Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on the Institutional Fabric of Higher Education

Abstract

COVID-19 has provided a historical opportunity to test the resilient nature of higher education (HE) systems and institutions (HEIs) around the world. This at a time when the sector experiences profound structural changes, resulting from major societal transformations such as urbanization, digitalization, de-globalization, political polarization and democratic decline; growing social and economic inequality; demographic decline and, chief amongst all the ‘grand challenges’, climate change and the quest for a more sustainable, equitable and inclusive world economy and society. This chapter provides a conceptual and empirical backdrop for mapping out the types of responses around the globe to the challenges and strategic opportunities brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, so as to help unpack the effects such responses are likely to have on the institutional fabric of HE. In so doing, it is critical to understand how local actors/stakeholders at different levels of analysis (from policy makers to university managers to academics) make sense of (or enact upon) the changing external environment.

Implementing Digital Transformations in Higher Education Following COVID-19: A Norwegian Case Study

“…Lokuge et al (2019) assert that organizations' success in coping with complex situations or when facing volatile environments largely depends on key factors like flexibility, responsiveness, adaptability, and agile decision-making. As an external shock, and as attested by other contributions in this edited volume, COVID-19 posed unprecedented challenges to HEIs (see also Pinheiro et al, 2023), thus providing an ideal case for studying the degrees of and internal willingness and capacity for adaptation to emerging circumstances and disruptive events. Below we provide further insight on the two constructs underpinning organizational readiness to change.…”