Examining faculty's online teaching competence during crisis: one semester on

Purpose This study aims to examine the faculty perceptions of their competence and readiness for online teaching in Sarawak higher education (HE). Design/methodology/approach A validated instrument, Faculty Readiness to Teach Online (Martin et al. , 2019), was distributed to four main higher learning institutions in Sarawak, Malaysia, yielding 174 responses. Findings The highest rated competencies across the four HEs were course communication and course design. This was followed by time management and technological competence. MANOVA results showed no significant differences in the demographic variables. Research limitations/implications The results of this study must be viewed in light of some limitations of its generalisability. First, the small sample size does not fully represent all of the target population. Secondly, the study did not provide qualitative research data, especially pertinent to how the teachers perceived their competence linked with their ability and online teaching behaviours. Practical implications This current study shows that all participants were cognisant of the need to enhance their competencies to teach online. As acquisition and mastery of such competencies may require time and support, this means that the transition to online teaching requires advanced levels of instructor training and support, be it through professional development programs or in-service training. Originality/value Perceived importance for online teaching competence was ranked highly across all the four institutions. This understanding can help HEs transcend emergency online practices to provide data-driven approaches to better support and improve coordination, resilience and adaptability in HE.