The sudden transition to online instruction mid-semester at traditional, residential colleges and universities due to the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for students and faculty. Two sets of surveys, sent five weeks apart, were distributed to faculty and students at a small, southeastern, public university in the USA to analyze faculty and student perceptions and experiences of the abrupt move to online instruction. Findings indicate that students and faculty agreed that the move to online instruction was necessary and that online learning is less effective than face-to-face instruction. Faculty, however, misjudged the degree to which students were concerned about balancing work, school, and family obligations and changes to course material. Differences in perceptions and experiences between faculty and students reflect their different roles and statuses within the institution. Better emergency planning by and communication from university administrators are recommended to facilitate a more seamless response to unforeseen events. © 2021 selection and editorial matter, J. Michael Ryan;individual chapters, the contributors.
Disruption and difficulty: Student and faculty perceptions of the transition to online instruction in the COVID-19 pandemic