E-Learning Critical Success Factors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Analysis of E-Learning Managerial Perspectives

• Main Authors: Ammar Y. Alqahtani, Albraa A. Rajkhan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-08-01
• Series: Education Sciences
• Subjects: e-learning; critical success factors; distance learning; COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic; AHP-TOPSIS
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/10/9/216

During the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions were shut down all over the world, which impacted over 60% of students and caused a massive disruption of the education system. The goal of this paper was to identify the critical success factors for E-learning during COVID-19 using the multi-criteria Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) techniques to enhance the educational process. Data were generated by interviewing 69 E-learning managers in educational institutions during COVID-19 based on defined evaluation criteria and E-learning approaches through several channels. We found that technology management, support from management, increased student awareness to use E-learning systems, and demanding a high level of information technology from instructors, students, and universities were the most influential factors for E-learning during COVID-19. Among the five learning systems, blended learning was the most suitable learning system to practice. These results demonstrated that, regardless of how extraordinary the technology is in an educational institution, the readiness of E-learning execution played a large role in boosting the educational process during the COVID-19 pandemic.