The Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 led to an unprecedented shift in higher education (HE), forcing institutions to rapidly transition to online delivery due to lockdowns. Since 2022, universities worldwide have largely returned to on-campus teaching, marking the end of lockdowns and the temporary enforcement of online education during the pandemic. As the world moves forward, it is natural to reflect on educational practice before, during and after the pandemic. While many studies have focused on the student perspective, exploring experiences, challenges, and the effectiveness of online learning and assessment during the pandemic, there remains a notable gap in the literature. Specifically, the long-term impact of the pandemic on learning and teaching practice in HE from the academics' perspective.

In response, this study examines the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on educational practice from the perspective of academics in the post-pandemic era. Our case study is based at a large research-intensive university in the UK, where we explore the pandemic’s transformative effects on teaching, learning, and assessment approaches and student engagement, through the lens of academia. Our research was conducted in two stages. The first stage involved data collection through a structured survey, designed to address key research questions related to learning and teaching, assessment, and student engagement. To capture changes in educational practice, the survey focused on three distinct time frames: Pre-Covid, During Covid, and Post-Covid. This approach allowed for an in-depth analysis of how the pandemic influenced teaching methodologies and educational strategies over time, as well as its long-term impact on post-pandemic practice in HE. The second stage focused on analysing the survey responses from the 172 academics who completed the survey. Statistical tests were used to examine the data.

Our analysis revealed the shift to blended learning and flipped classroom pedagogy, widely adopted during Covid-19, was retained after the pandemic. No significant changes were observed post-Covid vs. pre-Covid in terms of course syllabus and contact hours for course delivery. The preparation time for teaching increased significantly both during Covid and post Covid, compared to pre-Covid. This could be due to lecturers spending extra time on activities such as recording videos. Assessment structures remained consistent before, during, and after the pandemic, with no statistically significant differences. Examinations, however, transitioned from largely paper-based to the adoption of computer-based formats after the pandemic. Regarding student engagement, the analysis revealed that engagement was significantly lower during Covid-19, in comparison to the pre-pandemic period. Post-Covid-19, student interaction with lecturers in lectures, tutorials, seminars and office hours demonstrated no significant difference from pre-pandemic levels. However, student attendance was observed to be significantly lower for the post-Covid period than the pre-Covid period.

This study demonstrates that the pandemic has had a long-term impact on learning and teaching practice in HE. While the new norm may make the sector more resilient to future pandemics, it also raises challenges such as addressing student attendance at on-campus sessions, given increasing resources, including pre-recorded videos, are readily available within a blended-learning and flipped classroom approach.

Keywords: Covid-19, Learning and Teaching, Assessment, Student Engagement, Higher Education, Pedagogy, Flipped Classroom, Blended Learning.