Liberal Arts Synchronous Online Learning Under Covid-19: Reflections and Lessons Learned

During the Covid-19 pandemic, American institutions of higher learning moved educational programs to electronic online modes. Some disciplines and areas of study may be better equipped for this change than others. Liberal arts and sciences are believed to be more reliant on face-to-face interaction and thus can be argued to have been more negatively affected by the required move to online learning There is little literature to date about the perceived quality of instruction among liberal arts and sciences students who have taken synchronous online classes. Furthermore, most available research data on synchronous online learning was conducted before COVID-19. This study was exploratory in nature having the intention of filling a gap in the literature by providing empirical evidence on the relationship between liberal arts and sciences students’ interaction with the virtual platform, peers, as well as instructor, and their satisfaction with the quality of instruction during Covid-19 in America.