The article contains an attempt to summarize the ethical factors of the forced higher education transition to the digital format. The main attention is paid to the self-determination of the professional university community. It seems that the main area of self-determination is the institutionalization of humanitarian expertise. The such expertise lack puts at risk the interests of both students and teachers with forced poorly thought-out digitalization. If such trends are already evident abroad, then in Russia the professors are in the passive state exceptionally.