Content area
Full Text
COVID-19 HAS HAD A SIGNIFICANT impact on higher education institutions of all shapes, sizes, and models. For U.S. institutions serving predominantly on-ground student populations, broadly defined, the move to remote learning came quickly, in some cases in the midst of spring break plans and otherwise quiet times for student activity and instructional workflow on campus. Higher education policy is, however, usually not quick to change. COVID-19 concerns and precautions spread rapidly, though, and institutions made decisions quickly that were in the best interest of their communities, including large numbers of faculty, students, and staff. The implications for otherwise top-tier priorities-such as teaching and learning, student progression toward degree completion, enrollment, and pass/fail rates-would remain known for now, although it is possible that research in these areas will emerge highlighting much broader considerations. Without a doubt, it became clear that COVID-19 would cause a major disruption to higher education delivery, programming, and life. Amid an already challenging enrollment climate, wherein many institutions have implemented measures and plans to confront steady-and concerning-declines, COVID-19 amplifies and complicates these issues, among others.
Among the issues and decisions faced by higher education institutions, consideration of pass/fail options during the spring 2020 semester took center stage, along with what became known as "pandemic pedagogy." For this article, we define pandemic pedagogy as the rapid move to teaching and learning online via digital or distance-learning tools to best engage students. The "Pandemic Pedagogy" Facebook group quickly appeared as a resource and support area for faculty teaching-some for the first time-via remote instruction. The Higher Ed Learning Collective, another prominent resource, has provided far-reaching faculty support. In other cases, centers for teaching and learning, instructional design centers, and other faculty development units sprang into action to support faculty moving into new online spaces. Centers for Teaching and Learning must begin to equip teachers with a new set of skills so that all students can participate in the online learning environment. Teachers need to learn how to integrate current events into the subject matter and create spaces for students to express how they feel. During this time of turbulence, we must reframe our pedagogical frameworks to include a focus on the current realities and social context of our society. For the most part, though,...