Perceived quality of online learning during COVID-19 in higher education in Singapore: perspectives from students, lecturers, and academic leaders

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the higher education sector in Singapore. Existing tertiary studies seeking to understand the intraperiod response to COVID-19 often focus on single institutions, jurisdictions or stakeholder groups. This study is the first in-depth qualitative multi-stakeholder examination of the higher education environment in Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explored the perceptions of the quality of digital pedagogy during COVID-19, how universities have adapted because of the pandemic, and how leaders, teaching staff and students have been affected by the management and educational changes via 13 semi-structured interviews across six Singapore higher education institutions. Through purposive sampling, we explore current stakeholder perceptions, structural education changes, and personal learning and teaching impacts of COVID-19. Applying Braun and Clarke's approach to thematic analysis, we inductively uncovered four major themes: the Singapore government's approach to COVID-19 and its effects on delivery;academic leadership approaches;education technology;and well-being. This article is critical as a key foundation to understand how Singapore is responding with unique geopolitical differences. We discuss the practical implications of our research for current university faculty and students during and beyond the pandemic, and outline opportunities for future research. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Response, readiness and challenges of online teaching amid COVID-19 pandemic: the case of higher education in Bangladesh

Objective: Online education is a relatively new phenomenon in Bangladesh. Gathering data online during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study examines the response, readiness and challenges of online education in the Bangladeshi context. Method: Data were collected by applying qualitative approaches such as focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with purposively selected students and teachers involved in online education at two public and three private universities. Results: The findings reveal an immediate response from some universities and late or no action from others in continuing education during the pandemic. Since teachers, students or the university administration were unprepared for such a situation, there was a shortage of or creation of initiatives, although a certain degree of success was noticed. Major challenges include the lack of appropriate technology, knowledge of technology use, teachers' inadequate skills in operating the system and motivating students, poor Internet facilities and high Internet costs, and absence of a calm environment at students' homes. Conclusion: Steps such as workshops for teacher development, improvement of technology and facilities, subsidies in Internet use, revisits to higher education and emergency education laws, and assistance from other professionals and institutions are proposed for consideration. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: A number of higher educational institutions (HEIs) worldwide have introduced online education, and have been continuing teaching–learning activities online from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. HEI teachers in developed countries have prior training and experience in conducting online education;however, several pedagogical, technical and management-related challenges have been identified. HEIs in Bangladesh do not have a specific policy regarding continuing education in an emergency. This is the first time that online education has been launched. What this study adds: This study explores how HEIs, particularly teachers, respond to continuing teaching–learning activities. It illustrates teachers' pedagogical, technical and management-related readiness necessary for online education. This study also identifies several challenges in continuing online teaching–learning activities in Bangladesh HEIs. © 2021 Australian Psychological Society.

Exploratory Practice as a Professional Development Strategy for English-Language Teachers in Indonesia

The COVID-19 pandemic forced university-based language teachers to rely on technology for teaching. While the challenges of the rushed move to online teaching have been well documented, less is known about how teachers adapted to online teaching through professional development. This article focuses on the experiences of four English-language teachers in Indonesian higher education, who took part in an exploratory practice study for the integration of technology-enhanced pedagogical practices in teaching. In this article, we explore the pedagogical puzzles they explored with their students, the challenges faced by the teachers and the gains achieved by undertaking exploratory practice for integrating technology into language teaching in 2021. Drawing on data gathered through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, we identified that the application of exploratory practice principles enabled the participant teachers to tackle a variety of pedagogical puzzles related to online teaching and professional development. We also found that they overcame a variety of challenges and used potentially exploitable pedagogic activities to better understand students and their learning needs, which encouraged them to recognize students as partners in teaching. Further investments of resources and support are necessary to ensure that language teachers fully benefit from exploratory practice in terms of professional development during and beyond the pandemic. © The Author(s) 2023.

A review of resilience in higher education: toward the emerging concept of designer resilience

Higher education (HE) students experience rates of depression and anxiety substantially higher than those found in the general population. Many psychological approaches to improving wellbeing and developing student resilience have been adopted by HE administrators and educators, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. This article aims to review literature regarding integration of resilience and wellbeing in HE. A subsequent aim is to scope toward developing foundations for an emerging discipline specific concept–designer resilience. A literature scoping review is applied to chart various conceptual, theoretical and operational applications of resilience and wellbeing in HE. Twenty-seven (27) articles are identified and analysed. The scoping review finds that two general approaches to implementing resilience and wellbeing training exist in HE. First, articles reacting to a decline in student mental health and remedying this decline through general extra-curricular resilience or wellbeing programmes. Second, articles opting for a curricula and discipline-specific approach by establishing why resilience will be needed by future graduates before developing and testing new learning experiences. The presence of cognitive flexibility, storytelling, reframing and reflection lie at the core of the practice of resilience and design and therefore offer preliminary opportunities to develop ‘designer resilience' training. Future research opportunities are identified throughout the article. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

"Let's accept it”: Vietnamese university language teachers' emotion in online synchronous teaching in response to COVID-19

Objective: Teaching is often described as one of the most emotional-laden professions, and teachers experience a wide range of emotions while teaching. In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, the crisis of conversion to online teaching has triggered new emotional experiences of teachers that not many studies have taken into account. Method: Studying emotion from a post-structuralist lens, this study examines the emotional orientations of Vietnamese higher education language teachers and their emotional responses in online teaching environments. Results: The findings show that the pedagogically and technologically distinctive features of online teaching aroused unique challenges and emotions of teachers, both positive and negative. Also, the teachers reported a number of strategies to cope with the new situation. Conclusion: The study highlights the critical need for acknowledgement and support of institutions for the transition to online teaching in the "new normal situation”. © 2021 Australian Psychological Society.

Telematic Education at the University: A Study in Future Teachers

The emergence of Information and Communication Technologies in the educational area has allowed the expansion of learning through telematic means. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the consequent closure of school institutions, led to the massive application of fully online or combined training (face-to-face and with telematics support). The objective of this research was to know the evaluations of university students who intend to be teachers, about the training they are receiving by telematic means. To do this, an online questionnaire was designed, validated and applied to 523 students from two universities from Spain and one from Portugal. Descriptive and multivariate analyzes were performed, obtaining statistically significant differences. The results show that telematic education is not evaluated in a particularly positive way by the students, highlighting that they miss socializing with their classmates, although they recognize that its implementation also offers advantages such as greater flexibility and a reduction in economic expenses. Finally, the need to transform teaching methodologies for an efficient transition from face-to-face to telematic learning is discussed, and concludes with guidelines to improve the quality and effectiveness of online and combined training plans for higher education students.

Finnish university students' satisfaction with e-learning outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose: Students' satisfaction with e-learning outcomes is a vital component in determining the adoption of e-learning systems. Understanding the antecedent factors impacting students' satisfaction with e-learning outcomes helps decision-makers at the higher education to take the necessary actions to enhance the quality of students' performance, especially during the exceptional times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: This paper aims to determine and analyse the antecedent factors influencing students' satisfaction with e-learning outcomes during the pandemic. Structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to analysis a proposed research model. Findings: The SEM results show that digital communities in e-learning, information technology (quality and accessibility) and the online course design quality directly influence students' satisfaction with e-learning outcomes. More interestingly, results show that the COVID-19-related factors (1) awareness of the COVID-19, (2) perceived challenges (negatively) and (3) the educational institutions' preparedness also influence e-learning outcomes. Research limitations/implications: The results suggest that the decision-makers at the educational institutions should consider adopting a blended learning system approach to deliver e-learning during the emergency, such as the COVID-19 outbreak situation. Originality/value: This is one of the first studies in higher education context, which seek to identify the antecedent factors that influence students' satisfaction with e-learning outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022, Shahrokh Nikou and Ilia Maslov.

Academic network-building for agroecology and sustainable agri-food systems in Southeast Asia: critical reflections on a regional initiative

This paper discusses a regional academic network-building initiative that advocated university reforms to promote sustainable agriculture in Southeast Asia, and strengthen agroecological/agri-food systems knowledge in campus policies, research, curricula, and extension. Beginning in 2015 the network complemented global higher education responses to SDGs, IPCC Reports, ASEAN work-plans, FAO's scaling-up agroecology initiative, UNESCO sustainability programming and more. University partners, farmer groups, research institutes, NGOs, regional organizations, governments, international agencies, and donors collaborated. This new Southeast Asian academic network was an innovation to address perceived gaps in other academic networks, alliances, or intergovernmental and non-government membership organizations. It facilitated cross-sectoral cooperation and transdisciplinary discussions with representatives of both specialized or mandated national agriculture colleges or universities as well as multi-purpose universities with agri-food faculties or schools. The network lost some momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic but FAO collaborating with SEAMEO-SEARCA and others initiated some follow-up online. Nonetheless, the initiative remains an unfinished experiment in regional network-building and academic reform. The paper contributes to literatures on higher education sustainability, regional learning, sustainable agri-food systems, and agroecological transitions while critically analyzing network aspirations, outputs, outcomes, and future research needs. © 2022 Taylor & Francis.

Identifying factors that impact online teaching effectiveness during COVID-19

Purpose: This study aims to identify critical online teaching effectiveness factors from instructors' perspectives and experiences during COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a qualitative phenomenology approach. In addition, the research used a snowball sample to identify faculty in the engineering and engineering technology fields with experience in online teaching and learning. All interviews were conducted online by the researchers. The interview questions were based on findings in the current literature. Further, the questions were open-ended. Findings: The analysis identified eight major themes that impact online teaching effectiveness: class recordings;course organization;collaboration;engagement;exam, assignment and quiz grades;games;valuable course content;and student timely feedback and response. Research limitations/implications: The study was not designed to be generalizable to the entire population of professors who teach online classes but to gain insights from faculty who taught online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Practical implications: Faculty can use the factors identified for online teaching effectiveness to enhance their course design and delivery while teaching online or blended courses. Originality/value: This research provides insights into factors that impact online teaching effectiveness during the COVID-19 pandemic. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Emerging perspectives and challenges for virtual collaborative learning in an institution of higher education: a case of Lesotho

Purpose: This study aims to investigate emerging perspectives and challenges which teaching staff and students in the Faculties of Business and Accounting, Health and Education as well as Computing encountered in using Virtual Collaborative Learning during their classes in one accredited institution of higher education in Maseru district Lesotho. Previously conducted studies reveal that although similar studies to the current one have been conducted in different countries across the globe, conducting them in another different country such as Lesotho and in a different context might provide new information. Design/methodology/approach: The study draws on Lev Vygotsky's social constructivism as the theoretical framework because it is relevant and appropriate. The study was buttressed by constructivism paradigm, qualitative design as well as a qualitative case study. A purposive sampling technique was used in this study. A sample of 35 students and 11 teaching staff from the 3 respective faculties were used as participants of the study. This qualitative case study was based on online questionnaires issued to the participants using emails for data collection. Data were generated based on the themes which emerged. Findings: The findings of the study suggest that majority of students found Virtual Collaborative Learning helpful and a user-friendly tool. However, lack of resources, clear instructions from the teaching staff and cooperation, internet connectivity issues, as well as data expenses have been identified as stumbling blocks that discourage students' satisfactory engagement in Virtual Collaborative Learning. The findings further revealed various strategies including encouraging students to cooperate, grading students' participation on online platforms and consultations could be used to overcome the challenges encountered in using Virtual Collaborative Learning. For generalisability and understanding of the breadth of the students and teaching staff experiences and challenges of Virtual Collaborative Learning, the authors recommend further study to be conducted on a larger representative sample, using the established themes of the current study. Research limitations/implications: Using face-to-face interviews and classroom observations for data collection would have been more suitable for a qualitative methodology. However, due to COVID-19 regulations that restrict contact and limit lessons on online platforms, an online questionnaire was used for data collection. Originality/value: This research reveals emerging perspectives and challenges which are encountered by teaching staff and students while using Virtual Collaborative Learning in one institution of higher education in Maseru Lesotho. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Does intrinsic motivation mediate perceived artificial intelligence (AI) learning and computational thinking of students during the COVID-19 pandemic?

The concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI), born as the possibility of simulating the human brain's learning capabilities, quickly evolves into one of the educational technology concepts that provide tools for students to better themselves in a plethora of areas. Unlike the previous educational technology iterations, which are limited to instrumental use for providing platforms to build learning applications, AI has proposed a unique education laboratory by enabling students to explore an instrument that functions as a dynamic system of computational concepts. However, the extent of the implications of AI adaptation in modern education is yet to be explored. Motivated to fill the literature gap and to consider the emerging significance of AI in education, this paper aims to analyze the possible intertwined relationship between students' intrinsic motivation for learning Artificial Intelligence during the COVID-19 pandemic;the relationship between students' computational thinking and understanding of AI concepts;and the underlying dynamic relation, if existing, between AI and computational thinking building efforts. To investigate the mentioned relationships, the present empirical study employs mediation analysis based upon collected 137 survey data from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid students in the Institute for Educational Science and the School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering during the first quarter of 2022. Findings show that intrinsic motivation mediates the relationship between perceived Artificial Intelligence learning and computational thinking. Also, the research indicates that intrinsic motivation has a significant relationship with computational thinking and perceived Artificial Intelligence learning. © 2023

Digital higher education in the first COVID-19 semester. A survey of teachers in public health, medicine and nursing

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has driven the digitisation in higher education institutions. At the same time, digital higher education teaching faced the challenge of designing teaching in the context of pre-existing resources, digital and didactic skills, and available technical infrastructure. Objective: The aim of the survey was to assess the assessment/evaluation of digital teaching, which has largely or completely replaced face-to-face teaching as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, from the perspective of lecturers in public health, medicine and nursing. Materials and methods: The cross-sectional survey took place online from June to August 2020 and data were collected via www.soscisurvey. The written survey was conducted among members of the German Society for Public Health (DGPH) and the Digitisation Committee of the Society for Medical Education (GMA) and the Education and Counselling Sections of the German Society for Nursing Science (DGP), and the Teaching Working Group of the German Society for Medical Sociology (DGMS) (n = 100). Results: In terms of the use of digital technologies in the courses, presentation tools ranked first, followed by learning management systems, video content and digital texts. With regard to the use of tools, participants most frequently mentioned various video conference tools). The creation of instructional videos was affirmed by 53% of the respondents;voting tools were mentioned as unknown by over 50%. Digital infrastructure of the universities, lack of didactic advice/support and legal questions (rights of use, data protection) were cited as challenges. Conclusion: New technology is mainly used for knowledge acquisition, knowledge transfer, rarely for activating students and designing collaborative teaching and learning arrangements as well as redesigning learning tasks and learning processes (individualised learning). Which of the currently tested digital teaching and learning formats will be increasingly used in university teaching in the future depends on many factors, including digital competence and the willingness of teachers and students to help develop the digital learning culture. © 2022, The Author(s).

Student and teacher experiences of online synchronous learning

Purpose: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about rapid changes in higher education (HE) pedagogies, with universities adding online options to their core face to face offering. The use of technology to facilitate learning has been a mainstay in traditional distance education settings. The paper aims to understand student and teacher experience of synchronous online learning in HE to develop practice and assist those newly coming to online teaching. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a ‘rapid review' of articles related to this topic over the last 21 years. Thematic analysis of the 61 studies identified for inclusion were;Use of technology, planned pedagogy, comparison of synchronous and asynchronous learning, relationships online, teacher and student attitudes, COVID-19 reflections. Findings: This study's findings show many studies examined the transition from classroom to online learning, rather than the experience of being online. Building a community of learning, with interaction between all parties, was central to success in the development of an approach to online synchronous teaching. Research limitations/implications: Few of the early papers included here expressly explored student and teacher experiences of synchronous learning. Instead, they broadly discussed blended learning, or compared functionality and effectiveness of online teaching, with traditional in person or offline/asynchronous alternatives. An additional drawback was that educators were frequently involved in studies which investigated the experiences of their own students. Originality/value: This study is one of the few to focus on the experience of staff and students in the online synchronous environment. The results show there is scope to achieve improvement in online learning, through research focussed on how students, lecturers and institutional administrators adapt to the new normal. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

What should the university of the future look like?

Purpose: In this paper, the author has tried to outline the main ideas in connection with what the author conceives to be the university of the future, a university that should not only educate people within the university system but also prepare them to fill specific job positions at both local and global levels, apart from necessarily providing them with the critical thinking and competences in autonomous learning that will make them flexible and capable of adapting to the job market and to a fast-changing world in general. Design/methodology/approach: The author has revised some of the major issues that are going to determine the direction of the university of the future, i.e. the employment opportunities of tomorrow;the role of new technologies, especially the impact of artificial intelligence (AI);quality in higher education;and internationalization. Findings: The author has also pointed out the importance of the technologies and the great role they indisputably play in present and future education at all levels, a fact that has been particularly and hugely enhanced and promoted by the COVID-19 pandemic situation, thereby facilitating and fostering distance learning. This is very much connected to the application of AI to higher education, another unavoidable issue of utmost importance for the university of the future. While these technological advances present a challenge to universities, which must determine which are necessary and desirable and how to implement them, it is, ultimately, our responsibility to use them, in an ethical way, to the benefit of our students. The university of the future also has to be of high quality, and this involves carrying out important and decisive action having to do with matters of inclusion, hiring policies and the expansion of international opportunities for all parties involved. Originality/value: This paper outlines the main ideas in connection with what the author conceives to be the university of the future, a university that should not only educate people within the university system but also prepare them to fill specific job positions at both local and global levels, apart from necessarily providing them with the critical thinking and competences in autonomous learning that will make them flexible and capable of adapting to the job market and to a fast-changing world in general. Moreover, the role of new technologies (especially the impact of AI), quality and internationalization are also discussed as relevant factors in this view of the university of the future. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Teaching and learning with mobile technologies under COVID-19 pandemic: crisis or opportunity

As an emergency response to continuing education amidst the recent COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, institutions turned to a new form of practice - synchronised online virtual teaching with mobile technologies. In this paper, we share our experience at a university level. Students (N = 1,996 students in Study 1 and N = 413 students in Study 2) completed a survey on their perception, the learning process, and the challenges they encountered when learning with a mobile device in the online virtual learning medium. Our findings suggested students show improvement in learning in the synchronised online virtual teaching with mobile technologies across time. Thus, this form of teaching model holds the promise of becoming the model for future teaching and learning practices. Hence, we hope to pave the way for research and learning opportunity to advance our understanding of the new education model with mobile technologies, especially under uncontrollable circumstances.

Offline vs online problem-based learning: a case study of student engagement and learning outcomes

Purpose: Furthermore, the purpose of this study is to compare the student engagement and the learning outcomes in offline and online PBL in the aforementioned course. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption in various sectors, including education. Since it was first announced in mid-March 2020 in Indonesia, teaching and learning activities have been carried out online. In this study, a comparison of the offline (Spring 2019, prior to the pandemic) and online (Spring 2021, during the pandemic) problem-based learning (PBL) method in the sustainable chemical industry course is investigated. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative analysis was conducted by measuring the students' engagement, course-learning outcomes (CLOs) and student learning outcomes (SLOs). Difference tests of engagement score, CLOs and SLOs were investigated by using the t-test or Mann–Whitney U-test. Furthermore, the perceived students' stressors were measured. Findings: It is found that the students' engagement in offline and online PBL gives similar scores with no significant difference. This is possible because of the PBL structure that demands students to be actively engaged in gaining knowledge, collaboratively working in teams and interacting with other students and lecturers. Although similarly engaged, the CLOs and SLOs of online PBL are significantly lower than offline PBL, except for SLO related to oral and written communication skills and affective aspect. The decrease in CLOs and SLOs could be influenced by students' academic, psychological and health-related stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic time. Originality/value: This study provides a recommendation to apply online PBL during the COVID-19 pandemic time and beyond, although some efforts to improve CLOs and SLOs are needed. © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Covid, colleges, and classes

At the start of the 2020 school year, some colleges chose to reopen in person while others offered primarily online classes. We find that colleges responded to financial and other incentives largely as one might expect. Larger shares of revenue attributed to in-person activities, such as dorms and dining halls, led schools to reopen in person. In general, the share of revenue due to tuition and fees had little association with reopening in-person, which is consistent with the idea that the effect of the mode of reopening on enrolment was ambiguous. However, private schools experiencing financial distress due to tuition and fees were more likely to reopen in-person while public schools were less likely. Public colleges were influenced by political pressures and the fraction of students from out of state, while private schools responded to the severity of COVID in their local community. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

(Trans)regional embeddedness and the resilience of offshore campuses

Regional embeddedness plays an important role for universities. We show that for transnational subsidiaries of universities, or offshore campuses, which are necessarily transregionally embedded through their relations to their home university campus and its networks, the level of regional embeddedness is also of critical importance. We define four dimensions of regional and transregional embeddedness: partnerships, government funding, faculty and staff, and student recruitment. Based on qualitative interviews conducted before and at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and a global survey of offshore campus managers during the pandemic, we show how campuses with strong regional embeddedness seem to have been more resilient in the face of the COVID-19 crisis than those campuses which are less strongly regionally embedded. Nonetheless, regional embeddedness of institutions is no panacea and its risks and trade-offs with transregional embeddedness should be carefully weighed by higher education managers. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Holistic Online Learning, in a Post COVID-19 World

In August of 2020, the United Nations reported that the COVID-19 pandemic had affected 1.6 billion learners, in more than 190 countries and on all continents [1]. The closing of schools and other learning spaces impacted an astonishing 94% of the world's student population. These sudden school closures, at all levels, had the immediate and unprecedented effect of triggering a mass migration to emergency remote teaching. While mass vaccinations have enabled educational institutions to reopen and students to return to classrooms in the Fall of 2021, the educational disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. Higher education must now permanently transition from reductionist, emergency remote learning systems to permanent, holistic online learning platforms. In order to better understand this transition, an online survey was delivered to diverse groups of international students attending Corvinus University and ESSCA School of Management, at the beginning and end of the Spring 2021 semester. The analysis of this survey, strongly indicates that the home and social environments of University, had a significant impact on the student's learning aptitudes.

Wellbeing and pedagogical role of higher education academics in the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematized review

Purpose: The purpose of this study resolved to evidence worldwide studies addressing the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic on higher education (HE) academic staff. Particularly in relation to wellbeing and pedagogical role, as part of a parallel study exploring the impact of COVID-19 on academics' pastoral role. Design/methodology/approach: The systematized review identified eight relevant studies that shed light on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on university academics' well-being. Findings: The review highlights the paucity of research in this area, with no studies, at the time of the review, considering how academics responded to a broadening of their pastoral role amidst an evolving academic landscape, and how are universities supporting them. Research limitations/implications: Firstly, only eight relevant studies were included, affecting generalisability of results owing to uneven distribution between geographic regions. Secondly, participants across the eight studies accounted for less than 0.05% of a population of 6 million university academics worldwide (Price, 2011). Thirdly, most of the studies used cross-sectional design, limiting assessment of the longer-term impact of an evolving HE landscape. Practical implications: The findings of this systematized review can be placed in the context of illuminating research deficits within a shifting HE landscape. Specifically, no studies that the authors are aware of have investigated how academics are responding to a broadening of their pastoral role amidst an evolving academic landscape, and how are universities supporting them. Originality/value: In providing pastoral support to students, the mental well-being of academics is frequently ignored (Urbina-Garcia, 2020). The provision of well-being support by university management for academics appears to be "limited to non-existent” (Hughes et al., 2018, p. 49). Critically, the Coronavirus pandemic appears to have both accelerated and precipitated a step-change to pastoral care within the HE teaching ecosystem. The impact of a broadening pastoral role on academics' well-being has yet to be fully realized and understood. The authors have subsequently conducted an empirical study to address this embryonic area of research. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.