Assessment of virtual education during the covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of faculty members and students: a cross-sectional descriptive study in northwest Iran

BACKGROUND: Since the coronavirus outbreak, many countries have replaced traditional education with virtual education in order to prevent the disease spread, and also avoid stopping education. The aim of the present study was to assess the virtual education status at Khalkhal University of Medical Sciences during the covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of students and faculty members. METHODS: This is a descriptive-cross-sectional study that was conducted between December 2021and February 2022. The study population included faculty members and students who were selected by consensus. Data collection instruments included demographic information form and a virtual education assessment questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using independent T-test, one sample T-test, Pearson Correlation, and ANOVA test in SPSS software. RESULTS: A total of 231 students and 22 faculty members of Khalkhal University of Medical Sciences participated in the present study. The response rate was 66.57%. The mean and standard deviation of assessment scores of students (3.3 ± 0.72) were lower than those of faculty members (3.94 ± 0.64), which showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.01). User access to the virtual education system (3.8 ± 0.85) and lesson presentation (4.28 ± 0.71) obtained the highest scores from the perspective of students and faculty members, respectively. There was a statistically significant association between employment status and the assessment score of faculty members (p = 0.01), and the field of study (p < 0.01), the year of university entrance (p = 0.01), and the assessment score of students. CONCLUSION: The results showed a higher than mean assessment score in both groups of faculty members and students. There was a difference between faculty members and students in terms of virtual education scores in the parts that require the creation of better processes and more complete capabilities in the systems, which seems that more detailed planning and reforms will improve the process of virtual education.