Online Higher Education in Ghana Through Covid-19 and Post-Covid-19: Experiences and Perceptions of Students and Academic Staff.

Technology has become an integral part of teaching and learning in higher education, and has spurred the evolution of online higher education. This has occurred alongside face-to-face interactions in class. Online higher education sessions were mostly treated as add-ons to the regular mode of brick-and-mortar lecture room instruction traditionally provided by universities. The on-set of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions prevented face-to-face interactions and altered most existing teaching and learning arrangements. Universities had to find ways to continue teaching and learning online or shut down, forcing most to adopt online education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences and perceptions of students and academic staff about this shift, through Covid-19 and post-Covid-19. Methods involved a cross-sectional design and in-depth interviews with students and academic staff. Findings show that most learning occurred asynchronously, mobile phones were the preferred devices used by students, and reliable internet access was a major challenge. Students and staff want online education to continue post-Covid-19, but with the challenges addressed. These include guaranteed internet access, better compatibility of learning management systems with mobile devices, and real-time interactions among instructors and peers. To curtail cheating in online examinations, higher education managers could consider introducing learning management systems with embedded camera applications to monitor class sessions and protect the integrity of online examinations.