According to UNESCO statistics, as of April 28, 2020, around 1.3 billion school students at all levels from 186 countries have been affected due to COVID-19 outbreak. With universities worldwide turning to online platform, higher education has embraced the digital transformation in all aspects. It has become a major issue in higher education on how to ensure the quality of higher education and pave the way for its future.
 
On April 28, 2020, UNESCO INRULED, UNESCO IITE, UNESCO ICHEI and Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University have jointly released the handbook entitled Guidance on Flexible Learning during Campus Closures: Ensuring Course Quality of Higher Education in COVID-19 Outbreak, which is the third one after the first one The Chinese Experience in Maintaining Undisrupted Learning in COVID-19 Outbreak, and the second one Guidance on Active Learning at Home in Educational Disruption: Chinese experience on promoting student’s self-regulation skills during COVID-19 outbreak.
 
The handbook has discussed the following topics, namely Lessons Planning of Flexible Learning during Campus Closure, Choosing Appropriate Delivery Methods for Flexible Instruction, Preparing Materials and Tools for Learning and Teaching, Facilitating Flexible Learning with Diverse Activities, and Checking Learning Outcomes and Evaluating Accordingly. The handbook has rethought the current situation of ICT in higher education and analyzed the change of educators’ role, discussing how to integrate formal and informal learning, bridge the achievement gap of students, as well as utilize new technology to transform pedagogy. Based on diverse cases of higher education from China and overseas, the handbook proposed practical suggestions for all aspects of higher education, so as to facilitate university teachers for conducting flexible instruction to ensure the quality of learning in this critical moment.
 
Dr. Ronghuai Huang, Dean of SLIBNU mentioned in the handbook that this large-scale online learning practice in higher education means more than the response to the school closures. It is also an opportunity to consider the transformation of higher education and the integration of technology and higher education. Under the “Futures of Education” initiative, the discussion on the futures of education would never stop here. We should strengthen international collaboration, share knowledge and experience, and explore the answer of future education. The handbook Guidance on Flexible Learning during Campus Closures: Ensuring Course Quality of Higher Education in COVID-19 Outbreak has proposed practical methods and suggestions for researchers and practitioners from all countries, and these experiences will facilitate the transformation of online education and the shaping of the future of higher education.