Random thoughts on Universities in the Post COVID-19 Era: Time for a Regional Conversation

Over the past two weeks, both the University of Guyana (UG) and the University of the West Indies (UWI) have addressed the issues of surviving in the post COVID era.  In the case of  UG,  the discussions centered on the construction of the Strategic Blueprint (Plan) to 2040. Its emphasis is  on  rolling  out  hybrid education placing  priorities  on creating viable research centres,  multidisciplinary  approaches and a business model for ensuring sustainability.   For UWI, its focus is on implementing the Triple Strategy: Access, Alignment and Agility to revitalize Caribbean Development 2017-2022. Emphasis  has been  placed on its substantial research profile and  global approach to partnering with institutions in Africa, Canada, China,  European Union and  USA.  These  attributes  have contributed to UWI's  high ranking in the 400-500 band or the top 2.5% of Universities  in the  world,  based on the  2021 Times  Educational Impact Rankings.  The details of these activities reveal that both UG’s  Vice Chancellor,  Professor Paloma Mohamed Martin  and  UWI’s Vice Chancellor,  Sir Hilary Beckles and their senior management teams must be congratulated for their creative leadership in confronting the challenges of these COVID-19 times.
 
Challenges to Overcome 
 
The severity of the  times that  affect the region's higher educational institutions  is articulated in  " A post pandemic assessment of the SDGs",  a new study by the  IMF  ( April 29, 2021). The study  proposes a framework for developing countries to evaluate policy choices that can raise long-term growth, mobilize more revenue, and attract private investments to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To say that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit countries' development agendas hard, is an understatement with reference to the Caribbean. ECLAC'S Economic Development Report (April 2021) indicates that the crisis is threatening to leave the Latin America and Caribbean region with higher poverty levels, greater inequality, and higher levels of debt across virtually all countries. There are many potential reasons why the region fared poorly.  Weak health infrastructure, patchy enforcement of lockdowns, high levels of informality, and a lack of connectivity to work from home worsened the health crisis. 
 
Meanwhile, limited fiscal packages and central bank assistance of 3% - 8.5% of GDP compared with an average of 19% for advanced countries may have caused more suffering to the region’s economies. It  will for example, result in shrinking  government resources available for spending on achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The IMF’s study which assesses the current state of  funding SDGs in five key development areas—: education, health, roads, electricity, and water and sanitation — is particularly relevant.  Based on its newly developed  “dynamic macroeconomic framework”,   the study predicts that even with ambitious domestic reforms, most  developing countries will not be able to raise the necessary resources to finance these goals. They will need decisive and extraordinary support from the international community—including private and official donors and international financial institutions.
 
It is in response to these circumstances that long term planning such as those undertaken by UG’s Blueprint and UWI’s Triple Strategy is commendable.  They both focus on alternative revenue streams to those provided by governments, configuring  new programs,  fostering  non- traditional partnerships and achieving greater equity in access to higher education. 
 
The 2021 Times Educational Impact Rankings include criteria for assessing Universities on their performance around selected  SDGs, thereby ensuring connections between  universities and the respective national and regional communities that they serve.  This is referred to by UG as "citizens success",  one of the major goals in its Blueprint and the aspiration of one graduate per household by 2040.  Like UWI, UG has been able to pivot to online learning and teaching with a high degree of success.  UG has  even increased its enrollment for 2020-2021 amid the COVID crisis. UWI has at the same time attracted the largest all time grant of US $25m through partnership with Silicon Valley to expand its digital footprint. 
 
Some Critical Issues to be Resolved 
 
Notwithstanding the achievements and aspirational goals of UG and UWI, there are some overarching considerations for universities  contributing to the achievement of the 2030 SDGs. They raise some random thoughts in the form of the following questions: 

• How to achieve a highly regarded university, producing well rounded products, fit for purpose? 
• How to ensure that universities contribute to the goals of diversity and inclusion in a reasonable time frame?   
• How to pivot universities toward a successful business  model while achieving  equity in access?    
• How to accelerate the trajectory of higher education as a  public good?  

 
Framing the Answers -Two Extreme cases  
 
Answers to these questions are grounded in the experiences of a wide array of universities with special reference to articles, webinars and podcasts in several recent issues from Inside Higher Ed.  Among them are two articles with diametrically opposed results:  one on Fordham University,  Bronx, New York on creative budgeting in the COVID era https://insight.fordham.edu/2021-anomaly-balanced-budget/. The other  on the insolvency declaration at Laurentian University in Ontario, Canada:https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2021/04/29/insolvency-declaration-laurentian-throws-much-limbo
 
Focusing More Specifically on Differentiation  
 
The following are some summary responses to the questions raised:

• On fit for purpose: The  deal is,   establishing  what makes a university distinctive and what should the institution be known for:   student mix and outcomes, faculty development, research capabilities, facilities, and community impact.

• Diversity and inclusion: While remote and online learning are here to stay, there is  need  to determine what combination of remote and in-person learning will deliver the highest educational quality and equity and inculcate a spirit of community so vital to emotional intelligence. It requires delivering an intellectually  and socially vibrant experience, including essential student services, especially those related to physical and mental health. 

• Successful business model: This requires continuously refining the hybrid model including reimagining  the academic calendar; reevaluating  spending and/or reallocating existing resources;  judicious distribution of spending on research, public service, instruction, institutional support, academic support, and student services; investing in learning-technology which may require active partnerships with the private sector and in areas such as online-learning, management systems and innovations such as virtual-lab applications and immersive story learning as in virtual reality.  

• Higher Education as a Public Good: The challenge is massive. Just when the need for education is   at its highest, the incomes of students and their families would  have fallen and so would tuition payments along with earnings from charitable sources, endowments and government appropriations. The moral dilemma  is that low- and middle-income families, already in precarious financial positions, are hardest hit and most in need of further education. In these  circumstances, Government has a vital role. It is required to view education as an investment rather than an expenditure by contributing to the public good,  educating as many people as possible who may otherwise be displaced during the economic depression caused by the coronavirus  pandemic.  

 
Conclusion: Toward a Comprehensive Regional Dialogue 
 
As institutions and individuals  confront the challenges of the COVID-19 era, it is becoming clear that for the CARICOM region there is much to be gained by a collective approach. It is for example heartening to note Prime Minister Keith Rowley, Chair of the Caribbean Community,   appealing for vaccine supplies for the Region (not only for Trinidad and Tobago).  A recent meeting of CARICOM Ministers of Health revealed the importance of the coordinating role of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) in disseminating scientific information, linking the region's COVID-19 response through collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization. CARICOM counties are  also rallying assistance for  St Vincent and the Grenadines  due to the  Soufrière volcanic eruption  that has created a national crisis.   Educational institutions in various ways -- especially UWI -- have been important sources of analysis and dissemination of information on the coronavirus. This crisis has however created an awareness of the need for collaboration. It provides a most appropriate opportunity for dialogue among our national and regional institutions. Consideration could be  given to a theme such as,   the Future of Higher Education in the Caribbean in the Post COVID-19 era- taking collective action in support of a Community for all.      


​Eddie Greene