The COVID-19 pandemic brings to the fore strengths and weaknesses in many public policies, including higher education. There are at least three separate but related areas where institutions of higher learning have been stressed by COVID-19: financing, issues related to the logistics of learning, and inequality. These problems are especially pronounced in countries that suffer from high levels of inequality, such as Chile. This editorial offers a review of some of these challenges and their implication for long-term education policy, touching on the cases of Chile, Canada, and the United States.