, while we take steps to introduce various technological innovations to facilitate online learning.
- Higher education sectors will need to place greater emphasis on the most vulnerable student populations, and ascertain that all online learning solutions will facilitate better student engagement and connectedness, in order to help them achieve the desired level of outcomes from the online learning process.
- It is imperative for educational institutions to develop strategies to overcome the challenges discussed already, such as online delivery of courses, financial roadblocks, and quality concerns to fill the holes that the pandemic has created in higher education.

Higher education amidst COVID-19: Overcoming challenges

- It is believed that with a well-thought-out investment in online learning, proper emphasis on the science of learning, the higher education sector may initiate a much-needed revolution in the education paradigm.
- Researchers believe that online learning will become more mainstream in the future due to this pandemic, and students will develop a better attitude towards it as a result.
- Digital resilience is defined as “an organization’s ability to maintain, change, or recover technology-dependent operational capability.”
- The study proposes a three-phase digital resilience-building framework for higher education (figure included):

Higher education amidst COVID-19: The silver lining: digital resilience

The study then proposes a number of changes to make to the online course delivery system, including:
- Performing an assessment to gauge students’ capacity to practically adapt to online delivery plans.
- Offering instructor training to help develop online learning teaching plans.
- Ascertaining policies to evaluate students’ progress during remote learning.
- Ascertaining policies to evaluate instructors and courses.
- Devising a framework to keep vulnerable student populations engaged.
- Offering students with learning experiences backed by rich media contents that go beyond asynchronous, synchronous, live, or recorded lectures.
- Especially, building long-term sustainable digital resiliency to stay flexible to the demand and supply of remote learning.

Higher education amidst COVID-19: Course Delivery

- COVID-19 has presented itself as a rude awakening to everyone who is involved in the higher education sector, including learning, instructors, policymakers, and society.
- Digital literacy is crucial for us to operate and advance in the world where social distancing coupled with digitized services and social interactions becomes a norm.
- It is vastly important to understand the current digital resilience of education systems, especially in terms of its strengths and weaknesses, the emerging demand for remote learning, and the supply of digital capabilities and competencies in order to make a learning experience rich and valuable.
- Researchers believe that educational institutions will come to understand the value of diversifying their learner populations, curriculums, and the need for new learning styles.
- It is believed, as a result, more institutions may place emphasis on customized online learning, and pursue adequately servicing historically underserved adult learners markets.

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