2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated an expedited adaptation of engineering higher education programs to remote teaching and learning. However, little is understood about attitudes towards such remote teaching initiatives, including its perceived advantages and disadvantages and its effect on the ability to acquire knowledge and succeed academically, ability to adapt to changing or complex circumstances, and quality of student-to-student interactions, among other things. Many engineering students continue to work while receiving their degrees, revealing emerging student needs related to remote learning, such as by reducing or eliminating commute time to campus and its associated environmental impact and financial costs. Using a survey design, a study was conducted to evaluate students’ experiences with and perceptions of the remote-synchronous course delivery method during the COVID-19 pandemic across multiple programs, including engineering and architecture, at two universities, one in the US and one in the EU. This paper provides an assessment of a selection of these experiences and perceptions by program type, program level, and institution. A non-parametric statistical analysis is conducted with ordinal variables using SPSS-based data analysis. At the institutional level, some variation in learning experiences for MSU Denver and University of Pécs students is found. While the results suggest no significant differences in students’ level of motivation or the perception of remote labs as being successfully conducted between the MSU Denver and the University of Pécs, the students at University of Pécs did generally place greater importance of student-to-student interactions for positive learning outcomes than MSU Denver students. At the program level, aggregating both institutions, no significant differences between undergraduate and graduate students’ experiences were found for any of the measured outcomes. The findings provide evidence-based recommendations for departments considering different course delivery methods. The results suggest that student perception can be improved by increasing the effectiveness of remote laboratories and by providing opportunities for student-to-student interactions in the remote learning environment. These recommendations seek to increase the resilience of engineering education by enhancing its preparedness for natural disasters, pandemics, energy crises, wars, or other unexpected circumstances.