On this page, please find some of the recommendations for higher education institutions to carry on with teaching and learning activities during this socio-economic, cultural and health crisis and also on how to address the future.

MULTILATERAL ORGANIZATIONS

UNESCO

• Global Education Meeting (2020 GEM) held on 22 October resulted in the 2020 GEM Declaration which commits to protecting education finance and identified priority actions to accelerate progress towards SDG4 in the context of COVID-19 and beyond.
• From disruption to recovery: UNESCO is supporting countries in their efforts to mitigate the immediate impact of school closures, particularly for more vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, and to facilitate the continuity of education for all through remote learning.
• UNESCO Education Sector’s issue notes cover key topics related to the COVID-19 education response (April, 2020).
• UNESCO - Futures of Education Initiative published the report: Protecting and Transforming Education for Shared Futures and Common Humanity A Joint Statement on the COVID‐19 Crisis (April, 2020).
• IESALC published recommendations (in Spanish) for higher education institutions in relation to the COVID-19 health crisis and provides information from 13 councils of rectors and national associations of higher education institutions (HEI) in Latin America and the Caribbean (April, 2020).
  
  

  United Nations launches the UN Secretary-General Policy Brief ‘Education during COVID-19 and beyond’(August, 2020).	OECD has released Education Responses to COVID-19: Implementing a Way Forward. The paper proposes a framework and recommendations to help governments form and implement strategy for education responses to COVID-19 (July, 2020).	World Bank published the report The COVID-19 Pandemic: Shocks to Education and Policy Responses (July, 2020).

  
  

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  INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

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  Educause has created a resource page to help higher education institutions plan for possible campus disruption by COVID-19.	Association of Indian Universities published a COVID-19 response Toolkit for Indian Higher Education Institutions: Institutional Resilience for academic planning and continuity.	Pakistan Higher Education Commission has posted a Strategy for Gradual Reopening of HEIs. The document outlines a reopening plan that draws on strategies adopted by universities worldwide (September, 2020). New Policy Guidance for the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), following the Government’s decision regarding continuation of education during the 2nd wave of COVID-19 (November 2020)	Seven Seas Worldwide regularly updates An International Student’s Guide to UK University (COVID-19) to help share useful advice and information on the impact of COVID-19 on young people’s mental wellbeing.
  United States Agency for International Development released the Higher Education Response to COVID-19: A Landscape Map of USAID Partner Countries (October 2020).	United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regularly updates a resources page on Colleges, Universities, and Higher Learning Plan, Prepare, and Respond.	Universities UK regularly updates a portal on Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Information for universities.	UK Department for Education has updated its Guidance for universities to help universities make campuses as safe as possible for students and staff as part of their wider COVID-secure measures (December, 2020).

  
  

In this tab you will find information on how organizations monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the higher education community. A selection of survey reports on the impact of COVID-19 is also presented.

MONITORING BY MULTILATERAL ORGANIZATIONS

UNESCO

• UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has published aUNESCO Covid-19 Education Response Issue note on Higher Education Institutions’ Engagement with the Community (August, 2020).
• UNESCO Regional Office of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC/UNESCO Santiago) has published La educación en tiempos de la pandemia de COVID-19 (Education in the time of the COVID-19 Pandemic).
• IESALC webcast Back to the future: Higher Education in the Post-Pandemic world, the Director of UNESCO IESALC (November, 2020).
• IESALC has released COVID-19 and higher education: Today and tomorrow (April, 2020).
• International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-Buenos Aires) updates regularly a resource based on UNESCO’s inputs to the educational emergency produced by COVID-19.
  
  

  Council of Europe develops a special webpage on COVID-19 covering good practices from Member States, Council of Europe education standards and new and existing education resources.	World Bank traces in real time->https://www.worldbank.org/en/data/interactive/2020/03/24/world-bank-education-and-covid-19] the closure of schools by country and proposes key resources to address the health crisis.	World Economic Forum analyses how COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation of higher education.

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  MONITORING BY INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

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  Agence universitaire de la francophonieproduces a weekly update monitoring publications related to the pandemic from higher education and partners of the AUF; and also monitors the actions of its members and partners in response to COVID-19.	Asian Development Bank has published Online Learning in Sri Lanka’s Higher Education Institutions during the COVID-19 Pandemic (September, 2020).	Asociación Colombiana de Universidades monitors the actions carried out by its member universities to alleviate the effects of COVID-19.	American Council on Education shares information and resources relating to COVID-19.
  Association of African Universities offers a resource page to help higher education institutions plan for possible campus disruption by COVID-19.	Association of International Educators, NAFSA shares a Coronavirus Critical Resources document focus on international educators and students in United States of America.	Association of Pacific Rim Universities has made available a web page including links to members’ websites stating their policies and the actions they are taking to face the current health crisis.	Association of Universities in the Netherlands shares updates on changes within universities and the higher education system in the Netherlands in relation to COVID-19.
  Boston College Center for International Higher Education has published a Special Issue of its International Higher Education quarterly publication on the many challenges relating to the COVID-19 crisis.	eLearning Africa and the EdTech Hub has published a report The Effect of Covid-19 on Education in Africa and its Implications for the Use of Technology.	Lumina Foundation launches the publication COVID’s Lessons for Global Higher Education Coping with the Present while Building a More Equitable Future (November, 2020).	Quality and Qualifications Ireland has released the report A QQI Evaluation of the Impact of the COVID-19 Modifications to Teaching, Learning and Assessment in Further Education and Training (FET) and Higher Education (HE) in Ireland (August, 2020).
  System of State Universities of Oaxaca has released the book: Pandemic: The Catastrophic Crisis (in Spanish and English). The work is coordinated by Dr. Modesto Seara Vázquez and constitutes an analysis of the pandemic, within the framework of what is considered to be a major systemic crisis (January, 2021).	University Affairs Canada publishes regular updates on the situation facing Canada’s universities with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  
  
  
  

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  SURVEY REPORTS

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  IAU has developed a first Global Survey on the impact of COVID-19 on Higher Education (May, 2020).

  German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) released its first survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on German universities and international student mobility in Germany (June, 2020).

  Educations.com has released statistics based on 7,400 responses to a recent survey on the impact of COVID-19 on study abroad.

  Erasmus Student Network has published a report on the results of a survey of 22,000 international students in Europe regarding the impact of COVID-19 on their mobility experience (April, 2020).

  European Association for International Education (EAIE) has published "Coping with COVID-19: International higher education in Europe", a report that offers some preliminary perspectives on the impact of the coronavirus on international education (March, 2020).

  Institute of International Education (IIE) conducted a survey that shows the effects that travel restrictions related to the outbreak of COVID-19 are having on international student mobility, and released on 14 May 2020 the results of its second survey in the COVID-19 Snapshot Survey Series about the effects of COVID-19 on U.S. higher education institutions (May 2020).

  QS shares the International Student Survey: Global opportunities in the new higher education paradigm. This report focuses on students wishing to study in Europe.

  
  

The IAU survey report on the impact of Covid-19 on higher education showed that one of the key challenges encountered by higher education institutions was the sudden shift to distance learning. This challenge comes with different dimensions, most particularly the technical infrastructure, the support tools to use for distance learning, assimilating online teaching pedagogies and finally how to organize and manage exams and student assessments from distance. IAU has made a selection of useful resources in order to respond to these challenges.

TOOLS, PLATFORMS AND SOFTWARE FOR DISTANCE LEARNING

• UNESCO: Distance learning solutions

• World Bank: Remote Learning, Distance Education and Online Learning: A Resource List

• Commission on Higher Education (CHED) launched an online portal containing free learning materials for students and educators in tertiary education.

DISTANCE LEARNING PLANNING AND PEDAGOGY

• Improve distance learning:

Conference of Principals of Spanish Universities (CRUE) in collaboration with the distance learning universities UNED and UOC, has launched a portal with a series of recommendations and advice for planning and structuring teaching by distance (the portal is in Spanish).

Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has released “Guidelines on Distance Education during COVID-19” with policy advice and practical tips on the use of distance-education methods, tools and appropriate technology as a response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Deaking University, Australia offers a free online course: Transforming Digital Learning: Learning Design Meets Service Design (estimated time required: 6 hours).

• Tools for blended learning:

The European Maturity Model for Blended Education (EMBED), is a framework which can be used to assess conceptual or implementation issues regarding blended learning, teaching and education. It indicates which dimensions are relevant for lecturers and educators, but also institutions, policymakers and educational centres.

You can also enroll for the online course developed in relation to this project: Improve high-quality and mature blended learning practice in higher education (expected time required: 10 hours).

Blended learning for quality higher education: selected case studies on implementation from Asia-Pacific is an open access publication by the UNESCO Office in Bangkok, Thailand. It explores how leading institutions in Asia-Pacific build capacity through a holistic approach to drive, sustain and scale their blended learning practices.

Guide to Blended Learning by the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an introduction using technology and distance education teaching strategies with traditional, face-to-face classroom activities. This Guide has been designed to assist teachers adopt blended learning strategies through a step-by-step approach taking constructivist and design-based approach and reflecting on decisions taken to provide authentic learning experience in their own contexts.

ASSESSMENTS AND EXAMS BY DISTANCE

Report on Remote Assessment Procedures by CRUE offers a holistic report on remote assessment procedure options, which considers every facet of the process: methodological, regulatory (including data protection) and technological.

Indiana University proposes a page with resources for assessments and final exams from distance. It includes examples for moving exams online as well as developing alternative assessment forms during this time of crisis.

This tab contains a selection of recent news on actions taken around the globe to respond to the current health crisis.

REGIONAL AND NATIONAL INITIATIVES

Select region of interest: Africa - Arab States - Asia and the Pacific - Europe - Latin America - North America

 Worldwide

October
How universities are changing in the wake of COVID-19.

15 October
Under-represented and unheard: Women in COVID-19 news.

10 October
US and UK universities hit by thousands of new COVID cases.

19 September
Students: the missing perspective on the COVID experience - Article by IAU.

16 August
COVID-19 obliterated Higher Ed’s Technical Status Quo. Will it last ?.


15 August
The future of digital assessment : COVID-19, short courses and beyond.


9 August
COVID-19 is widening inequality in higher education.


2 August
3 things COVID-19 will end in higher education.


8 August
How COVID-19 could change the higher education sector permanently.

 Africa

November 2020
How COVID-19 is transforming engineering in Africa.

Universities South Africa organised a recent Higher Education in Africa webinar that was titled: COVID-19 and Africa’s Higher Education System: What is going on? The discussions concluded that Online learning is integral to the future of Higher Education.

• Guinea
  October
  The Guinean Ministry of Higher Education and Research has put in place a dedicated platform ECP (Espace de continuité pédagogique). The platform aims to assist students as they continue to study during the Covid-19 pandemic and is full of resources and tools designed to help students (in French).
• South Africa
  21 October
  Research in a pandemic: It’s all about trust
  9 October
  Covid-19: The impact on universities and how their business models need to flexible
  30 September
  International students wishing to return to SA to be subjected to Covid-19 testing.
  15 July
  The Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation told the higher education committee on Tuesday that about R4-billion has been reallocated “towards COVID-19 activities”.
  
  
• Zimbabwe
  1 September
  Universities were unable to complete the 2019/2020 academic year by the end of August deadline set by Government, due to an increase in Covid-19 cases in July.

 Arab States

• Iran
  13 October
  Schools and mosques closed in Tehran as COVID-19 infections rise
• Egypt
  21 July
  Egypt’s 2020/2021 university academic year will begin on 17 October, with the implementation of a "hybrid education" model aimed at reducing the density of students inside education halls, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research announced.
  
  

 Asia and the Pacific

• Australia
  November
  Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) has released the report Foundations for good practice: The student experience of online learning in Australian higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic
  
  
  17 October
  US off bounds, Chennai students fly to European universities
  18 July
  Disaster preparedness would improve HE pandemic response.
  
  
• Japan
  1 September
  Education in Japan Beyond the Crisis of COVID-19: Leave No One Behind.
• India
  November
  Guidelines for the universities and colleges for reopening their campuses
  17 August
  Gujarat: Over 10-fold increase in higher education institutions conducting online classes.
  
  
• China
  12 August
  Five reasons why Chinese students may stop going to the United States for higher education.
  
  
• Bangladesh
  5 August
  COVID-19 boosts digitization of Higher Education in Bangladesh.
  
  
  
  

 Europe

• Albania
  2 November
  Albania universities go online due to pandemic.
• Belgium
  30 November
  Belgian universities allowed partial campus reopening for exams
• Germany
  1 December
  The impacts of the pandemic on the international education sector in Germany
• Ireland
  3 December
  Universities face funding gap of up to €200m due to pandemic
• Switzerland
  22 October
  Schools, universities react to Covid case surge.
• Finland
  Resources for students made available by University of Helsinki.
  
  
• France
  30 October
  On 29 October, the French government laid down regulations so that higher education face to face classes do not take place; Higher education institutions stay open, but classes are given digitally, except for practical work.
  29 October
  The French Rectors Association (Conférence des Présidents d’Université (CPU) released a Statement warning that first year students will be particularly affected ’Lutte contre le covid19 : Pour le soutien à TOUS les étudiants’->/] and that there is a risk of dropout.
• Germany
  21 September
  DAAD Encourages German MFA to Facilitate Student Visa Application Procedures Amid COVID-19.
• Lithuania
  31 October
  Lithuanian universities to switch to online teaching.
• Switzerland
  28 October
  Swiss universities went back to distance learning from 2 November according to new anti-coronavirus measures announced by the government on 28 October.
• United Kingdom
  15 October
  Higher education: reopening buildings and campuses
  8 October
  [Poorest students will be hit hardest if universities move all teaching online, ministers warned >https://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/poorest-students-universities-online-a4566346.html]
  13 August
  UK university clearing set to be the busiest ever, experts warn.
  
  
• France
  5 October
  Epidémie de Covid-19 : restriction des capacités d’accueil des établissements d’enseignement supérieur
  18 September
  Virus clusters at French universities a worry for returning students
  2 September
  Covid-19 : l’ensemble des disciplines engagé dans la lutte contre le virus
  17 August
  Rentrée universitaire: priorité au présentiel.
  
  
• United Kingdom
  31 August
  With universities due to reopen for face to face teaching, the University and College Union (UCU), which represents lecturers and teachers, has said that the government is “encouraging a public health crisis” and has called for the government to tell universities to move all teaching online for the time being.

 Latin America


The stark COVID-19 challenges HE faces in Latin America.

• Bahamas
  The Ministry of Education of Bahamas has made available to students a virtual learning portal due to the closure of schools in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
  
  
• Brazil
  Researchers from the state universities of Paraná, the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUC-PR), Research Institutes and some universities in the state of São Paulo will participate in a genomics study, pioneering in Brazil and Latin America, on the clinical manifestations of COVID-19 in different types of patients. The study will begin in July and will be coordinated by the Cancer Research Institute (IPEC/Guarapuava), through the Genomics Network.
  
  
  17 August
  Brazilian Universities struggle to go online amid COVID denial.
  
  
• Colombia
  The Colombian Association of Universities, in response to the health emergency declared by the National Government, and the massive issuance of regulations aimed at mitigating the COVID-19, compiles and concentrates the national regulatory provisions with impact on the higher education sector and facilitate their consultation to partner institutions.
  
  
• Mexico
  The Federation of Private Mexican Higher Education Institutions (FIMPES) has published a Protocol for the Reopening of Higher Education Institutions.
  
  

 North America

• Canada
  11 October
  Canadian universities could lose millions, possibly billions due to coronavirus: StatCan.
  5 October
  Quebec Ministry of Education and Higher Education put in place new regulations in October to reinforce health measures. In higher education institutions, distance education wherever possible is recommended by the Ministry.
  18 July
  Universities scramble to maintain flow of international students.
  
  
• United States of America
  20 October
  Return of students to US colleges probably led to surge in Covid cases
  21 July
  In the past few weeks, a number of colleges and universities, particularly highly selective institutions, have announced that they will invite back to campus a fraction of their undergraduates this fall in an effort to lower campus density.
  15 July
  The Trump administration has U-turned on its new policy of forcing international students to attend classes in person or leave the United States, following mounting opposition from universities
  
  

This tab contains information on calls for application and webinars to support and learn how universities are addressing the challenges posed by the pandemic.


Select information of interest: OPEN CALLS - UPCOMING WEBINARS - RECORDINGS FROM PAST WEBINARS

OPEN CALLS

International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) has launched the OER4Covid initiative which comprises a diverse group of almost 900 participants from 69 different countries. They are requesting help from educators to identify and prioritise local needs for open educational resources.

To access the survey, please follow the link.

Institute of Applied Linguistics (University of Warsaw) invites to take part in a research investigating how language and linguistics teachers/instructors and students/learners have been coping with the transition to remote instruction. The survey is anonymous and will solely serve scientific purposes. It should take no more than 25-38 minutes to complete; around 85% of the questions are of the quick multiple-choice type.

There are different versions of the questionnaire:

for Language Teachers
for Linguistics Instructors and TAs
for Language Learners
for Linguistics Students
for Educators in subjects other than language

QS Quacquarelli Symonds invites to take part in a new survey for university staff as part of its commitment to providing the higher education sector with data-driven insights.

To access the survey please follow this link.

UPCOMING WEBINARS

University of Glasgow’s School of Education organizes a free webinar series "Celebrating Social Justice Research in Education".

20 January 12.00-13.30 (GMT): Urban and Place-based Learning
3 February 12.00-13.30 (GMT):Collaborative Schooling for Change
17 February 12.00-13.30 (GMT): Adult Learning and Youth Transitions
3 March 13.00-14.30 (GMT): Migration and Refugee Education
17 March 12.00-13.30 (GMT): Ethics, Religion and Values in Education

Click here for more details on the webinars and how to register

Contact North | Contact Nord Webinars organizes a series of free weekly seminars on how to teach and learn online, best practices and the dos and don’ts. Upcoming webinars can be found here.

RECORDINGS FROM PAST WEBINARS

	September 25, 2020: What happened during the Corona crisis? Offered by Nordic Webinar Series SEE THE PRESENTATION !
	September 18, 2020: What are we learning from Covid 19? Offered by Magna Charta Observatory
	August 18 and 19, 2020: Impact of COVID-19 on Education Offered by the RUDECOLOMBIA Doctorate in Educational Sciences of the University of Cartagena, Colombia. WATCH THE RECORDING !
	August 18, 2020: Strategies and actions for returning to academic activities (Estrategias y acciones para el regreso a las actividades académicas) Offered by UDUAL.
	August 11, 2020: Choosing a Technology that Makes a Difference to Learning - Getting Past the Hype Offered by Contact North/Contact Nord WATCH THE RECORDING !
	July 20, 2020: Building Anti-Surveillance Ed-Tech! In Conversation with Audrey Watters Offered by Contact North/Contact Nord. WATCH THE RECORDING !
	July 14, 2020: Help your Students Succeed in Their Online Courses WATCH THE RECORDING !