Faculty challenges during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the results of student questionnaires for the implementation of online and face-to-face classes

Abstract

Review of the challenges posed by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic at Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy. We shared the latest information needed to conduct online classes with faculty and staff, held seminars on using learning management systems, creating video content, and for copyright adherence of educational materials. For freshmen of the Faculty of Pharmacy, an online communication session was held in April of 2020 and a subsequent environment for conducting face-to-face classes once a week was implemented from June of 2020. At our campus, students were able to participate more actively as college students, have interactions with their peers, ask questions, and consult with the faculty. From questionnaires about online classes, problems facing the students were identified and presented to our faculty for purposes of improving learning content. The number of students who chose the option “I don’t have an opportunity to talk with my friends” tends to decrease as the academic year of education rises. Hence, more consideration should be given particularly to the first-year students. All students tended to have relatively good impressions about online classes due to the efficiency and ability for repeated viewing of lecture content. We would like to utilize the knowledge acquired from the past 10 months to provide more effective classes and further enhance the educational impact at the Faculty of Pharmacy.