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Focusing on the quality of teaching and learning, this study aims to explore the perceptions of accountancy students in two emerging UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of the quality of their learning experiences and the impact of these experiences on generic skills development.

A questionnaire survey was used to collect the data. OLS regression was used to test the hypothesis regarding the impact of student learning experiences (lecturer ability, assessment and curriculum) on generic skills development.

Students value the lecturer as the most important determinant of the quality of their experience. They rated their assessment programme very positively, and the curriculum suggests that students tend to experience a deep blended approach to learning. They also felt that they acquired a wide range of soft competency skills such as those associated with research, critical thinking and time management. Multivariate findings indicate that lecturer ability and curriculum contribute significantly and positively to generic skills development.

The study provides a benchmark for international accounting and business educators in any efforts to assess the efficacy of HE delivery since the pandemic. By implication, it enables the identification of enhancements to the previous character of delivery and hence offers the means to direct improvements to the student experience. Such improvements can then be seen in the National Student Survey (NSS) scores, thereby positively contributing to the next Teaching Excellence Framework. Additionally, such tangible enhancements in NSS scores may be advantageous to HEIs, in the UK and other Western countries, in their efforts to recruit international students on whom they place great reliance for increased revenue, to their international business education programmes.

This study addresses the research gap surrounding the link between teaching and learning approaches in accounting and the development of generic skills. Furthermore, acknowledging that the COVID-19 pandemic with its imposed structural change in the HE teaching and learning environment ushered in a new model of curriculum delivery, this study reflects on the pre-COVID-19 scenario and gathers student perceptions of their teaching and learning experiences before the changes necessitated by lockdowns. It therefore brings the opportunity to anchor future research exploring the post-COVID-19 environment and secure comparative analyses.

Despite the growing body of literature demonstrating the role of communication in educational settings, there are limited up-to-date studies exploring the use of an instant messaging (IM) tool and its impacts on students’ learning outcomes, especially in the tertiary education in Vietnam. This study approached IM as an out-of-class communication (OCC) approach in computer-mediated communication. The purpose of this paper is to investigate students’ perceived quality of information received and its influence on their perceived performance proficiency as a result of their lecturers’ clarification of their enquiries through an online instant message application, namely Remind (www.remind.com/).

The target groups were first-year business students in an international university in Vietnam. The analysis of the data gathered from the questionnaire was carried out using a measurement model and a structural equation model.

The findings indicate that using OCC technology creates social bonding between students and lecturers by allowing students to clarify the ambiguity of concepts learnt in class and create a sense of connection with their lecturers which leads to better student engagement and hence improved learning outcomes.

The authors highlight the evidence of effective usage of IM tool by university students as a meaningful communication tool and the need to integrate technology into all educational settings.

The main aim of this study is to gauge international offshore students’ perceptions of virtual office hours (VOH) to consult with their offshore unit coordinators in Australia.

This paper employs a quantitative and qualitative approach where data was sourced from three offshore campuses over a 12‐month period using a survey instrument. SPSS v20 was used to perform basic descriptive analysis, cross tabulations and chi‐square statistics.

The study revealed that 81 per cent of respondents indicated a willingness to use VOH. A number of perceived benefits of VOH were also identified, including support my learning, instant feedback, feeling valued and convenience.

Participants may have inaccurate perceptions which can manifest in misguided data being presented. The willingness by the majority of undergraduate offshore students to use computer‐mediated communication to conduct VOH provides a platform to explore new ways to promote out‐of‐classroom communication. Students may become more engaged in the teaching and learning process and ultimately provide a more enriched and quality experience.

This study addresses a distinctive gap in the existing literature relating to gauging international offshore students’ perceptions of VOH. Furthermore, the study adds richness to a relatively new trend amongst educators in exploring students’ perceptions of VOH.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that drive students to use Facebook for educational communication and explore the impact of Facebook use for educational communication on perceived academic achievement.

A survey was conducted through a self-administered questionnaire to collect data from student Facebook users at a large technology and engineering university in Malaysia. Partial least squares path modeling was used to test the hypotheses in the research model.

This empirical study showed that Facebook use in educational communication is determined by subjective norms and purposive value. Facebook use in educational communication positively affected perceived academic achievement.

The findings provide useful insight for higher institutions and educators regarding the potential academic effects of integrating Facebook into higher education learning. Moreover, this study provides insight into the factors that drive Facebook use in educational communication.

Prior studies have largely investigated the determinants and the effects of Facebook use among university students. However, little research has focused on educational communication phenomena. This study investigated determinants and academic achievement effect of Facebook use in educational communication among university students.

This exploratory study examined informal learning opportunities that exist within student organizations. The researchers specifically isolated academic organizations and the interactions between students and faculty that may occur in this context. Findings indicate that 81% of participants experienced interactions with faculty within the context of their academic organizations and students who hold leadership positions are more likely to experience interactions with faculty compared to general members. The results suggest that informal learning opportunities do exist and can be identified by using the Informal and Incidental Learning Model (Marsick & Watkins, 2001). By identifying these opportunities leadership educators can design purposeful activities within student organizations to better promote development and growth.

This chapter explores the communicative relationship between students and faculty members through Facebook. Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has become an avenue not only for student–student connections, but increasingly for faculty–student communication. This chapter explores the impact on pedagogy and instruction when faculty members “friend” their students and/or create class groups on Facebook. Emphasis focused on student perceptions of faculty, identity, and disclosure, communication patterns, educational impact, and guidelines for faculty and students communicating through Facebook.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how to measure student satisfaction and how its elements influence on its overall perspective earned in e‐learning (EL). This study focuses on the context where EL is used as a supplementary tool to enhance instruction.

This study focuses on undergraduate courses that offer EL as a voluntary and supplementary form of instruction in Thailand. The measurement's instrument was adapted from scales widely accepted in management, information systems, and education research to fit the unique characteristics of the online education context. A few course characteristics are outlined to ensure the originality of the context. Survey is the main methodology of this study; reliability and validity of the measure are also tested and discussed in the paper.

The study highlights four dimensions of satisfaction in EL: delivery method, communication facilitation, system operation, and content. It is found from the study that elements of satisfaction measure are altered regarding to different contexts of EL. Each of these dimensions has been found to influence the overall satisfaction in EL.

Implications for instruction via EL are suggested in the paper according to the satisfaction elements. The course which the context is similar to this study should be designed differently from the traditional classroom or sole EL instruction methods.

This study is conducted in the context where EL is implemented for augmenting the main classroom instruction. Students are satisfied with learning through EL channel differently from learning in either pure traditional in‐class or sole EL instructions. This is what educators should concern in improving their instruction.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent to which patrons use chat widgets for individual consultations with subject librarians.

Subject librarians with an embedded chat widget on their research guides were contacted and asked to fill out an 11‐question survey on the use of the widgets by students or faculty for consultation purposes.

Overall, patrons used chat widgets infrequently to consult with their subject librarians. Only 28 per cent of librarians reported weekly or daily consultations through the widget. However, certain factors increased the use of this communication tool. These included advertising the service and longer connection times to the chat widget. Consultations were also more frequent according to librarian age group and subject responsibility.

Statistical analyses were precluded due to insufficient number of responses when tabulating cross‐comparisons between survey questions. Only trends, rather than clear conclusions, could be established.

To date, there have not been any studies describing the use of instant messaging or chat widgets by individual librarians, despite the fact that many subject librarians have inserted chat widgets on their subject guides to provide individualized assistance to patrons who seek subject‐specific consultations.

The University of Botswana has a student population of over 12,000. However, when neighboring South Africa attained majority independence in 1994, the University began to see a great proportion of its international market dwindle. Similarly, an increasing number of universities are offering distance education through the Internet, but the University of Botswana does not yet offer Internet‐based learning. South Africa has a well‐developed higher education infrastructure while the University of Botswana does not have enough locations to cope with demands for admission from students completing high school. There are also people who are employed and wish to pursue further education at the University of Botswana, but employers are generally reluctant to release them while they are still in full time employment. Such people need a flexible model of learning. There are yet other people with family commitments that wish to study from home, but are not catered for. The University of Botswana is responding to these challenges in a number of ways. Notable among them is the integration of information and communication technology into the entire education process. The University sees the use of information communications technology as an important tool in bringing about education reforms. Investigates the efforts that are being made by the university to implement the e‐learning strategy and assesses the challenges and opportunities that await the university in this endeavor.