ARE WE READY TO DISTANCE LEARNING? EXPERIENCES OF DISTANCE LEARNING IN OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT-FOCUSED HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

The importance of e-learning and blended learning in higher education in
Hungary has significantly increased in recent years. Students use a variety of online
platforms with more or less weight in their studies, in addition to traditional classroom
learning. Yet, the world, all walks of life, including, of course, higher education, have
been shaken by a series of restrictions on the coronavirus sweeping Europe from the
end of winter 2019/2020, including the suspension of traditional contact-based
education. In Hungary, the transition to distance learning became necessary in just
over a week due to the closure of universities. How did this affect the students? How
is the knowledge acquired through distance learning assessed in the operations and
supply chain management education? How strong and how weak was this new
distance learning system developed for extreme reasons? In our research, we sought
answers to the above questions. To this end, we asked our undergraduate and graduate
students at Corvinus University of Budapest about our Operations Management (BSc)
and Supply Chain Management-focused (MSc) courses (approximately 360 students).
In addition to questionnaire research, we compared the student results achieved in
previous years to determine whether there is a significant difference between the
results of the last semester and those converted to distance learning. According to our
hypothesis, distance learning challenged students to independently understand and
master the theoretical curriculum. Still, they were more forced to apply a practical
perspective in case studies and problem-solving.
Key words: distance learning, higher education, operations management, supply
chain management, Covid-19