In the 1930s, the turmoil of the Great Depression uncovered “old poverty”—largely invisible privation and suffering experienced by millions of Americans. This was among the most important—and the most heartbreaking—discoveries during that dark time in our history. Today, the Covid-19 pandemic is casting light onto similar kinds of deeply rooted structural inequalities in America and in higher education—especially for community college students.

We now know that living with the Covid-19 pandemic means that much of the teaching and learning at colleges and universities that have been at least partially virtual in fall 2020 will continue into winter and spring 2021, affecting millions of students. As virtual learning is increasingly part of the fabric of higher education, what does this mean for how we view quality, and especially what counts as evidence of what students learn? And, what does this mean for accreditation, still the primary means of assuring quality to which thousands of institutions and programs turn?