Abstract:
Online education and distance learning has become the new normal since the pandemic hit in
2019. The effects have brought out adverse changes in educational spaces and teaching
pedagogies and mental health especially for learners in college and professional universities. This
thesis aims to investigate the barriers to sustainable higher education and the effects of the
pandemic on universities and campus life. Findings showed that higher education institutions
faced multiple barriers to sustainable growth in the form of lack of ICT infrastructure, supports,
expertise and limitations in mobility and accessibility to services and resources. The shift from
face-to-face learning to online classroom was not easy and presented challenges for teachers,
students, families and even governments due to lack of financial resources to sustain online
education at such a huge scale. Results give us a detailed insight on, “who incurred the biggest
loses?” And “what were the biggest challenges that we still need to overcome?” All these
questions helped strategize new methods that will help revitalize learning in higher educational
institutes. The later part of the thesis aims to highlight strategies that help postulate new design
parameters to revitalize learning spaces in higher educational institutions. The recommendations
made in this study focus on three key areas which include the design of learning spaces, new
protocol for communication and pedagogies, and the incorporation of technology into various
aspects on the campus. The information provided by the experts provided valuable insight that can
help revitalize learning in the post COVID-19 environment.
