Nursing and Allied Health Sciences Faculty Satisfaction with e-Learning during COVID-19 pandemic in UAE

Abstract

Since the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, e-learning has been massively expanding in higher education institutions. The abrupt transition to e-learning may have influenced the teaching-learning process and created frustration and dissatisfaction among healthcare faculty members. This study aimed to examine faculty members’ satisfaction with e-learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study followed a cross-sectional research design to examine faculty satisfaction with e-learning from May 2020 to July 2020. A total of 61 nursing and allied health faculty members involved in e-learning since the COVID-19 lockdown responded to the ‘Online Instructor Satisfaction Measure’ (OISM) tool. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the participants’ demographics and aggregate the responses. The results showed that the most highly rated domain was Course Design/Development/Teaching. The highest level of satisfaction among faculty members was their ability to access students in the e-learning environment. The least satisfactory domain was institutional support. In conclusion, this study provided insights for education administrators and policymakers on the importance of institutional support for faculty members throughout the implementation of e-learning. The study recommends continuous faculty training activities, adequate managerial support, availability of adequate hardware and software tools, and standardized rules and policies for effective delivery of e-learning.