The COVID-19 Pandemic and ItsEconomic, Social, and Political Impacts

Abstract

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all Turkish universities switched to an online education system in thespring semester of 2019–2020 following the decision of the Council of Higher Education (CoHE). With theparticipation of the President of the CoHE, the Interuniversity Board meeting was held on May 14, 2020, andfollowing the discussions that took place, university senates decided that the 2020–2021 fall term could becontinued online, as is happening in some universities in developed countries. In fact, distance educationprograms for associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees have already been provided at some universities inTurkey. In this study, a model compatible with the new generation digital university concept has beendeveloped, the digital readiness of universities has been evaluated through web pages (4.1 out of 10 points),a digitalization index has been developed, and a digital university road map has been proposed.