COVID-19 compliant and cost effective teaching model for King Abdulaziz University

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has been going on for over sixteen months. During this period, we have witnessed a colossal loss of life, property, business, and a degradation of social life. Several different variants or strains of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, have been found in different parts of the world. This pandemic has so far infected more than one hundred and thirty five million people, which has caused significant damage to the education sector. The majority of students around the world have lost access to face-to-face classes. While dealing with the crisis, some higher education institutions are still finding it difficult to adapt to alternative ways of imparting education. Many of them are using learning management systems and other online technologies and tools to facilitate online learning. The aim of this manuscript is to propose a cost-effective hybrid teaching model (CeHTM) for the King Abdulaziz University. The proposed model is designed after analyzing two anonymous online feedback surveys in which nearly four thousand students and more than four hundred instructors have participated. The CeHTM is novel as it is the first framework of its kind for imparting education during pandemic. Given the uniformity of educational system in Saudi Arabian universities, the proposed model can be used by other Saudi Arabian institutions, and adapted elsewhere, especially in the Middle East and North Africa.