Planning for the impact of COVID-19 on higher education in Canada

Uncertainty around the global pandemic has forced colleges and universities to respond act to respond to several urgent functional and operational issues. These include the expanding remote delivery—i.e., adapting in-class course instruction to be taught remotely —and online learning, determining strategies for marking and graduation, and and providing additional support to students.

In the mean time, institutions of higher learning continue to face an uphill battle as they adapt to unpredictable timelines and the enforcement of, public- health regulations, and as they adjust to a “new normal” in a post-COVID-19 world. It’ is therefore important at this time to focus on financial mechanisms and cash management in order to continue to move forward securely.

In this report, Planning for the impact of COVID-19 on higher education in Canada, we use Deloitte’s three-dimensional framework to explore key considerations and next steps to allow educational institutions to move past pressing issues, and to begin to plan for the long road ahead.