Preispitivanje interne komunikacije u visokom obrazovanju u ozračju bolesti COVID-19: smjernice za budućnost

The year 2020 remains remembered for the global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and it has radically changed our way of life. The internal communication of higher education institutions becomes crucial under circumstances of interruption of traditional teaching in classrooms, the closing of buildings for students, the transition to work from home and the establishment of digital platforms. The rapid adaptation to organizational communication change patterns leads to the answer that internal communication has become of strategic importance for the further functioning of universities, faculties, universities of applied sciences and colleges. The aim of this paper is to analyze the paradigm shift of internal communication in the coronavirus environment in higher education professional study programs. The purpose is to become acquainted with the challenges in internal communication during the digital transformation of the teaching process and to compare whether the goals and instruments in the internal communication of the higher education institution have changed. As research method, a semi-structured in-depth interview with deans or vice deans for academic affairs was selected on a sample of ten selected universities of applied sciences or colleges that offer accredited professional study programs in Croatia. The semi-structured interview method was deliberately selected to generate potentially new ideas and questions arising from the answers based on the experiences of the respondents who were responsible for adapting the distance teaching process and communicating with teachers and students. The radical change in the teaching methods has strongly impacted digitalization in higher education, and from the analysis of respondents’ answers, the authors provide guidelines for the future of internal communication as a strategic function in the management of higher education institutions. The post-pandemic period is creating a new normal in the functioning of internal communication processes, which are closely related to the digital transformation of higher education institutions. © 2021 Institut za društvena istraživanja u Zagrebu – Institute for Social Research in Zagreb Sva prava pridržana – All rights reserved.