Relationship between teaching modality and COVID-19, well-being, and teaching satisfaction (Campus & Corona): a cohort study among students in higher education

Background After lock-down during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions globally struggled to balance the need for infection control and educational requirements as they prepared to reopen. A particularly difficult choice was whether to offer for in-person or online teaching, since there was little or no empirical research to inform this decision. Norwegian universities and university colleges opted for a hybrid model when they reopened for the autumn semester, with some students offered more in-person teaching than others. This gave us an opportunity to study the association between different teaching modalities and COVID-19 risk, quality of life (subjective well-being), and teaching satisfaction. Methods We conducted a prospective, observational cohort study among students in higher education institutions in Norway. Participants were surveyed biweekly from September to December in 2020. Findings 26 754 students from 14 higher education institutions provided data to our analyses. Our best estimate for the association between two weeks of in-person teaching and COVID-19 risk was −22% (95% CI −77% to 33%), compared to online teaching. Quality of life was positively associated with in-person teaching (3% relative risk difference; 95% CI 2% to 4%), as was teaching satisfaction (10%; 95% CI 8% to 11%). Interpretation The association between COVID-19 infection and teaching modality was highly uncertain. Shifting from in-person to online teaching seems to have a negative impact on the well-being of students in higher education. Funding None.