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Abstract

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world to its proverbial core with institutions for higher learning caught in the crosshairs. Consequently, every facet of higher education has been indelibly affected. Traditional classroom instruction immediately changed, and a nontraditional delivery method emerged inclusive of both hybrid and online instruction. This delivery method was new to many students as all instruction shifted from face-to-face to virtual. To mitigate the spread of the virus, immediate action was required and campuses had to determine the probability of closing. This was a challenge for many reasons, some students did not have the resources to attend classes virtually. Many students had housing on campus that had been paid for the entire semester and were not prepared to suddenly switch to a new way of instruction and learning. Students depended on work-study on campus and library and computer resources to facilitate their course success. Administrators and educators realized that change is the constant we live within, and understood the need for strategies that were adaptive, agile, and would continue to meet the needs of all students. This change also signaled the need for innovative, contingent, and servant leadership strategies by administrators, faculty, and staff that reduced uncertainty and promoted care and stability for the students. This research paper aims to identify and share the experiences of business students enrolled in two institutions of higher education in meeting this challenge. It will also reveal how students dealt with the sudden transition from traditional learning environments to fully online and hybrid instruction. The complexity was intensified by the need to ensure that faculty members were prepared to give instruction virtually. Many were thrust into e-learning training which by most standards is a great way to demonstrate continuous improvement efforts, a major accreditation mandate for business schools. A Likert-scale survey was administered seeking responses to the processes of curriculum delivery; impact, problems, and issues experienced to the immediate shift to online instruction. Perceptions of support from faculty, advisors, administrators, and methods utilized to establish a sense of urgency to meet the educational needs of the students during COVID 19 were also assessed. Two-hundred and seventy-four students consented to complete the survey. Survey results provide benchmark experiences and challenges that business students encountered while completing their academic semesters. The results will assist business schools in developing best practices for virtual instruction, communication, and student engagement plans and strategies for facilitating student and faculty success during current waves of the pandemic and new pandemics of the future.

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