Evaluation of Dental Students’ Satisfaction With the Quality of Virtual Education in Alborz Dental School During COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: With the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic and daily increases in the number of new cases, there have been significant changes in people’s lifestyle and needs, and members of society have faced various challenges. Closure of schools and universities with the purpose of preventing further spread of the disease has turned preparation and implementation of educational programs for continuity in home education during lockdown the biggest challenge for educational systems. Methods: and materials: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among dental students of Alborz University of medical sciences. In this research, the questionnaire was designed as 5-option multiple-choice questions that evaluated participants’ satisfaction with virtual education, personal computers and internet access, and got their opinions on the efficiency of virtual education in dental education and university’s limitations. Results: : Satisfaction with the efficiency of virtual courses, preferring traditional education to virtual teaching and inclination to a combination of traditional and virtual education was more than moderate, while it was less than moderate concerning teachers’ responsiveness and evaluation methods. Furthermore, students were highly satisfied with their access to virtual facilities, and moderately satisfied with the amount of presented content and expected duties. The overall level of student satisfaction was assessed as moderate and males were more inclined towards virtual education than females. However, their age and place of residence had no significant impact on their satisfaction levels. Conclusion: Students’ satisfaction level with the quality of virtual education in Alborz dental school is moderate. Students are inclined to combining education methods. Participants’ sex and year of entry significantly affected their satisfaction levels, whereas there was no significant relationship observed between their age or place of residence and the level of satisfaction.