Distance Education During COVID-19 Pandemic: A College of Pharmacy Experience

Purpose: This study aimed at describing the experience of academic staff and students with distance education, during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a college of pharmacy in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This study used a mixed-method approach. The first phase implemented a survey that targeted both academic staff and students to evaluate their experiences with distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, a focus group discussion was conducted to explore, in-depth, their experience. The survey consisted of five domains as follows: readiness for the shift to distance education during the full and partial lockdown, perception towards distance education, barriers against distance education, and the acquisitions due to distance education. A five-point Likert scale was used to assess participants' responses to the different domains (mean score +/- standard deviation). Results: Seventy-eight percent of the academic staff and 65% of the students responded to the survey. Participants' views were positive for readiness for the shift to distance education during the full lockdown (3.89 +/- 0.42 for academic staff and 3.82 +/- 0.50 for students) with almost similar evaluation for the readiness during the blended learning period (3.91 +/- 0.44 for staff and 3.83 +/- 0.59 for students). The findings showed a generally positive perception towards distance education (3.59 +/- 0.67 for academic staff and 3.47 +/- 0.64 for students). The acquisitions due to distance education were also positive (3.95 +/- 0.72 for academic staff and 3.78 +/- 0.77 for students). Nonetheless, some barriers that affected distance education were raised with an overall neutral view from both academic staff (3.31 +/- 0.72) and students (3.31 +/- 0.64), with different responses for the individual items. Qualitative findings from the focus group discussions explored the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges, with emphasis on the areas for improvement. Conclusion: Although the shift for distance education was out of a sudden, participants showed overall positive views about their experience with distance education and highlighted areas for improvement.