Grid management system and students' life satisfaction during the period of the pandemic in Chinese universities

Although the grid management system has been in practice for more than a decade, less is known about the system and satisfaction among the people to whom the system applies. This study answers three questions;(i) what is a grid management system? (ii) How did higher education institutions use it during the pandemic? And (iii) How was the students' satisfaction with their level of engagement and perceived college support (P_C_S)? A total of 306 international students at Zhejiang Normal University completed an online survey. SPSS 26 and PROCESS macro was used to analyze the results. The results showed a strong positive correlation of P_C_S with students' engagement (r = 0.635, p < 0.05) and life satisfaction (r = 0.694, p < 0.05), while P_C_S significantly affected students' engagement (β = 0.540, SE = 0.082, p < 001) and life satisfaction (β = 0.524, SE = 0.082). The system was an imperative means of controlling the spread of the pandemic, with P_C_S playing a critical role in ensuring students' engagement. © 2023 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 2020-2021 academic year at Fianarantsoa University: the use of Facebook as a mode to switch to online learning

This study analyses the impacts of the COVID-19 on teaching and learning at Fianarantsoa University (FU) in Madagascar. Interview questionnaires with 50 participants were carried out at the university concerned. Results demonstrate that FU took care of its students during the lockdown by introducing various measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within the university. Distance learning via Gmail and Facebook, where teachers send course files to the mail group, was only found in certain parts of the colleges. Gmail was implemented to complete unfinished exams to avoid the White year. Controversial arguments were uncovered due to the complete cessation of teaching at the end of the distance exams without introducing alternatives to continue academic activities, though there are still three unfinished academic years. This study recommends the regular use of 'Facebook' as a device to shift to online teaching and learning, mainly if incidents occur that lead to academic disruption, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, national epidemic, natural catastrophe or others. Facebook is the most used platform in Madagascar, with 3.05 million users in early 2022.