Investigating the Impact of COVID- 19 on Educational Activities in universities: Emphasizing Satisfaction with the Quality of Virtual Education system in Islamic Azad University

The aim of this study is to investigate the level of students’ satisfaction with the quality of virtual education in the Islamic Azad University during COVID-19 pandemic. Method of this study is applied type in terms of objectives and descriptive survey through a purposeful online opinion poll from students active in the virtual education classes of the Islamic Azad University of Marvdasht in 2020-2021. Researcher made questionnaire according to virtual education requirements in seven dimensions: course content, curriculum design, technology, course management, learner support, teacher support, course evaluation with 35 Likert-scale questions based on Hao and Barich (2010) design. The required data were collected through 287 questionnaires during three months. Hypotheses were tested by SPSS program, descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), and inferential statistics (one-way analysis of variance, Duncan post hoc test and t-test, Pearson correlation). The study of students' satisfaction with the quality of Virtual Education during Corona virus pandemic showed that it does not have the desired level. Satisfaction with the components of education quality varies among different fields of study; as the students of humanities were more satisfied with virtual education than technical engineering and basic science students. Considering the components of quality of education that means curriculum content, curriculum design, technology and learner support at different educational levels proved that post- graduate students were more satisfied. The results show that women are more satisfied with the quality of virtual education than men. The results of this research would present proper guidelines for educational administrators as well as future emergency decision-makers regarding the implementation of e-learning programs in the country's universities.