Experiences and perceptions of exchange students learning online during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Korea: An exploratory descriptive study

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic forced schools worldwide to suddenly transition to remote learning. The change forced students, who might not choose to take distance education courses, to adjust to a new way of completing their coursework. Further, this impacted certain student groups like exchange students more adversely since distance courses complicated academic exchanges by rendering short-term exchange students isolated on an empty campus in a foreign country, all while recently arriving to both. There are many intrinsic hardships to academic exchanges but there is a lack of research on exchange students' experiences learning online when immediately transitioning from face-to-face courses to emergency remote or online courses under such circumstances. This exploratory descriptive study investigated exchange students’ experiences learning online during the COVID19 pandemic in the Republic of Korea. 140 exchange students responded to a survey about their experiences and perceptions of their online courses. The quantitative results in this study show a relatively ambivalent experience in terms of quality Teaching and Learning Processes, Course Structure, and Student Support, although students had both good and bad experiences. Qualitative data provided insight into the desired but missing aspects of exchange students' ERT experiences: communication from faculty, interaction with other students, and feedback on their work.