Examination of Variables Affecting the Perceptions of Academic Performance of Higher Education Students during the Distance Education Process

COVID-19 has had serious consequences in all areas of social life, including education. In this period, distance education appeared as an inevitable solution. Even today, when the pandemic process is over and re-normalization has begun, online teaching environments have become such an indispensable part of education systems that it has been decided that a certain proportion of the courses will be conducted online in universities. For this reason, determining student experiences in online courses is important in planning the future of distance education. Since academic performance is the output of the teaching process, students' academic performance is one of the topics of interest in higher education research. There may be different factors affecting the academic performance of students in the distance education process, which imposes more responsibility on students and requires self-control. This study aimed to examine the relationship of academic performance in the distance education with home infrastructure, student interaction, computer skills, academic satisfaction. This research is based on a large-scale study, "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of higher education students", examining the pandemic's impact on higher education student perceptions in 2020. It has been observed that home infrastructure has a significant impact on the student's academic performance. The infrastructure increases the interaction of the student. When home infrastructure is taken as a control variable, students' computer skills are the highest predictor of their perception of academic performance, followed by their online interactions and, finally, perceived satisfaction. Today, pandemic conditions are still ongoing. In addition, even as the pandemic ends, online education has become an indispensable part of our education system. Therefore, the findings of the research would be beneficial for the ongoing planning process.