Examining the acceptability of e-Learning: A Case of a Private University in India

Face-to-face meetings that were once used for teaching and learning have now been replaced with virtual meetings in a variety of e-Learning ways. It has been observed that in developing countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America the demand for products and services for e-Learning (platforms, authoring tools and content development etc.) is growing rapidly. The delivery of lessons via online media is a new initiative introduced in developing economies. The student and instructor acceptability in a virtual learning environment is critical for the success of e-Learning management systems. Students can use e-Learning to enhance traditional classroom education by obtaining instructional materials. Many e-Learning applications have been launched to enable learners to understand fundamentals and provide a seamless access to all users of e-Learning. This study intends to examine the acceptability of e-Learning and will highlight the important factors leading to successful acceptance of eLearning by students in a private university located in the rural and remote region of Himalayan foothills of northern India. This is an empirical study in the context of developing countries, specifically India. This is a descriptive study that was carried out using online survey method. Data was collected from 261 students through online questionnaire in the form of Google docs. The results of exploratory factor analysis showed that all 15 items were loaded and fitted conceptually into four different factors-User Friendliness (UF), Learning Value (LV), Facilitating Condition (FC) and Satisfaction (S). The study revealed the benefits of online education which includes its ease of use, adaptability, accessibility, and its availability. It also highlighted concerns about the e-learning such as network problems, connectivity issues, lack of two-way interaction and potential health risks.