Exploring the Factors Affecting Learning Satisfaction in MOOC: A Case Study of Higher Education in a Developing Country

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are regarded as an educational revolution in the present digital era, particularly in the context of COVID-19. Although students worldwide enroll in MOOCs, a high dropout rate is typically an issue, at least when compared with traditional education. In developing countries, MOOCs have become essential for higher education as a solution to continue providing their curriculums for students during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, under the pandemic context, it is vital to understand the influencing factors which drive learners to use MOOCs successfully. This research proposed a conceptual model for examining the influential factors of Learner Satisfaction in improving MOOC learner retention rate during COVID-19. This research reports the online survey with open-end questions of 1,122 university students enrolled in Thai MOOC as the mandatory part of the curriculum. The results showed that Video Design, Course Content, Assessment, and Learner to Learner Interaction significantly positively affect Learner Satisfaction. In contrast, Instructor Feedback, Instructor Support, Instructor to Learner Interaction, and course structure have no significant influence on Learner Satisfaction. In addition, the proposed conceptual model correctly predicted Learner Satisfaction by over 78%.