The long-term impact of a pandemic on higher education learning

In 2020, higher education institutions globally made the most dramatic shift in teaching methods in history—and it was made almost overnight. While the shift has lingering effects on the operational and financial landscapes of many colleges and universities, what does it mean for students? We wanted to know what it was like being a participant in this learning shift, and what students really need and want for academic and social success.

In that spirit, we invited four students from various universities to share their thoughts with us. Tim Reynolds and Nadia Zhiri, both principals in our Higher Education studio, discuss challenges, opportunities, and the most important lessons learned we can take away—pandemic or no pandemic.

“It was challenging,” says Hassan Haltam, an architecture student at the University of Arlington at the time. “The challenge was definitely that the professor wasn’t able to, you know, put some trace paper over my drawings and fix what I messed up.”

While the students mentioned several key elements of in-person learning they missed, they also mentioned the importance of communication and the difference that made keeping them comfortable as information changed daily about their college courses.

“I feel like there could have been more transparency from the university,” says Nadia Laytimi, who was an architecture student at the University of Kansas at the time. “Letting students know what’s going on and how we can better prepare.”

Listen to the full roundtable discussion that dives into more topics and lessons learned on this episode of Treanor Talks.