Background/purpose – The COVID-19 pandemic plagued economies and education at all levels and on a global scale. However, there has been limited research on the impact of the pandemic on academic laboratories. This brief review expounds the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on academic laboratories by discussing their roles and responses on different continents during the peak of the crisis and since. The study also relates the pandemic’s impact on academic laboratories to existing theories of science education and suggests recommendations for future practices.

Materials/methods – This review employed the PRISMA item checklist and Arksey and O’Malley’s framework, with minor adjustments applied to best suit the aims of this review. Information was obtained from the PubMed® and JSTOR bibliographic databases, plus via the Google Scholar academic search engine.  

Results – The study demonstrated how most academic laboratories in developed countries responded rapidly to the pandemic; whereas, most African academic laboratories were unproductive due to emergent challenges faced such as inadequate funding for virtual laboratories and e-learning infrastructure, Internet instability, and other issues related to technology and its wider accessibility. The study highlighted how some existing theories of science education were affected by the pandemic, followed by what academic laboratories should have done differently.

Conclusion – This review clarified some of the expedient responses needed for academic laboratories to be productive during crises such as a pandemic. The study revealed that embracing certain suggested recommendations could help build more resilient academic laboratories globally, and help to sustain laboratory practices and operations whilst championing quality education.

Background/purpose – This study explored Filipino college students’ boredom in online higher education and the coping strategies they employed.

Materials/methods – The study involved surveying 166 students who were enrolled to various online courses across multiple universities and college programs in Metro Manila, Philippines, following the pandemic lockdown. We adopted a non-experimental, cross-sectional approach and utilized a questionnaire adapted from various survey instruments. The collected data were then analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results – The majority of the participant students claimed that online classes were more boring than in-person classes, citing the instructor’s personality, the quality of education, and their own personal attitude as contributory factors. The college students experienced boredom during online classes, with class-related boredom being the most significant. They stated that their minds would wander, and they would feel tired and sleepy during online classes. Their preferred approach to deal with boredom was cognitive, where they reminded themselves of the importance of the class. However, the least preferred approach was behavioral, choosing not to ask their instructors if they could do something different. As per their expectations, they wanted online education to be interesting and enjoyable.

Conclusion – The study reveals a high prevalence of boredom among students during online higher education classes, indicating a need for improvements in online course design and delivery. The findings also provide valuable insight into the unique challenges faced by students and their experiences in the Philippine context, and could be used to guide policy and program development to address academic boredom and improve the overall online learning experience.

Background/purpose – The purpose of the study was to explore how the implementation of Market Policy Reforms (MPR) has contributed to public higher institutions (HEIs) achievement of the core mission of excellence in teaching, innovative research, and academic publications.   

Materials/methods – It employed a qualitative approach with a multiple case design. Data were collected from two public universities through interviews, focus group discussions, and documentary reviews. Primary data were thematically analyzed and presented as excerpts and narrations. Secondary data were presented in tabular format and illustrative figures.

Results – The findings showed that expansion in student numbers was disproportionate to the resources available. Teaching and assessments were emphasized at the expense of other core functions. Research and publication outputs were dependent on donor funding and international collaborations. Universities have built partnerships with communities, albeit on a small scale. The financial position of universities has improved but revenue streams have not substituted government subventions as a core source of funding.

Conclusion – The study concluded generally that MPRs have not significantly solved problems adversely affecting the quest by universities to achieve their core mission.

Background/purpose – The lack of research on higher education institution marketing, especially regarding tuition fee setting by Azerbaijani universities, is the reason for conducting this study. Hence, this study aims to identify the current state of tuition fee settings in state and private universities in Azerbaijan.