Impact of emergency remote teaching on nursing students’ engagement, social presence, and satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted face-to-face education and forced universities into an emergency remote teaching curriculum. Studies show that students’ engagement, social presence, and satisfaction are critical factors for optimal online teaching. Purpose: Therefore, in this study, we sought to understand how the sudden transition to emergency remote teaching impacted nursing students’ engagement and social presence, as well as how it affected their satisfaction with online courses in a middle-eastern public university. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive correlative research design was adopted in this study. Data were collected through three questionnaires measuring students’ engagement, social presence, and satisfaction with emergency remote teaching compared to the traditional approach from a sample of 177 nursing students. Results: Results indicate that students had a high level of engagement but low social presence and low satisfaction level with emergency remote teaching. Additionally, both engagement and social presence were positively associated with satisfaction. Conclusion: Our findings support the importance of engaging students and integrating social presence strategies into online courses to enhance nursing students’ satisfaction.