Crisis and change: How COVID‐19 exacerbated institutional inequality and how institutions are responding

Abstract This article explores how the global Coronavirus (COVID‐19) pandemic impacted United States higher education over the course of the first year from Spring 2020–Spring 2021. Utilizing a case study methodology, blending proprietary, closely held, public use, and archival data, we find that political and institutional factors shaped the decision to return to in‐person instruction or remain online in fall 2020, which in turn, influenced the enrollment and financial health of institutions in that semester and beyond. Although nearly every institution of higher education was impacted, we find that those most adversely impacted are 2‐year public and 4‐year private baccalaureate institutions. Despite considerable challenges resulting from COVID‐19, we highlight several practices of how systems and institutions are innovating and how this work can be replicated to positively impact higher education for years to come.