COVID-19 has impacted 25 million US students.

COVID-19 has touched almost every college and university in the United States causing a shake out Higher Education going forward, Schools that are not quick to respond will be left behind, bankrupt and will close. It has been reported that the 4,000 institutes of higher learning, accounting for 25 million students, have all been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Universities who have not offered online classes before are now converting over to this platform. The entire higher education ecosystem has been touched:

  • students are now thrown into an online environment with no preparation and many are disappointed with the experience,  
  • administration has shifted courses to all pass/fail impacting GPAs,
  • faculty who are under-trained and may not be comfortable in this environment are required to shift pedagogical approaches in the matter of days which often takes years in the face-to-face model,
  • academic affairs have compliance issues along state, regional and national lines
  • CFOs are feeling the financial implications

Many smaller schools that do not have huge endowments or reserves to move forward are pushed into further jeopardy of closing. Schools that are nimble and have migrated to embrace technology will be the clear winners. For more information look at the article in the link below.

What is Germany doing?

In the US there is a greater proliferation of online platforms for universities and colleges to pivot in times of crisis. We have a variety of educational institutions (Private, public, 4-year, 2 year) allowing schools to move quickly. In Europe, where there are more large public schools, they were not as nimble. Germany, which responded quickly with regards to public health has not responded as quickly within the higher education sector: teaching halted, summer courses canceled and start dates delayed. They have not fully embraced technology as an option. I hope that the crisis will be a stimulus to change within the German system. Some schools have embraced the switch over to online courses, others have simply canceled programs or delayed start dates. I have worked with many of these schools and seen how traditional the pedagogical approach is and it needs to embrace a nimbler change management. This article featured on Studying-in-Germany.org illustrates the situation in greater depth. https://www.studying-in-germany.org/how-are-german-universities-responding-to-coronavirus-pandemic/

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