The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the attention of distance education issues to the fore in a way not seen before. All forms of educational provision and sectors were affected by the pandemic. The aim of this conceptual leading article is to highlight three pertinent issues that need to be taken into account in Open, Distance and…

Writing centres have had to adapt to many challenges, including the move to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Africa this move was complexified by differential access to digital environments and contextual issues such as lack of electricity and rolling blackouts. Writing centres also need to consider the increasing…

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for ongoing pedagogic changes in the higher education landscape, especially with the use of online modes of delivery. The digital shift triggered questions around student engagement and the need to ensure that, despite physical distancing, students did not feel alienated from online learning spaces. This…

The quest for access to higher education has increased rapidly in the past 25 years of democracy in South Africa. However, this increase has not been matched by student academic success. This lack of success may even be worse with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has given rise to challenges that have affected student learning,…

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious disruptions to higher education institutions across the globe, prompting even the ill-prepared ones to embrace virtual teaching and learning approaches. Academic-industry partnerships remain an underutilised and under-researched mutually beneficial way of strengthening organisational performance. This study…

Restrictions and challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic challenged higher education institutions to innovate to keep reaching teaching and learning goals. In South Africa, existing social inequalities were exacerbated by the pandemic restrictions and many students faced severe challenges in terms of access and support to aid in their…

Traditionally, research has shown poor uptake and acceptance of non-traditional assessments. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, necessitated a drastic shift towards online assessments and negated the practicality of traditional assessments. The acceptance of online assessments by university students enrolled in historically disadvantaged higher…

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, socio-economic inequalities have become exacerbated and COVID-19 related hate crimes have increased. This paper explores how citizenship education might be reimagined in response to this context, with the vision of rebuilding a more equitable and compassionate society. By using a collective…

Worldwide, COVID-19 has affected the most deprived communities the hardest and exposed many systemic inequalities, leaving nations vulnerable and destitute. The need for quality education, while heeding to international mandates, including enacting the sustainable development goals (SDG), has become more apparent in promoting equitable and…

The COVID-19 pandemic set higher education institutions on an unprecedented path requiring of them to identify alternative strategies and implement various initiatives to sustain their academic projects. With the widespread devastation of the pandemic, the purpose of universities within their communities were again in the spotlight. A sensibility…

Prior to the occurrence of the global COVID-19 pandemic, some African higher education institutions had already adopted a hybrid-mode for all their programmes, including distance education. Policies and strategies were put in place to improve the practices, skills and competencies of staff and students. However, the closure of education…

As a response to the exponential increase in COVID-19 cases, the South African government implemented the closure of schools and many universities in March 2020, with some universities operating under partial lockdown conditions. In this context of closure and lockdown, many universities have shifted to forms of virtual and online learning.…

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has taught everyone that long-term planning and execution, which have always been taken for granted, are not a given. In many contexts, stagnation was the initial outcome of hard lockdowns. As international travel ground to a halt, the lack of mobility seriously hampered scholarly personal interaction as an essential…

This study examined issues related to students' participation and online absenteeism among students at Zimbabwe's universities during COVID-19 induced online teaching and learning. More specifically, the study examined some of the ethical issues related to students' participation and assessment during online learning in selected universities in…

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid change, unprecedented in higher education. One such change has been the almost complete shift to online assessment. The simultaneous employment of online assessment and proctoring has not enjoyed the rigorous academic debate and research traditionally associated with such shifts in academia. This engagement…