COVID-19 Pandemic and Transition to Online/Remote Learning: Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning at a Traditionally Black University

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to understand the perceptions held by undergraduate students enrolled in four sociology courses regarding their online learning experiences as many institutions looked to online learning in the wake of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Forty-nine students completed 30-minute semi-structured interviews. Findings indicate that that lack of access to the internet was detrimental in regard to their role in acquiring knowledge in an online environment. The quantity and quality of interactions through the online courses were not meaningful. Online learning was detrimental. Assignments were easily overlooked/forgotten. Overall, students did not perceive their online educational experiences as beneficial in comparison to their classroom experiences.

Introduction

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020 was a Public Health Emergency. While COVID-19 continues to spread it is important that colleges and universities take action to prevent further transmission, reduce the impact of the outbreak, and support control measures. The protection of educational facilities is particularly important. Precautions are necessary to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 within educational settings. Therefore, the 2020 COVID-19 and its health related consequences forced many universities to close campuses and cancel in-person or face to face classes. Many institutions moved classes online as a short-term solution. Many universities and colleges moved courses online and urged students to leave campus. These measures taken by colleges and universities can prevent the entry and spread of COVID-19 by students and staff who may have been exposed to the virus.

The purpose of this study is to examine students’ perceptions of online learning after the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The study also examines the impacts of online learning on the students and the challenges they face. This is because limited research exists examining the perceptions that undergraduate students at historically black universities hold toward online learning, where there is no research examining the perceptions of students taking sociology classes.

Method

General qualitative and quantitative approaches are used in this study “to understand how people make sense of their experiences” (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016, p. 24). Personal observations and online interviews were conducted with 49 students in the four classes. Students were recruited for this investigation from four sociological courses I taught in the Spring 2020 semester. For this research, all students enrolled in the four courses were targeted, as this population had previous experience in traditional face-to-face courses. At the time of the study, 49 students were identified as this population. Participants completed a semi-structured interview. Student comments captured during the interviews also served as data.

Table 1.

Study participants

Freshman	24
Sophomore	8
Junior	4
Senior	13
Total	49

Data Collection

A semi-structured interview protocol was created that focused on students’ experiences and observations. Fourteen open-ended questions were crafted with a focus on content, clarity, and sequence (Patton, 1990).

Courses Taught in spring 2020

SOCI 240 (Introduction to Sociology). This course is intended to provide an introduction to the field of sociology, including many of its subfields and specialized areas of research, theoretical traditions, and different research methods used by sociologists. Sociology encompasses a diverse array of topics, issues, and research subjects and it is impossible for one class to cover them all in detail. The subjects covered in this course provide a general introduction to the sociological perspective and many popular areas of research and inquiry. In addition to learning about sociology, you will learn to analyze and discuss what sociologists have written, perform some forms of sociological research, and write on your own.

SOCI 241 (Social Problems) is a basic survey course. It addresses the impact of social problems on individuals, families, and/or communities. It will also examine social problems associated with the economy, the government, and the problems of aging in the United States from a sociological perspective. SOCI 0241 provides excellent preparation for most upper level sociology courses. This course meets a General Education requirement in the Social and Behavioral Sciences.

SOCI 306 (Couples and Family Communications). This course focuses on communication concepts, processes, skills and behaviors that strengthen family relationships and enhance spouses or partners’ satisfaction. The course is a combination of theoretical materials and practical training, including conflict resolution.

SOCI 414. (Population) deals with description and analysis of basic demographic processes including fertility, mortality, migration, and composition and their determinants and consequences with respect to the population of the United States, and to lesser, extent the population of the developed nations of the world. For others, population study is much broader and encompasses the study of fertility, mortality and migration from a variety of different viewpoints including sociology, economics, anthropology etc. As such it is inherently multidisciplinary and it is often referred to as «population studies», a term which also includes the treatment of relation between demographic phenomena and social, economic or political phenomena.

Results

The students in this study were asked to describe their experiences during the change to online classes. The five main areas (Table 2) that emerged are: No access to reliable internet (3.50); Online classes require more self-learning-compared to in-person classes (3.49); Computer access – No reliable computers in the household (3.36); workload has increased since moving to online (3.27); and not familiar with how online system works (3.20). These findings indicate that despite the technological changes occurring in places of work and communities, internet access (Wi-Fi, internet) is expected to remain critically important to the work force of the 21st century.

Table 2.

Perceived Impacts and Problems with Online Classes because of COVID-19 Pandemic (N = 49)

Mean Score
No access to reliable internet (Wi-Fi33, internet)	3.50
Online classes require more self-learning-compared to in-person classes	3.49
Computer access – No reliable computers in the household	3.36
The workload has increased since moving to online	3.27
Not familiar with how online system works	3.20
Temptations to look at other websites during lectures	3.15
Skipped online lecture sessions (mandatory classes)	2.90
Taking care of grandparents and siblings	2.81
Could not submit assignments because of technology problems	2.79
Sleep in, stay in pajamas all day in the online environment	2.54
Signing into class meetings late	2.50
Black board problems (not familiar with black board)	2.43

Quotes form Students

“I am emailing you in regards to exam six. I am aware that I took this exam rather late, but I’m coming to you to ask if there is any possible way that I can retake the exam or take a test similar. I am a full-time caretaker of my grandfather who, just as of Friday came home from radiation treatment for cancer and I also work full time for a delivery service. I was up all early morning hours trying to care for him after coming home from work. I’m exhausted and strained mentally and I do not want this to significantly lower my grade because I really want to pass this course. This is my second time taking it. Please consider.”

A student is SOCI 414 said that “To be exact you never told us that the test was during class time. You said that we had a test today. You never said it was going to be during the class time. As well as you originally scheduled the test for Tuesday and I didn’t have work on that day because of it. You decided to inconvenience the class by moving the test back. You should consider moving all future tests due at 11:59 PM to help students because of different problems or situations that might arise from us being home. We never signed up to do classes online. My job will not let me talk on the phone and be interactive with class, but I can sit and take a test while I’m here.”

One student in SOCI 306 said that “I had no way of alerting you beforehand because I was not aware we were losing Wi-Fi until it happened. And because I was unable to attend class on Friday I wasn’t even aware that I would miss a test. My mom assured me it would be back before class this morning and it was not until noon.”

Another student in SOCI 241 said that “This morning while I was taking my test, my Wi-Fi unexpectedly went out. It would not save any of my work or allow me to type anything. Because of this, I immediately left my establishment and drove to a place with better Wi-Fi. Once I arrived to the destination and refreshed, I was not allowed back into the test. If you could please open up the test again so I could finish I would be grateful.”

A female student in SOCI 240 said that “I am alerting you that Wi-Fi was lost. My parents live in rural Kansas and I didn’t even have cellular data to rely on in the meantime. I would be grateful if would reconsider opening the test, I have been reading the chapter and taking notes up until this point and the Wi-Fi is up and running now so there should be no further issues.”

Summary and Conclusion

The purpose of this analysis is to examine the perceptions held by undergraduate students enrolled in four sociology courses regarding their online learning experiences as many institutions look to online learning as a way of salvaging students’ education in the wake of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Descriptive statistics and qualitative data are used for the analysis.

In sum, the sense from these college students is that, access to internet is expected to remain critically important in the workforce and education of the future. Overall, students did not perceive their online educational experiences as beneficial compared to their classroom experiences. Internet access is expected to remain critically important to the education of the 21st century. Fast, reliable internet service has become essential for everything from getting news to finding a job. But the majority were of the students say access to high-speed internet is a major problem in their local community.

At a minimum, each student must have access to high-speed internet from where they are isolated. For students who are not adequately equipped with basic technological tools and skills, watching poor quality pre-recorded or live online lecture videos will be frustrating. It is impossible to know each student’s living, learning or health conditions during this crisis. Considering many students may be isolated and feeling anxious, how ready will they be to learn online? Even under normal circumstances, distance students experience feelings of isolation caused by a lack of face-to-face interaction and social experience.