COVID-19 PANDEMIC: STUDENT AND FACULTY EXPERIENCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION: In Malaysia, COVID-19, a worldwide pandemic emerged with several local clusters and as a response, the Malaysian government imposed a nationwide lockdown since March 2020. COVID-19 brought about tremendous change in the realm of education across the globe and educational leaders the daunting task of reshaping education. Universities were forced to take learning online with lack of preparedness and using a traditional learning curriculum. The objective of the study was to explore the students and Faculty experience in the learning process during COVID -19 in higher education. METHODS: The study is based on qualitative data collected from 30 respondents consisting of students and Faculty. Online interviews were conducted using Microsoft Teams with open-ended questions based on four categories: student and faculty experience in learning process with student engagement related to virtual classrooms during COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: There was consciousness among students and faculty regarding COVID-19 by adapting to technology and engaging students with various virtual sessions. The students' attendance was initially irregular compared with regular class sessions in the first few months due to low connectivity, however it improved to 100 percent attendance whilst student engagement improved virtually. Even though COVID 19 has created cognitive dissonance in students and faculty mind towards various situations they have faced in their day-to-day life in association with learning process nevertheless it has created the revolution in higher education. There was lots of resistance in teaching fraternity towards adapting to technology pre-COVID 19 crisis and currently the faculty has started taking virtual classes and their experience is great. Apart from the ambiguity surrounding COVID-19, the faculty were confronted with the magnified issues of equity, access to technology, academic training, resources and the well-being of faculty and students. CONCLUSION: With challenges came opportunities for online and hybrid learning with the experience of the Covid -19 pandemic whilst educationalists, policymakers project the innovation and creation adopted by higher education institutions during the pandemic.