“After decades of procrastination, higher education has finally been spurred, by the necessity of the COVID-19 pandemic, to enter the 21st century and offer online courses tailored to the needs of the synergistic digital economy for non-traditional students across a spectrum of ages and career stages.
However, we worry that the forced migration to online education could end up as a threat to further progress unless change-resistant nostalgia for the historic model is replaced by a strategic response geared toward and welcoming future evolution.”
(From: The 60-year curriculum: A strategic response to a crisis. See: “The future of higher education” below.)
In other words, we can do it, we just proved it, so let’s keep on doing what we have learned we can do for our students!!
The future of higher education
 Many have embraced the challenge of pivoting to remote working and teaching as an opportunity. We have shown how nimble we can be – it has forced us to adapt, and take risks. Everything we’ve learned is going to be useful for the future. Now is not the time to stop the learning curve, especially if we envision a future that is more accessible and flexible. CETL and the Camosun Teaching and Learning Council both met recently to reflect on lessons learned from the Covid pivot, and to look forward to what may be possible going forward. Themes that emerged were: “spirit of exploration, importance of quality teaching for learning, learning from each other, accessibility/flexibility, and the importance of connection.” Read more here
 Additional resources on the future of higher education:
 Conflicted thoughts about September Nexus: Camosun’s Student Voice
- Build back better TRU Digital Detox
- HyFlex model of education, Inside HigherEd
- The Covid 19 higher education shove EDUCAUSE
- The 60 year curriculum: A strategic response to a crisis EDUCAUSE
- How do faculty and administrators imagine the future of higher education in Canada Academic Matters
- A blueprint for education’s post-pandemic future Education Reimagined