The Impact of COVID-19 on Academic Performance of Bachelor’s Degree Students

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that started in Wuhan City, China, in 2020 has left the academic sector in Malaysia a total chaos. The shift from face-to-face class to full implementation of online distance learning (ODL) has brought significant changes in students' academic performance. This research aims to determine the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on students' academic performance. The study was conducted in UiTM Perlis Branch, and 54 bachelor's degree students from four faculties were invited to participate in this research. Descriptive Statistics were presented as counts and percentages to summarize the collected data. To measure the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on students' academic performance, 5-likert scale was used. The findings revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic had varying degrees of impact on students' academic performance. From an online perspective, almost all students in various faculties and semesters experienced moderate difficulties while participating in online learning sessions, whereas nearly everyone experienced some difficulty in completing online practical lessons. The main challenge or issue for most students in online learning is internet connectivity and lack of concentration and focus in class. Online education could be improved by making it more interactive, allowing students and lecturers to interact, providing concise information, increasing internet speed, and providing students with recorded lectures. This study would mainly benefit students because they can devise ways to improve their learning. On the other hand, this study would also benefit the university because it can help them raise its name as an admirable university. When they learned the problems faced by students, they would find solutions to help their students with their studies. When students' academic performance is good, the level of education in the university could be outstanding.