*Article* **Students' Perceptions of Online Learning in the Post-COVID Era: A Focused Case from the Universities of Applied Sciences in China**

**Ye Zhang <sup>1</sup> and Xinrong Chen 2,\***


**Abstract:** Currently, while most universities around the world have returned to offline teaching, most universities in China are still using online teaching. In the current educational context, Chinese universities switch between online and offline teaching modes at any time depending on the epidemic situation in their city. This paper discusses students' perceptions of online learning in the post-COVID era in China. Based on the data collected from student questionnaires, the teaching and learning situation in the post-COVID era and student preferences for online learning are discussed. In addition to this, the statistics program JMP was used to perform the data analysis. The correlations among study characteristics, socio-economic factors, organisational and didactic design, and the acceptance and use of online learning are analysed. The results show that students spend more time in university courses in the post-COVID era than in previous academic years. Students prefer to study alone and at individual times that are set by themselves. Study characteristics and the socio-economic situation of the students are not related to the acceptance and usage behaviour of online learning. The organisational and didactic design of online learning is correlated with its acceptance. In the end, the reflection on opportunities for online learning in the post-COVID era is concluded.

**Keywords:** online learning; emergency remote teaching; post-COVID era; universities of applied sciences; student preference; China
