COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the abrupt closure of higher education institutions globally. The pandemic disrupted teaching, research, and community service in higher education resulting in a loss in revenue streams and human resources. To mitigate disruption on the academic calendar, institutions leveraged Information Communication Technology (ICT) to deliver administrative services and emergency remote teaching. A new equilibrium of disrupted classes with undisrupted learning through virtual platforms emerged. Some amplified challenges in the new norm include unreliable internet connectivity, access to ICT infrastructure, and preparedness for online pedagogy. Other difficulties include online delivery of science, technology, mathematics, practicals, and quality assurance. Thus, inequalities have been magnified between learners, institutions, and countries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through a desktop review, this paper explores possible influences of the pandemic on the future of higher education. The study ultimately contends progressive uptake of blended learning as the new frontier in higher education. Institutions require capacity building on online pedagogy, greater investment in ICT infrastructure, and a holistic e-learning quality assurance framework that infuses achievement of desired learning outcomes with Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. A paradigm shift is expected towards the entrepreneurial university, institutional mergers, and strategic planning that incorporates disaster management.