Satisfaction levels of undergraduate students with distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The Council of Higher Education (CoHE) switched to distance education with digital tools in all universities as of March 23, 2020. The relevant decision was put into effect by the universities. Since this date, distance education has been utilized in almost all programs in universities. Covid 19 Pandemic period was finished, and face-to-face education was started in 2021. This research aims to analyze the satisfaction levels of undergraduate students with distance education during the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context, the research study group designed in the scanning model consists of 1605 students enrolled at Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University. The research data were obtained with the "Scale on the Satisfaction Levels of University Students with Distance Education," which was developed by Baltacı, Mercan-Annak, Akbay, Akaydın and Sökmensüer (2021) and whose validity and reliability have been proven. The SPSS Statistics 20 program analyzed the data. It was investigated whether the satisfaction levels of undergraduate students with distance education showed a statistically significant difference concerning certain variables during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study determined that undergraduate students were generally satisfied with the distance education they received during the Covid-19 pandemic. A statistically significant difference was found between the satisfaction levels of undergraduate students with distance education applications based on gender, department, self-efficacy perception of computer use skills, and having problems accessing distance education. On the other hand, no statistically significant difference was seen between the satisfaction levels of undergraduate students with distance education applications based on age, grade level, regular Internet access, and distance education status before the epidemic.