Wilson Plaatjie, Ramotshwane Malebye, Solly Matshonisa Seeletse, Thembelihle Sam Ntuli, Kgashane Stephen Nyakala
Abstract
In the post COVId-19 era, online education has become an integral part of higher education, underscoring the need to understand students’ experiences, satisfaction and preferences to inform institutional strategies for optimising online education. The study follows a quantitative survey approach in which an online cross-sectional descriptive study was undertaken among 295 purposively selected students’ in South African higher education institution. A self-administered validated online questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 28.0. Descriptive statistics was used to determine the reliability of the various constructs, mean scores, and standard deviations. Spearman correlation coefficient to assess the correlation between emerged coping strategies from Principal Component Analysis and perceived stress. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between demographic factors and perceived stress levels. Students found online teaching enjoyable (54.9%), (55.1%) engaging, with the opportunity to ask questions (59.4%). Findings can inform HEIs’ managers and leaders’ strategic decisions regarding online education, including investment in infrastructure, faculty training, and support services. Creating interactive and engaging online content such as videos, simulations, and gamification to enhance student engagement. Providing online orientation, technical support and troubleshooting services to address technical issues and ensure smooth online learning experiences.