Digital competence of university students and academic performance in times of COVID-19

Abstract

The global pandemic situation caused by COVID-19 has had consequences in different spheres of society. Higher education has had to adapt teaching methodologies towards virtual or blended learning environments, while students have also seen their learning process conditioned by the need to have digital resources with which to replace traditional tools and processes used. This study aims to analyze the impact that the digital competence of university students has on their academic performance in times of COVID-19. Through a descriptive-inferential quantitative methodology, a validated scale was applied to a sample of 603 undergraduate and graduate students during the 2020/2021 academic year. The results obtained reflect, on the one hand, high values in the dimensions related to information management and digital communication, as well as in the organizational aspects for those who use digital tools and, on the other hand, low values in what refers to skills related to the technical management of technology. The conclusions confirm the hypothesis that the student body with the highest levels of digital competence is the one who obtains the best academic performance in university education. The findings reached coincide with previous works carried out.