5 ways COVID-19 will change higher education forever, and how colleges can adapt

The coronavirus pandemic is changing higher education. Campuses are closed, students are taking classes online, and the number of colleges announcing budget cuts and furloughs is growing. Students, faculty, staff, families and others are wondering what comes next.

It’s a transformative moment for higher education. But the trends driving the disruption are not new or unexpected.

Higher education has been going through a disruptive phase for at least the past decade, as highlighted by the steady drumbeat of commentary from Clay Christensen and others, who predicted that as many as half of all U.S. colleges and universities would close within the next 15 years.