News

The COVID-19 pandemic has had huge impact on a wide range of areas. The Network of Experts on the Social Dimension of Education (NESET), which is supported by Erasmus+, has just published an analytical report on the impact COVID-19 has had on higher education in Europe. The examination sets a special focus on three thematic areas: teaching and learning; the social dimension of higher education (i.e. the effect on underrepresented, vulnerable and disadvantaged learners); and student mobility.

It is based upon 14 rapid-response surveys carried out in 2020 by university networks, student organisations and researchers, as well as over 50 journal articles, reports and publications. The report synthesises emerging evidence into three levels of impact of COVID-19:

·immediate impact (how the pandemic affected institutions and learners in the 2019/2020 academic year)

·short-term impact (how the pandemic is affecting or is likely to affect the current 2020/2021 academic year)

·medium-term impact (how the effects of the pandemic are likely to affect higher education systems, institutions, and students by 2025).

It also includes policy implications and policy recommendations, listing actions to be taken at the level of higher education systems and actions to be taken at the level of higher education institutions.

NESET is an advisory network of experts working on the social dimension of education and training and one of the seven key knowledge providers that contribute evidence-based advice to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC).

For further information, click here.

Germany, Cologne, 28 May 2021