Higher Education Stakeholders' Early Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis

In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a swift and dramatic shift in how higher education teaching, learning, and other operations occurred. In the months that followed, higher education stakeholders endured major transitions and unexpected challenges. Higher education leaders, policymakers, students, faculty, and staff were influenced by the pandemic in a variety of ways. There is much to be learned from the experiences of higher education stakeholders during the early months of the pandemic. This article introduces the two-part special issue on Higher Education Stakeholders' Early Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis, situating the research presented in the special issue within the broader context of high-stakes decision-making during a period of global uncertainty, stress, and conflict. The first part of the special issue presents research on the responses of institutional leaders and policymakers to the COVID-19 crisis. The second part of the special issue examines student and "classroom" experiences during the early months of the pandemic. Studies such as these on the responses of higher education stakeholders to the COVID-19 crisis enhance important understanding about how institutional leaders, policymakers, and other stakeholders made sense of and took steps to address the challenges presented by the pandemic.