ONLINE EDUCATION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. STUDY ON PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION STUDENTS` AND TEACHERS` PERCEPTION

COVID-19 had a tremendous impact on education and the well-being of both students and teachers. The paper analyses the undergraduate students’ and academics’ perception of the online education services provided by the Faculty of Administration and Public Management (FAPM) of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (BUES). Individual interviews and an online survey were carried out in order to reflect both the pros and cons of online learning and the determinants that significantly impact the satisfaction of the main stakeholders of the education services. Research findings reveal that despite the great challenges related to online learning, many opportunities have emerged to advance the quality of education. Thus, students and teachers agree on the fact that traditional education and online education provide both advantages and disadvantages, suggesting that, in the future, a hybrid teaching-learning system might help bring together the strengths of both approaches.