Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Perceptions of Students at Bung Hatta University.

This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of undergraduate students about their experience with online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire using Google Forms was distributed to 130 students and118 questionnaires were returned. The results showed that the most frequently mentioned advantages of the online learning experience were the ability to stay at home (27%), a smaller budget for studying (18%), time flexibility (17%), and access to online materials (16%), while the most frequently mentioned disadvantages were technical problems like internet access (22%), lack in understanding the subject (17%), lack of interactions with friends (15%), reduced interaction with the teacher (14%), poor learning conditions at home (13%) and lack of discipline (13%). This study also revealed that the preferred class format was a combination of meeting in a classroom setting and online (54%). The use of university portals and WhatsApp were the least preferred. A well-thought-out strategy and a more active approach are required for successful integration of online learning into the curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]