Student input on the effectiveness of the shift to emergency remote teaching due to the COVID crisis: Structural equation modeling creates a more complete picture

A study was conducted to assess student reaction to the shift to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) due to the COVID crisis in March of 2020. Four hundred students were randomly selected from a small private university database in central Alberta, Canada. A 65.5% response rate resulted in a final N of 262. These students responded to a 32-item questionnaire that assessed a number of factors that impacted four criterion variables: professor performance, quality of learning, affect on the final grade, and likelihood of returning in the Fall if their university was online. Results showed that the greatest predictors of the criterion variables were: professor support, professor caring, satisfaction with the final exam format, a relaxed schedule, quality of presentation, emotional response, adequate technological resources, and student input. Structural equation modeling creates a model that sorts out the relative impact of predictors on each criterion variable.