How do benefits and challenges influence students’ satisfaction with online education? The mediation effect of awareness

Abstract Traditional education is shifting towards online instruction, and the temporary closure of educational institutions due to COVID‐19 has prompted its dramatic increase in the last couple of years. With additional benefits, such as flexible schedule, low cost and anywhere learning, online education will determine the near future of education. Due to the increase in Internet reach in India, face‐to‐face instructional methods to which students are habituated to can be substituted. This study aims to analyse students’ satisfaction with the parameters of awareness, challenges and benefits of using new technologies to learn online. With the help of a structured questionnaire and interactions with local inhabitants, the researchers obtained 430 samples from the outskirts of five different cities (Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru) in India. A conceptual model was built around the constructs of awareness, challenges, benefits and student satisfaction, and their relationship was established and empirically tested. It is found that factors like challenges, benefits and awareness have a significant influence on student satisfaction with online learning. We also find that awareness helps in decreasing the challenges faced and increasing the value of benefits of online education for students.