The COVID-19 pandemic poses great challenges to higher education. Universities had to change their infrastructure to full remote teaching and learning environments in a very short time. Lecturers and students were forced to adjust their established routines and concepts of teaching and learning. During the first nationwide lockdown in Germany, we explored students' anticipations regarding the risks and chances of this challenging situation. They were asked about the negative and positive effects of this sudden switch to online university courses and the relevance personally ascribed to each of these expected effects. A sample of 584 students provided 3,839 statements, which were examined by means of qualitative content analysis. While 57.7% of the statements concerned negative effects, 42.3% dealt with positive ones. The range of expected negative and positive effects was wide, but key themes emerged particularly frequently. While the mentioned effects were generally considered to be of high personal relevance, negative effects were rated as significantly more relevant, but with only a small effect size. The relevance of negative effects was considered higher by master students than by bachelor students. Relevance ratings were significantly higher for the first effect mentioned compared with all subsequent effects, indicating an ease-of-retrieval effect, which is relevant from both a methodological and content perspective. The results provide important insights into students' perspectives on remote learning that will be significant beyond the current pandemic, as they can guide sustainable measures by exploiting opportunities and mitigating risks. We discuss practical implications and methodological limitations of the study.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced German universities to adjust their established operations quickly during the first nationwide lockdown in spring 2020. Lecturers and students were confronted with a sudden transition to remote teaching and learning. The present study examined students’ preparedness for and perspective on this new situation. In March and April 2020, we surveyed n = 584 students about the status quo of their perceived digital literacy and corresponding formal learning opportunities they had experienced in the past. Additionally, the students reported the direction of changes in key study characteristics they expected from this new situation. Moreover, they reported the extent to which they believe they will be able to master this new study situation successfully. Two categories of independent variables were considered: context-related variables and person-related variables. Our results show that students did not have many learning opportunities to promote their digital literacy, suggesting that they were not appropriately prepared for this new situation. Results for digital literacy vary by competence area. However, there is a positive correlation between past formal learning opportunities and corresponding digital competences. Master students reported more learning opportunities and higher digital literacy only in one competence area compared to bachelor students. Regarding the expected change of key study characteristics, some characteristics were expected to worsen and fewer to improve. A multiple regression analysis explained 54% of the estimated probability of successful remote learning. Students’ age, state anxiety, positive state affect, general self-efficacy, the availability of an own workplace, past learning opportunities in digital content creation, and the estimated preparedness of lecturers for remote teaching were significant explaining factors. Our results provide valuable insights into the perspective of students on studying during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. We discuss important factors that should be addressed by educational measures in the future.

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