Transition to Online Classes at Westford- Student's Response

At Westford University College, 70% of our students spread across 113 countries around the world are pursuing MBA and other undergraduate and post graduate courses from reputed universities in UK, Spain and rest of Europe in a highly engaging and interactive live virtual learning platform. The remaining 30% of our students have opted for face-to-face on-campus classroom learning option.

The outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent regulations from the competent authorities in UAE to suspend on-campus learning, has posed challenges and uncertainties across the country. Westford, being the pioneer in offering live virtual learning for over a decade, was one of the first educational entity in UAE to swiftly switch over to virtual learning with minimum disruptions in the academic calendar.

While most of the schools and universities were still exploring viable options, Westford launched the alternative learning mode with immediate effect. Though the transition was smooth (in training and counselling the students and other stakeholders), there was enough room for anxiety and apprehension among the young undergraduate students who have never experienced an off-campus virtual learning mode. To ensure a flawless execution and to seek any countermeasures if there were early concerns in the transition, an online survey was conducted within two days of the students experiencing the newly discovered mode of learning. Though some of the concerns were immediately addressed and necessary troubleshooting was activated and resolved, the survey showed promising responses.

Majority of the students appreciated the alternative offered to continue their education with minimum disruption and were happy with the orientation and coaching to sail smooth into the virtual learning mode. Though some students strongly felt they missed meeting their friends on campus, majority of them appreciated the flexibility and multi-tasking options offered and the fact that they didn’t need to commute to the campus motivated them to enjoy the newly discovered life-style.

The 100 students who participated in the survey were happy that they were ahead of most of the counterparts in other universities in continuing with their education and the early teething problems with the technical glitches were resolved as they navigated and were guided through the unique tools and features of the live virtual learning platform that they would have otherwise perceived to be a monotonous one-way learning platform.