Remote Universities? : Impacts of COVID-19 as Experienced by Academic Leaders in Finland

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact across the globe, affecting the nature of work across various sectors of society, including higher education. As national governments swung to action in response to the crisis by declaring states of emergency and implementing social distancing and lockdown measures, universities across the world reacted by shifting to remote working and teaching. Although global higher education has been impervious to change, it has witnessed some changes over the years, including the adaptation of some principles of new public management such as performance and accountability measures and managerial human resource management practices. These changes affect academic work and the role of academic leaders. The COVID-19 pandemic presented new sets of challenges that placed unique demands on academic managers. In this chapter we set out to examine the role and perceptions of academic managers in Finland in their changing role as managers during the COVID-19 crisis. Empirically, the article is based on a follow-up study of deans and rectors employed by public Finnish universities. Overall, Finnish universities have survived well, and their managers have found ways to cope during crises. For universities, the crises have been a time to reconsider their mission and to observe what is essential for continuity of academic work as well as what is the role of academic managers in navigating the crisis.