Best Practices During Covid-19 With A Significant Focus On Online Teaching: A Case Of Private HEI

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to explore the best practices of online teaching during the Pandemic in a private higher education institution in England. The Covid-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruption to education systems worldwide. The fast switch to online learning was a monumental task for higher education institutions (HEIs), especially for private HEIs with limited resources compared to public HEIs. Therefore, the HEIs made tremendous efforts to make the transition to online or remote learning as good as possible. Although Oxford Business college (OBC) quickly adapted to online teaching despite some challenges but also demonstrated some best practices. The research presents some of the good practices OBC adopted to make online learning effective during the pandemic. For almost two years (2020-21), the researchers were part of the composition of the OBC team to plan, implement online strategy and train staff and students to make online teaching effective during the global pandemic. This gave the researchers a unique opportunity to observe and understand lived experiences of staff and conduct interviews for more in-depth understanding by divisions (leadership, management). As a result, the goal was achieved by bringing out the good practices used during the pandemic. Findings from this study revealed the best practices in strategic planning and business growth, successful transition to online teaching, the establishment of a research profile, recruitment of highly qualified and experienced academic staff, excellent student attendance and pass rates and lowest student dropouts. Keywords: Best Practices, Online Teaching, Covid-19, Oxford Business College