Online or On-site?—Lessons Drawn from the Pandemic in Technology Adoption: The Case of South East European University

The lockdown during the pandemics affected organizations all around the world. Many industries experienced significant change, including the educational sector. Maintaining high-quality instruction and ensuring student satisfaction and successful learning has always been the key priority of the South East European University (SEEU) in North Macedonia. This paper aims to highlight the major challenges related to teaching and learning and showcase the continuous quality of institutional work by comparing and contrasting data obtained from student course evaluation when teaching on-site and online. A total number of 1360 course evaluations have been included in the study, conducted over eight (8) semesters, starting from academic 2018/19 to 2022/23. The assumption made is that high-quality instruction, if embedded in the system and properly measured, remains the same regardless of the delivery mode. Students’ perceptions of the quality of teaching and services when taught online and on-site have been analyzed in study. Findings suggest that online learners gain the same amount of knowledge as those taking traditional on-site classes, and they are just as satisfied with the curriculum and instructors. As a result, the adoption of technology in the classroom as a tool to improve student learning and student happiness remains the key benefit in the post-pandemic era.