新冠病毒的持续肆虐，将欧洲和美国的大学推向了教育史上的“至暗时刻”。一些学校被迫延迟开学，入学率大幅下降；另一些学校出现严重资金缺口，不得不大幅削减开支。还有一些高校，经历过美国南北战争、大萧条和两次世界大战，却最终没能熬过新冠疫情。
Screenshot via MacMurray College
如位于伊利诺伊州的私立文理学院——麦克莫瑞学院。它始建于1846年，迄今已有174年的历史。受疫情冲击，这所古老的学校宣布于今年5月永久关闭。Europe and U.S. colleges are facing a COVID-19 pandemic-induced reckoning. Their new semester's enrollments are down. Their budgets are being pounded, and their campuses are closed.The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the original teaching plans of European and U.S. universities, some of which have suffered serious funding gaps during the pandemic, and some century-old universities have even closed their doors.而遭受打击的不仅仅是大学本身，还有在大学里任教的教授和职员们。
A Twitter account named SaveOurProfs posted news about Dr. Mark Lucas' non-renewal. /Screenshot via Twitter马克·卢卡斯（Mark Lucas）教授是一名核物理学家，他在美国俄亥俄大学的天体物理学专业已任教近21年。近日，卢卡斯收到一封来自校方的邮件，称新学年将不再与他续约。如今，他不得不在求职市场里苦苦挣扎，而疫情局势的不明朗让他感到十分茫然。When a university is in a financial crisis, the faculty also feels the pressure.Professor Mark Lucas – a nuclear experimentalist who has taught astrophysics at Ohio University in the U.S. for nearly 21 years – was recently issued a non-renewal notice for the new school year. Now he will have to search for employment in an uncertain job market.对于高校而言，不仅获得的捐赠大量减少，连住宿费等服务性收入也因校园关闭而不复存在。此外，疫情也严重打击了高校的招生工作，使“生源危机”引发更大的“生存危机”。The COVID-19 outbreak has taken a huge financial toll on U.S. colleges and universities, with their endowments decimated and their social services revenues, such as accommodation fees, wiped out after campus closures. In addition, the epidemic has also severely hit the recruitment of university students, compounding the survival crisis for universities. Job cuts seem to be one of the most straightforward way to plug the funding gap.
Universities get creative为挽留生源，一些美国高校开始允许大一新生跨国、跨校修读秋季课程。如纽约大学宣布，秋季入学的大一新生可以就近选择该校在全球各地的14所分校入学。In addition to cost-saving measures such as salary cuts and layoffs, universities in the U.S. and Europe are scrambling to retain students.Some U.S. colleges and universities are allowing freshmen to cross borders and take fall semester's classes. New York University has announced that first-year students starting in the fall will be able to enroll at its 14 campuses around the world.据悉，英国还有一些大学将提供“奖励”或“津贴”来吸引学生。如杜伦大学有20多个商科专业的学费可以打75折，最高能减7350英镑。In addition, some British universities will offer "rewards" or "benefits" to attract students. Durham University, for instance, offers more than 20 business courses with a 75-percent reduction in tuition fees, up to 7,350 British pounds. Government help: A drop in the ocean欧美高校采取多种方式进行自救，那么政府又采取了哪些救助高校的措施？Colleges and universities in Europe and the U.S. are using a variety of ways to help themselves. But what are governments doing to assist higher education institutions?新冠肺炎疫情对英国高等教育行业的冲击巨大，官方预计损失最高达190亿英镑。近日，英国政府以各种附加条件为前提，承诺将以预付学费的方式向英国高校注资26亿英镑，但这和190亿英镑的损失相比只是杯水车薪。The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the UK higher education sector hard, with officials estimating losses of up to 19 billion British pounds. The government has promised to inject 2.6 billion British pounds into universities in advance as pre-pay tuition fees, with strings attached. But that is a drop in the ocean compared to the 19 billion British pounds in losses.国际学生是欧美大学主要的收入来源。据美国高校联盟统计，2018-2019学年，美国高校约有110万名国际学生，且连续四年有超过100万海外学生在美国学习。如果这些留学生不能继续在美国学习，将给美国高校带来超400亿美元的经济损失。International students are the main source of income for European and U.S. universities. According to the Association of American Universities, U.S. colleges and universities had about 1.1 million international students in the 2018-2019 academic year, with more than 1 million overseas students studying in the U.S. for four consecutive years. If these students cannot continue their studies in the U.S., it will lead to huge economic losses for U.S. colleges and universities.