Post-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: satisfaction of foreign students with telelearning in Russian universities

Introduction. The influx of foreign students into domestic universities makes it possible to attract foreign intellectual resources, develop international cooperation and diplomacy, and tools for the principles of “soft power”. In this regard, the urgent task is to study the satisfaction of foreign students of Russian universities with the parameters of distance technologies in the environment of a digital alternative to the educational system of higher education in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods. Qualitative and quantitative methods of scientific knowledge were used as a tool for multi-stage research. At the first stage, a general theoretical method of analyzing the results of domestic and foreign studies was used. At the second, empirical stage of the study, the authors reasonably used methods of sociological survey of foreign students (N = 760 people) studying at universities located in various constituent entities of the Russian Federation, as well as an induction method for the purpose of interpreting and summarizing the results of the survey. Results. The assessment of the level of satisfaction with foreign students with the parameters of telelearning at Russian universities made it possible to develop practical-oriented recommendations in the field of digital competencies, technological and resource opportunities for better conduct of the educational process in remote digital format for foreign students in Russian universities. Discussion and Conclusion. The conclusions made by the authors make a theoretical and practical contribution to the development of scientifically based approaches and methodological tools for studying the level of satisfaction of foreign students with the parameters of distance learning in Russian universities. The materials of the article will be useful to scientists and researchers involved in such problems, as well as federal and regional governments, ministries of education, universities.