Evaluation of Professors Toward E-learning During COVID-19 and Its Associated Factors from the Perspective of the Students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (2020)

Background: Teacher evaluation is an essential tool in educational processes, which could be performed by various methods, such as the assessment of students' opinions. Currently, the evaluation of university professors by students is an online process implemented by a questionnaire. However, the questionnaire items do not suit the current conditions, and university classes are held virtually or online due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Objectives: The present study aimed to identify the influential factors in teacher evaluation regarding e-learning during COVID-19 from the perspective of the students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in 2020. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 213 students selected via convenience sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire with 18 items. The face validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by 10 education experts, and its reliability was confirmed at the Cronbach's alpha of 0.96. Data analysis was performed in SPSS. Results: The most to least significant influential factors in the students' evaluation of professors were respectively teacher's educational skills (54.9%), teacher's personal and ethical characteristics (56.6%), and observance of educational principles and rules (43.2%). The viewpoints of the male and female students toward these factors had a significant difference (P < 0.001). In addition, a significant difference was observed between the effects of various factors on the students' evaluation of their professors in different faculties and different educational levels (P < 0.001). Conclusions: According to the results and given the importance of the influential factors in teacher evaluation, the empowerment of professors regarding effective teaching methods and communication skills in e-learning is recommended to improve the quality of virtual education.