During the summer of 2020, in the midst of unprecedented change and uncertainty wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, EDUCAUSE and Cisco partnered to conduct research exploring the ways higher education institutions are responding to this crisis and adapting to "new normal" ways of operating and serving their students. In particular, this research examined the role of technology and of technology leaders in shaping students' educational experiences, the opportunities and challenges for adapting and improving online and physical spaces, and potential solutions to address the health risks and needs of students, faculty, and staff during these unique times.

Through two surveys of higher education technology leaders and in-depth qualitative case studies of three institutions navigating these challenges, this study sheds light both on the general trends that have taken shape as institutions planned and made preparations for fall education and on the particular practices and models that institutions have deployed in their own planning and preparations. The common themes emerging from this research and the potential paths forward that these themes suggest can help technology and higher education leaders better understand their present challenges and feel better equipped for living in uncertain times.

Indeed, this study focuses on exploring and finding whatever new normal may be emerging for higher education institutions in the midst of a global pandemic. The plans that institutions have been working so hard over the summer to put into place may need to be adapted (or completely shelved) at a moment's notice, and the innovative solutions that work best today might no longer work tomorrow. Agility and flexibility in coordination with decision-making are key to success for institutions, leaders, and students in higher education, and the technologies and solutions these institutions rely on may need to become equally agile and flexible in adoption and deployment.