The article presents the results of a study of the opinions of students and teachers of the southern region of Russia about the learning process in higher education programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. We carried out a comparative analysis of the quality of the implementation of educational programs in the assessments of participants in the process during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020) and its peak values (November-December 2020). The positive and negative consequences of transferring training to a distance learning format are formulated. Among the positive consequences are: the availability of training from anywhere; more flexible training, focused on the educational needs of students; new formats of social student life; more accessible communication with teachers. We analyzed the experience of the educational community presented in publications during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data obtained provide an understanding of the importance of the development and implementation of new organizational and methodological approaches for the effective response of higher education to external global challenges of our time.