Virtual education during the pandemic: An analysis of the academic reality from the perspective of students at the Universidad P olitécnica y Artística del Paraguay (UPAP)

Abstract

Virtual education became the go-to tool for universities to respond to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. As one of Paraguay’s major universities, UPAP adapted and invested in the CANVAS platform to enable professional academic training across various degree programs and regions of the country. The objective of this research was to describe students’ experiences with two years of face-to-face and virtual classes in different degree programs and regions of the university. Specifically, the study aimed to investigate student preferences for pedagogical development in virtual education and a possible return to face-to-face classes. A survey was conducted on 415 students from various degree programs across 12 branches of the institution. The results showed that although the virtual modality was well-accepted, students preferred face-to-face classes, followed by hybrid classes. These findings shed light on the effectiveness of virtual education, the importance of student preference, and highlight the success of the CANVAS platform in enabling academic continuity during the pandemic.