COVID and the impact on higher education: The essential role of integrity and accountability

Abstract

In this article, we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on higher education using Gaus’s ecological approach. We open by exploring the higher education market and accountability environment into which the COVID catastrophe was introduced. We follow with brief discussions of the impacts of COVID on Gaus’s ecological elements of people, place, physical and social technologies and how the system will adjust in areas such as budgets, recruiting, accreditation, and program delivery. Ultimately, we contend that institutional integrity and accountability and the importance of recognizing the role higher education plays in advancing social equity will be key for postsecondary institutions in the COVID era and post-COVID recovery.