Evaluation of the Quality of Virtual Education Curriculum Components and Satisfaction rate of Dental Students during COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has completely changed lifestyle. Social distancing actions during COVID-19 pandemic switched the dental education to online learning, distance education, and remote learning. The aim of the present study was to determine the quality of virtual education curriculum components and satisfaction rate of dental students during COVID-19 pandemic.methods: The present descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out on 209 dental students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences who were studying in the 2019/2020 academic year (second semester). Data collection tool included an online questionnaire consisting of three parts. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and SPSS version 18.0.Results: The mean age of participant was 23.7 years, and 55.5% were female. The mean score of quality of curriculum components including educational objective, content, instructor role, measurement and evaluation, and overall quality were 3.4±0.71, 3.19±0.65, 2.88±0.81, 3.27±0.66, and 3.18±0.58, respectively. Students satisfaction in the context of online education including instructor, content, difficulty, attitude, perception, overall satisfaction was 2.55±0.78, 2.99±0.82, 3.77±0.68, 3.26±0.83, 2.96±0.63, respectively.Conclusion: Based on the results, the quality of virtual education curriculum components and satisfaction rate of dental students were at a relatively desirable level. Online education can be a perfect complement for face to face education, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic