Covid, two years on: what has higher education learned?

Advice and resources on the lasting lessons gleaned from 24 months of disruption and discovery

Two years into the pandemic, lessons learned for higher ed

As the year 2020 rolled into view, few of us could have predicted the impact of the nascent pandemic on both higher education and the world at large. The pivot online disrupted every corner of the sector, with students and staff alike having to adapt on the fly to a new way of doing things. From the importance of building trust and effective online course design to long-term changes to physical and digital estates, this collection offers up tips and thought on which elements of Covid-era HE are worth holding onto and how it has impacted the sector forever.

Leaders: how to build community and trust during a crisis

Charles Egbu, vice-chancellor of Leeds Trinity University, reflects on five key lessons he learned while taking the helm during the pandemic

Charles Egbu

Leeds Trinity University

Teaching and learning

Advice on taking a trauma sensitive approach to teaching

A trauma-sensitive approach to teaching and learning

A four-step framework for taking a trauma-sensitive approach to teaching in universities, explained by Kitty Wheater

Kitty Wheater

The University of Edinburgh

Research on effective digital course design and implementation

A guide to effective digital course design and delivery from four online teaching experts

Chrysi Rapanta consolidates the knowledge of four online teaching experts to produce guidance on what pedagogical content knowledge faculty need in order to develop effective digital courses

Chrysi Rapanta

NOVA University Lisbon

Cool, modern avatars for young people. Students are ready for the next generation of online comms technology and spaces, but the design of them is important

Life beyond Zoom and Teams: students are ready for next gen online spaces

Virtual spaces can create a sense of community and connect students across disciplines – provided they are designed well, say Yvonne Rogers, Paola Lettieri and Ben Meunier

Yvonne Rogers, Paola Lettieri, Ben Meunier

University College London

Workforce skills at university

Pivoting university course offerings to upskill the workforce

Teresa Ironside outlines how universities can develop their course portfolio to meet changing workplace skills demands and deliver education to a wider range of learners

Teresa Ironside

The University of Edinburgh

Three steps to developing useful microcredentials

The key considerations for developing an effective microcredentials portfolio that meets the needs of diverse learners and employers

Natcha Thawesaengskulthai, Bajinder Pal Singh , Warinya Chemnasiri , Pietro Borsano

Chulalongkorn University

Mental health and well-being

Academia showed it can slow down in the early days of the pandemic, so why has higher education gone back to warp speed again now?

Slowing down earlier in the pandemic went well – so why speed back up?

The online tools adopted in the past two years do have positives, but they’ve also created a new kind of pressure – the pressure to be everywhere at once

Shari Boodts, Frederik van Dam

Radboud University

Yellow paper figure surrounded by headlines about health and money anxieties, Covid uncertainty

How educators can help manage Covid anxieties on campus

Simple strategies can allow teachers to connect more deeply with students and help prepare them for stressful professional environments

Michael Ellwood

The University of Queensland

The stress continuum is a traffic light system that might help university staff and students discuss well-being

Conversations around stress must move beyond ‘I’m fine, how are you?’

Sara Metz offers practical advice on adopting the ‘stress continuum’ – a shared language and system to help staff and students reflect upon and discuss their well-being

Sara Metz

Colorado State University Global

Taking online learning worldwide and scaling up

Strategies for scaling up quality online courses in higher education

As remote and blended learning models look set to remain in place, universities need to consider how to scale online courses while maintaining quality. Michael Fried and Jenna Joo outline three effective scaling strategies

Michael Fried , Jenna Joo

Ithaka S+R

Tech tools to help enhance online and blended learning

With thousands of educational apps all promising to enhance online learning, choosing the right technology is a challenge. Miral Gibson explains why how pedagogy and teaching strategies should inform these decisions

Miral Gibson

Roehampton University

Estates

The university library needs a dramatic pivot to online to help academics and students alike in the new normal

The academic library requires digital evolution

As we face our post-Covid reality, library services need a new vision, becoming ubiquitous and available no matter the challenges of time and space

José Vladimir Burgos Aguilar

Monterrey Institute of Technology

The campus of the future will need to take into account the likely use of hyflex pedagogy

The campus is dead, long live the campus

Potential post-Covid changes to campus design will slide along a spectrum from optimising space to rethinking academic structures, says Jay Deshmukh

Jay Deshmukh

IBI Group

Ransomware and other online dangers can be utilised by hackers to attack universities if they do not have their cybersecurity sorted

Cybersecurity in the HE sector – getting the basics right

Managing security updates, vulnerability reviews, password policies and multi-factor authentication are staple university needs, says Clive Madders

Clive Madders

Cyber Tec Security

World flags

Engaging with the world from your home classroom: tips for internationalising the curriculum

Tanja Reiffenrath shares advice on giving curricula an international dimension that helps students develop global perspectives

Tanja Reiffenrath

University of Göttingen

Safely teaching foreign students facing censorship

Foreign students studying online in their home countries may be subject to strict press controls, so educators must carefully consider their course content and discussion points, Pavin Chachavalpongpun explains

Pavin Chachavalpongpun

Kyoto University

Gender issues

Advice on steps universities should take to ensure pandemic doesn't result in a long-term reversal of gender equality work

Urgent steps to prevent the pandemic stalling women’s academic careers

The pandemic put a disproportionate strain on female academics, research suggests, so now universities need to take robust action to ensure these women do not lose out in tenure and promotion decisions, reducing future diversity

Adrian Daub, Alison Dahl Crossley

Stanford University

Advice on building a sustainable long-term gender equality action plan to improve female representation at your institution

Embedding gender equality: building momentum for change

Eileen Drew explains how positive leadership, data-informed actions and priorities, mass engagement and collaboration all feed into a successful gender equality initiative

Eileen Drew

Trinity College Dublin

Universities and society at large must promote female involvement and achievements in STEM

Boosting female representation in STEM is crucial to global innovation

Addressing the gender disparity in STEM isn’t just a question of striving for a fairer society, it’s also fundamental to solving the complex challenges that affect us all

Jennifer Tour Chayes

University of California, Berkeley