Evaluation of Classes, Provision of Information and the Quality of Services during Second Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic
28. January 2021At the end of 2020, a survey focused on the evaluation of services, educational needs and the provision of information to students and employees with regard to the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 disease in the Czech Republic was conducted at TBU in Zlín. The survey was focused primarily on the measures which the University had adopted in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and built on the previous questionnaire survey which was conducted during the first wave of pandemic, namely in the course of spring 2020. The main goal of the survey was to gain feedback on the quality of crisis management at TBU in Zlín and on the quality of distance teaching and learning.
A total of 1,379 students and 118 academics from all TBU Faculties took part in the anonymous electronic survey. The members of the University Management Board would like to express their thanks to all those who participated in the survey. Their feedback is a valuable tool for the enhancement of the quality of management of the University.
Findings
The results of the survey showed that compared to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the total volume of direct online teaching increased three times, and that at all component parts. TBU in Zlín has thus fully transitioned into the digital mode of education. Owing to this transition, the study load has increased significantly, and there have been significant changes in the forms of classes as well as in the teachers’ workload.
With regard to this transition, the University launched a central system of online classes in summer, provided by means of the MS Teams platform, which is widely used for distance learning nowadays. Almost 70 % of respondents were satisfied with the platform. With respect to the online classes, 82 % of students claim that they participate in the classes in real time, while another 67 % declare that they enjoy viewing the recorded lecture offline as well. The creation of offline lectures and other audio-visual materials to support direct online classes will be among the priorities of TBU in Zlín in the following months.
The results of the survey also indicate that the most poignant problem during online classes is the limited contact with fellow students and teachers as well as various distractions during study/work from home.
With respect to the abovementioned findings, TBU in Zlín will support the development of virtual discussion platforms (forums and chats) and regular online tutorials for students in such a manner as to create more opportunities for students’ formal meeting and interconnection, as well as for informal meeting and learning in virtual space. At the same time, the University will support the development of audio-visual teaching materials, intended to be used by students for independent self-study during the most convenient daytime and in the most convenient conditions.
The results of the survey indicate that less than 10 % of students claimed that an insufficient number of online classes were provided and that teachers were not sufficiently prepared for the classes. Therefore, TBU in Zlín responded to the second wave of pandemic much better and much more flexibly than to the first wave. The University aims to continue enhancing the quality of its online classes in order to achieve maximum effectiveness.
As regards hygiene and preventive measures, three-fourths of respondents assessed all the adopted measures as sufficient, comprehensible and completely adequate with relation to the current epidemiologic situation in the Czech Republic. Similarly as during the first wave of pandemic, approximately 2% of students used counselling services also during the second wave. They mostly contacted the University to report positive COVID-19 test results or to deal with scholarship-related issues.
Conclusions
The conclusions drawn from the survey will be incorporated into the measures focused on the enhancement of classes and provision of information to students in the summer semester. We will particularly strive to further develop supporting distance learning tools – audio-visual materials intended for self-study and intentionally create space for mutual communication among students and teachers, as well as among fellow students.
Selected results are posted on the Official Board (in Czech version only – Zajišťování a hodnocení vnitřní a vnější kvality).