Evaluation of Academic Performance of Science and Social Science students in Turkish Universities during COVID-19 Crisis

COVID-19 has cast a shadow over the education sector, as it has pushed schools, universities, and educational institutions to close its doors to reduce the chances of its spread. In light of this crisis that the world is experiencing, universities have turned towards e-learning as a more appropriate alternative to ensure the continuity of the educational process. Most Turkish universities today use what are called “LearningManagement Systems” (LMS). In this study, the impact of e-learning on the academic performance of Turkish universities’ students was evaluated. A questionnaire is administered to evaluate the academic performance of science students in comparison with that of social science students. Another questionnaire has been created and targeted the teachers of the two disciplines. The obtained results showed that several factors inversely affected the motivation of both students and teachers such as anxiety (60.3%), social problems (41.8%) and internet connection (43.2%). However, both students (65.0%) and teachers (48.8%) are satisfied with the used e-learning platform. We recommend a comprehensive evaluation of e-learning education during the crisis that has been applied worldwide in order to develop a smart solution more applicable in future crises.