Abstract
In response to the unprecedented challenges associated with the COVID-19 global pandemic, there were urgent calls for many higher education institutions to shift from face-to-face to online delivery of coursework. While online education options were available in the education domain over the last two decades, “emergency remote teaching” emerged as a targeted intervention designed to enable the rapid implementation of wholly online coursework delivery during the COVID-19 crisis. However, there is still a gap of knowledge regarding students’ experiences relating to online learning and the strategies/tools required to ensure a high-quality learning experience. This study aims to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on students’ lived experiences, including learning experiences, wellbeing, and academic performance. An online survey was conducted to capture students’ experiences. The participants comprised undergraduate and postgraduate students from the School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University. They were surveyed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 at different phases on students’ lived experiences. This study reports on the first two rounds of the survey. It has been concluded that a significant opportunity exists in replicating this study’s investigation with a larger sample size, to inform online curriculum delivery going forward.