Barriers and challenges of virtual education in faculty of nutritional sciences and food technology during the covid-19 pandemic: An experience from Iran

Background & Objective: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual education was adopted as the only way to prevent the cessation of educational processes. This study aimed to identify the challenges experienced by faculty members and students of the faculty of Nutrition and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tehran, Iran. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 218 students from all levels and 31 faculty members participated. Data were collected from February through March 2022, using two separate online questionnaires for students and faculty members to investigate potential problems and challenges in various educational areas. The results of the completed questionnaires were recorded in an Excel file and then transferred to the SPSS software (version 21) for statistical analysis. Results: Students were moderately satisfied with the quality of virtual education (P=0.02). Challenges related to “educational strategies” were the key challenges experienced by the students. Undergraduate students faced the most challenges (P=0.001). From the faculty members’ perspective, challenges related to “technical problems of virtual education” were the most important ones. Both faculty members and students viewed the challenges related to “policy-making, planning, and regulations” as the least important obstacles. Conclusion: This study showed that the capacity development of students and faculty members to develop educational strategies and improving infrastructure to overcome technical problems in virtual education is probably the most important factor that needs to be addressed within the educational system.