American Higher Education under the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

How colleges and universities in the United States were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic is examined in this paper. At higher education institutions, diverse people meet, interact, and create new values. The impact of the pandemic on higher education was extremely severe. On the other hand, distance education became more widespread as a means of overcoming the difficulties caused by the spread of the epidemic, opening up new possibilities for higher education. Interestingly, there were significant differences among countries regarding which phenomena occurred and to what extent. Why did these differences arise? Behind such differences are the university and higher education system characteristics that have existed in each country and region for a long time.

　

Of any industrialized nation, the spread of the infectious disease had the most devastating and multifaceted impact on United States colleges and universities. The pandemic impacted American higher education to the extent that could be described as a historical turning point. College enrollment declined, and community colleges, in particular, lost many new students. International travel was restricted, and the number of international students dropped dramatically. Campus- es were closed, and auxiliary services such as residence halls were shut down. College sports and other events also had to be suspended. These combined phenomena contributed to the financial damage suffered by many colleges and universities. Although the large-scale closures of universities did not occur as initially anticipated, some small colleges were forced to close or merge with other institutions. In addition, the unstable social climate meant that the United States was said to have experienced different pandemics in different regions. In some areas, political conflicts broke out within universities over wearing masks and vaccinations and even provoked conflicts over academic freedom.

　

American universities have seized diverse opportunities to create markets within and outside the higher education system. By skillfully combining those markets, they have expanded their resources to generate value through high-quality education, research, and services. As the pandemic cut off social contact between humans, the functions of this series of markets swung simultaneously in an unfavorable direction. This paper hypothesizes that this is the most significant factor in the unparalleled damage caused by the pandemic.

　

The characteristics of each country’s higher education system become trans- parent by looking at the differences in the impact of the COVID-19 disaster on each country. In the United States, applicants can choose when to enroll in college, contributing to the decline in enrollment. In Japan, by contrast, the decline in student enrollment did not occur. The reason is that the stability of the admission market is supported by social conditions that lock in applicants’ choices. The most significant change brought about by the pandemic in Japan is the spread of online education. However, in contrast with the situation in the United States, where the same social crisis environment exists, a different and more fundamental challenge for Japan’s higher education system is revealed.