There’s no shortage of lenses through which to examine last week’s Capitol riots: politics, history, race, gender, economics, media studies, and more.

Many scholars say that education is at the heart of what went wrong in Washington—as well as the tunnel through which the United States can exit a dark place.

The disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic continues to transform the college experience, with many students facing financial issues, food insecurity, internet and device challenges, and more. 

In this interview, Doug Shapiro of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center discusses the state of education amid COVID-19, the pandemic's effect on college access for students, and the actions that colleges and universities can take in 2021 and beyond to address social mobility and equity concerns.