What is University Learning

With rising Covid-19 infections and deaths, education authorities in Zimbabwe unceremoniously introduced online learning where Whatsapp, electronic mail, Facebook, video conferencing, and radio lessons featured most prominently. At university level, video conference learning was introduced amid much pomp and speculation with varying degrees of success. This study examines the experiences of first-year students at one state university in Zimbabwe. The study revealed that whilst first year university students benefitted from the rather new and emerging technology, some students were greatly affected by the digital divide which threatened their right to education. This mixed methods research used the exploratory sequential research design where students' qualitative responses were juxtaposed with lecturers' quantitative responses. The study proposed the Enhanced Tripartite Online Learning Support framework where universities, students, and parents collaboratively work together to make video conferencing more effective, more affordable, and more enjoyable.