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.

Keywords:

• accountability
• COVID-19
• higher education policy

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Bob Blankenberger

Dr. Bob Blankenberger is an associate professor and chair in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Illinois Springfield. He is a former Deputy Director of Academic Affairs and Student Success at the Illinois Board of Higher Education. His research interests are educational policy, assessment, and educational attainment.

Adam M. Williams

Dr. Adam Williams is an assistant professor and the MPA Director in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Illinois Springfield. His research interests include, but are not limited to: public procurement, public sector budgeting and financial management, theories of public organizations, efforts in sustainability, and scholarly behavior in public administration.