A report on student’s perception on online class during Covid-19

BUS231 (Section-9)

Prepared for

Faiza Binte Mahbub (FBM)

Lecturer
Department of Business Administration
East West University

Prepared by

Salman Yadad Khan (2019-1-10-114)

Sajit Mohammad (2018-3-10-087)
Kazi Ahmed Elham (2018-3-30-028)
Kazi Mostaq Hridoy (2019-1-60-098)
Md. Rafiqul Islam (2017-2-10-174)

Bachelor of Business Administration

East West University
24 December 2020
Letter of Transmittal
Fariza Binte Mahbub
Lecturer,
Department of Business Administration
East West University

Subject: Term paper on Student’s Perceptions on Online Classes.

Dear Ma’am,
It gives us immense pleasure in submitting to you the report on student’s perceptions on Online
Classes of East West University.
While preparing the report, we closely focused on the topic & tried to assimilate all the data from
student’s we gathered and to provide the most complete information available. We believe that it
will provide you a clear information how the online classes effects on students.
We thank you for allowing us to do a term paper on a new idea. This will definitely give us an
experience which we can use in our professional life. We will be always available for any further
queries and to answer any questions on this report.

Sincerely,
Sajit Mohammad
ID:2018-3-10-087
On behalf of the Group
 Table of Content

Topic Page
no.

Acknowledgement
1
Executive Summary
1
Scope of study
1
Limitation of study
1
Introduction
2
Methodology
2
Origin of study
3
Objective of study
3
Scope of study
3
Limitation of study
3
Literature review 4-
5
Main Body 5-
11
Findings
11
Recommendation
12
Conclusion
12

Student’s Contribution
Salman Yadad Khan Objective of study (Question analysis)
Scope of study
Limitation of study
Half part of Main body, Referencing
Whole Term paper collaboration
Sajit Mohammed Acknowledgement
Executive Summary
Scope of study
Limitation of study
Introduction
Recommendation

Kazi Elham Ahmed Methodology

Findings
Conclusion
Kazi Mostaq Hridoy Half part of the Main body (Pie Chart Section)
Literature review
Referencing
Md. Rafiqul Islam (Didn’t participate)
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Acknowledgement
I would like to express my utmost gratitude and wholehearted appreciation to all those who
helped me and provided me with the opportunity to complete and present this report. First of all,
I would like to thank my honourable faculty supervisor, Fariza Binte Mahbub, Lecturer,
Department of Business Administration, East West University for providing me with the
opportunity to observe and analyse such an interesting topic and for your supervision, relentless
guidance and invaluable advice whenever needed. I would also like to acknowledge my group
members, each of whom has provided me help and advice throughout the semester. I thank all of
you for your unwavering support.

Executive Summary
This report is based on student’s perception of online classes of East West University. We the
students of East West University did survey on many students and took their opinions and
presented the summary in this report. This report was given to us as a group work by our
honourable instructor as a part of the partial requirement of course “BUS231”.

Scope of the Study

This study of the report is going to cover the perception of students of East West University on
online classes. This report is only focusing on information that are collected from students of
East West University. The general purpose of this report is to give the information about
student’s perception on online classes to our honourable instructor. We collected information
doing survey and the survey was limited to 30 students of East West University.

Limitation of the Study

First of all, I want to add because of covid-19 we members of the group couldn’t communicate
with each other physically which cost lot of hard work. Also, we had to take survey on students
but if it was regular classes, we would have taken interviews or other ways to collect the
information from students. Finally, our scope of collecting information for this report was
limited to East West University students for that reason we don’t know how other University
students’ perceptions on online classes.
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Methodology
For our methiodal section, we have considered a survey report. We have done the survey of our
research among a number of students of East West University. We have structured the analysis
by the answer of the participants.

Research Design
The research methodology for this study was to search and review published studies and research
on online teaching and learning during COVID 19. Then we made a survey questionnaire based
on the articles/journals/researches we have shortlisted. Then to do a survey and analyze the
response received from the respondents.
Sampling
The main focus audience for our survey was university students. We conducted the survey
students from different departments.
Data Collection
The data collection was accomplished by distributing questionnaire consisting of a set of related
questions. We took help of Google form to create a questionnaire. Keeping the ongoing
pandemic situation, the option an online survey was the safest choice we could make as we
cannot go out and do interviews.
Data Analysis
First of all, we have collected the survey reports from the respondents that are conducted through
Google forms. Then the results were converted into percentages. After the conversion, it became
very much easy for us to compare among the results and identify the problems easily.

Origin of the study

This report was given to us a part of the partial requirement of the course “Business
Communication (BUS 231) of Bachelors of business administration program of East West
University. Our course instructor Faiza Binte Mahbub has assigned us with the report as a part of
this course. Ma’am has authorized the task of writing this report on a group basis.

Objective of the study

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The main objectives of this report are:

1. To encourage thinking of students
2. To let the students, know about how the other students feel about the whole online class
procedure.
3. To understand the perception of online classes and students consider it.

Scope of the study

This study will help people to know about the perception that the students has about the Online
Class system. How they take this method of teaching as their medium of learning. Different
teachers have different views upon the online class matter. Different course has different
evaluation about students and different students possess qualities to adapt them. The report will
provide them an in-depth idea about how the Online class system is considered by the students.

Limitation of the study

It is impossible to prepare a report without any lacking or limitation. Though we tried to cover
many ideas about this topic but as this is a modern technology so lack of information and time
constraints was a big challenge for preparing this report. Still, we tried our best to take the survey
of many students within our range, we couldn’t manage to take survey of every students but we
covered up most of the section.

Introduction
This report is mainly based on student’s perception on online classes. In this report we collected
data from doing survey. We asked many students from different background with different
questions and presented the summary of their perceptions on ongoing online classes. This report
was given to us as a part of the partial requirement of the “BUS231” of Bachelors of Business
Administration program of East West University. Our course instructor Fariza Binte Mahbub,
lecturer of Bachelors of Business Administration of East West University has assigned us this
report as a part of the course. Ma’am has authorized the task of writing this report on a group
basis. This report aims to achieve betterment for students and also for faculties in near future.
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Literature Review

The Covid-19 pandemic has generated big uncertainties in the education sector in Bangladesh.
On-campus classes at universities have been closed since mid-March, raising real questions
about session jams and the future of our students. On several occasions, the University Grants
Commission (UGC) has requested universities to launch online courses. Today, both private and
public colleges are embracing this new learning form, in the midst of concerns that students from
deprived communities would be left behind due to the digital divide.
In the current pandemic situation of COVID-19, online education or distance learning has
become a focus in the education sector; media, such as Zoom, Google meet a visual
communication device, also gained tremendous significance in these quarantine days. While they
are used as alternate forms of emergency instruction, none of them represent actual teaching or
instructional purposes rather, they are ideal for business or official functions.
Evaluations play a critical role in teaching. But it is a matter of fact that the above listed
mediums do not have the capacity to accomplish this goal. They are not possible for listening
and speech tests. Students can hardly administer a written test, or teachers can hardly give
students reviews on their assignments. (Star Forum, 2020)
In online classes, teachers and students lose the personal connection. In offline classes teachers
can easily understand who is understanding the topic and who is not. In a typical classroom, the
lecturer can say whether students do not follow the content and change the speed of the lecture
accordingly, but in an online course it is not possible. Students lack attention in online classes.
They do not pay heed to their teachers rather they spend that time on social media. It’s also
harder for students to connect with each other. There are resources that allow online
communication between students, and they can plan to meet in person if they're on campus, but
it's not the same thing. Long-time access to electronic devices can also cause physical and
mental problems. (8 Strategies for Getting the Most out of an Online Class, 2020)

In traditional classes, many students face difficulty keeping up with lectures while keeping notes.
As a result, they often miss the key points. In online classes, students are provided with class
recordings. Students who lag behind they can easily pause and rewind keys to take down the
notes and overcome their weaknesses. While the video is paused, they can read the book for
clarification, search for an explanation using Google, or, as a last resort, save the question for
office hours. For online classes, the days and dates of lectures and tests are versatile, a major
bonus for students who have work-related scheduling difficulties. Again, standard office hours
are typically for just a few students at a time, but online course content talks at a scheduled time
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can be managed by several students at once, and because the conversation log is preserved, it can
even be checked at another time. (Thoma, 2020)

There are three key questions that we need to answer: is our university institutionally fit for such
a transition? Will students have the opportunities and opportunity to engage entirely in the online
curriculum? Do teachers have the training and technical knowledge needed to perform classes
online and experiment with modern and technologically sound methods? Unfortunately, the
answers to all the questions are a resounding 'no.'
We're not suggesting that it's hard to hold lessons on streaming platforms, but we need a well-
thought-out and detailed strategy on how to do it. We don't actually have mailing lists, a learning
management system, or an ability to reinvent our syllabuses to accommodate a new medium.
Moreover, not all teachers are digitally capable of experimenting and interacting with their
pupils.

Another thing is that there is no security for what students or teachers post online. When there is
a restrictive statute such as Digital Security Act to suppress free thinking and expression, there is
no protection for scholars to conduct classes without worrying about being arrested. A question
that rises every time, is our institution in a position to shield us from potential harm.

Under the circumstances we have nothing to do except modify ourselves. Though online class is
boring, we still need to get along with it. We should treat it like a traditional course like we
usually do in the classroom. Time management is quite necessary in online courses. We should
make notes of major assignment, create a weekly schedule and follow it periodically. One thing
we must do is to stay organized like getting the materials necessary for online class. Online class
is quite distracting. We must try to avoid all types of distractions. To get the benefit out of the
online class we must actively participate in classes. Though the above steps are hard to follow,
we must practice all of them from time to time.

In our survey we only managed to take reviews of a few students of East West University. Due
to pandemic, we couldn’t manage to take reviews of other educational institutions of
Bangladesh. Our research describes how students of East West University are taking the online
classes. Their problems are described in our research paper.
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Main Body

We asked them whether they are learning properly or not through online classes.
52.8% of them answered that they are not liking the online process, 38.9% are
somehow getting adapted to the process and 8.3% agreed that they are learning
properly through online classes. It’s good for those who think that they are learning
properly and for those who are getting adapted to this process. But it’s sad for those
who think this process is not effective.

Majority of the students think that they are not active in the online classes as they were in offline
classes. Up to 66.7% of them agree to the fact that they are not active in online class and it is not
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surprising at all. 22.2% of them think that students are somehow active in classes and the rest of
them think that it has not changed at all.

Almost 72% of the students think that online classes don’t provide them with practical teachings.
25% said that they are somehow getting provided with the practical teachings. Among all of
them 2.8% agreed that online processes did not change their thoughts about practical teachings.

About 36.1% of the students said that teachers provide enough materials, 41.7% of them said that
teachers are providing some good materials for better learning and 22.2% of them responded that
they are not getting the necessary materials. According to this information, it is clear that
teachers are trying hard to make the students learn properly.
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We asked the students if they face technical issues while attending the online classes. 36.1% of
them said that they face these types of problems each time.38.9% of them replied that they face
this problem on almost every occasion. 16.7% of them said that they face them somewhat often
and the rest said that they also face them but not as much as the others do. So, it is evident that
all of the students do face technical issues during the class hours.

About 80.5% of the students said that electronic devices create physical and mental problems.
2.8% of them strongly disagreed. So, it can be seen that most of the students are facing physical
problems because of online class.
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75% of the students said that they can submit their assignments in time but sometimes while
submitting they face difficulties. 22.2% of them said that they can submit it on time. But some
of them responded to the fact that online assignment submission is difficult f or them. So, we can
say that the majority of the students can submit the assignments despite facing severe difficulties.

We asked the students whether they will support online class after the pandemic is gone. 66.7%
of them responded that they will support online class. It is a bit surprising that 22.2% said “yes”
and the rest of the responses indicate that they are somehow getting habituated to it. So, it is
seen that most of them are having problems with online classes and for some of them online
classes are indeed effective.

We also asked some of the students to tell us about the experience they are having regarding
online classes. In some context they shared us about their experience. This was their opinion:
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 “The experience overall is average. Teachers always tend to believe that students will copy and they give a
lot of questions. They also give a lot of pressure throughout the course. But some aspects of this method are
okay.”
 “I face a lot of difficulties during online classes. Like network problems cause problems. Sometimes
teachers think that it's an online process so it's like an open book exam. So, they give less time in exams. In
that short amount of time, it becomes very difficult for us to complete answering the questions.”
 “It may be good for expenses but it is not good for gaining education. Also, it creates lot of problems such
as we ask many questions to our faculty, lack of friendly environment and lack of other facilities for
example Don't have TA to help us learning.”
 “In online math related courses and lab are too much difficult. Sometime Internet travel too much. Many
students aren’t expert with online issues. On the other hand, our country is middle class base so many
students can't afford smart phone or smart device.”
 “Actually, I have experienced both good and bad things during online class sessions. Depending wholly on
internet is not very helpful, loosing connection is a common problem. Submitting scripts is also
troublesome. Advantageous part is, we can save lots of time and energy and the class recording is also
helpful.”
 “It’s been beneficial for me because of the fact that I save a lot of money due to not using transport on a
regular basis. In terms of the cons, I guess in offline classes you get to learn a lot from your peers which is
absent to a large extent in online classes. It also gets sort of boring after a couple of classes so it’s difficult
to maintain attention.”
(Via: Google
Survey doc)

Considering the above factors, we have come to a position where we see that most of the
students are quite disappointed about the whole online class session. They highly believe that
this online class is full of hardship. They get a less amount of time for their exams and
classwork’s, they can’t complete the question in the given time. They don’t feel a friendly
environment during the online class session. If they face any problems regarding their course,
they can’t take help from a TA as there is no one in that position. They struggle to
concentrate on their classes. The benefits that we see about this online class is that it saves a
lot of times for students, there is no transportation cost and it saves a lot of money. The vast
majority consider online classes a medium of hardship to gather knowledge.

We also asked the students about the what changes they want in their online classes. In a
context this was their opinion:
 “Flexible schedules, more time in exam and making it mandatory for teachers to use boards while
conducting math related courses.”
 “I want to increase the submission time in exam. Because we face much trouble submitting exam
papers through online for electricity & net problem.”
 “I would be happy if more emphasis were placed on assignments instead of exam. Because often times,
students may face difficulties and I feel that assignments with a substantial submission period would
help to solve that problem to a certain degree.”
 “For online classes there can be recorded class system and a software can be added which can calculate
'watch time' for each student to ensure all the students are participating and learning. Exams can be
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taken online typing format instead of pen-paper as not everyone can afford a good quality camera
/smartphone.”
 “Training on technical requirements of online classes & willingness to provide value in each class.”
 “Shorter Sessions and Different Examination Structure.”
(Via: Google Survey doc)

Most of the students want some flexible decision about their online class system. They want
proper time taking decision about their exams and assignments. Some of them appreciate more
assignments over exams. They believe some teachers need training about the online class
session. Some want different structures about the exam like there should shorter session of class
and exams also. Every student has different perspective. Moreover, there should be a lot of
changes about the online class session.

Findings
Which is a very good sign. As it is COVID 19 Pandemic situation, the government is not
opening academic institutions so it is the best way to continue online and also a positive
thing we saw that despite many difficulties and controversies all the students of private
institutions were attending in online classes and exams, teachers were also supporting
them from their side as much as they could do.
But still, we found out some problems which should be resolved otherwise it will be difficult to
continue in the long run. First and one of the most important findings was our students were not
supported with the proper internet connection which is a must to attend online classes.
On the other hand, online classes and exams were not being as effective as it was in live direct
classrooms. And due to the activities running online, students were not being able to relate and
learn the practical implementation of their learning. Also, the materials provided by the teachers
were not being that much helpful for the students. Similarly, some teachers were not being able
to make students understand online as they used to teach in live classes. Though it was a very
usual thing to happen because it is a new platform for the teachers too and they were not also
well equipped and trained for online classes.
Again, as the students were paying for the classes so they had expectations from the institutions.
Since the only tool for the teachers to take the class was just software only so if they want also,
they could not meet the expectations of the students. But the teachers were satisfied with the
facilities they were receiving. The main reason might be they need not leave their houses for
taking the class and exams.
Besides, Students were attempting many unfair means in exams that teachers cannot monitor and
the assessment they were making were not accurate. For that reason, it became quite tough to
identify between a good student and a bad student. This is a kind of injustice to the students who
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are not attempting to those unfair means. It is not becoming possible to check student’s
dishonesty. To prevent these types of unfair means teachers are reducing exam times but again
time is becoming a critical factor here for the students as they have to go through a complex
process of converting the papers to pdf and submit.
Online classes and exams increased more work stress and loads for both teachers and the
students. Because looking at the screen for long time it hampers to the brain function and people
gets tired very easily because of that. Again, from the student’s perspective, students were
provided more extra tasks like assignments and term paper with the term exams. So, it also
increases stress and loads.
Though students are having a lot of problems, still they are trying their uplift best to adapt with
online classes.

Recommendation
1. Teachers should have the better training and technical knowledge to perform
classes online. Cause if the students cannot understand the topics in the classes it
will be harmful for their study as well as for their career. Moreover, if the faculty
don’t have extra training it will be impossible for them to make better questions
for exams. Therefore, exam will be easy for students to copy from internet
sources.
2. All the faculties should provide 10-15 minutes break during online classes.
Cause if online classes and exams get increased work stress loads more for both
teachers and the students. Because looking at the screen for it hampers to the
brain function and people gets tired very easily.
3. Government should provide better internet connection for students. Cause our
internet connection is very poor in most of the area of our country. Which makes
online classes more difficult for students to perform. Also, to perfectly attend
their online exams.
4. Number of exams and assignments should be reduced. Cause our University is
taking online semesters with less time which hampers learning ability of
students.
5. During online classes student’s camera should remain turned on. Cause it will be
impossible to know for a faculty that a student is really performing online classes
or not.

Conclusion
The study shows us the effectiveness of the online medium of education in this pandemic and the
challenges that comes with it. This pandemic has shifted our whole education system and forced
us to move to an online platform. As we can see that the online semester is somewhat effective
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for the students and teachers, though the students and teachers both are facing some challenges
due to this new medium and the surprising shift of the education system but with some proper
steps it can be as effective as live classes. We hope that within the timeline zone the students will
adapt with the online class session and there will be proper structured online classes.

Bibliography
Star Forum, 2020. Online Classes: Increasing The Education Divide. [online] The Daily Star. Available at:
<https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/news/online-classes-increasing-the-education-divide-1931409>
[Accessed 24 December 2020].

Northeastern University Graduate Programs. 2020. 8 Strategies For Getting The Most Out Of An Online
Class. [online] Available at: <https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/tips-for-taking-online-
classes/> [Accessed 24 December 2020].

Thoma, M., 2020. 12 Good And Bad Parts Of Online Education. [online] The Fiscal Times. Available at:
<https://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2015/06/16/12-Good-and-Bad-Parts-Online-Education>
[Accessed 24 December 2020].