The Analysis of the Factors Affecting the Acceptance of E-learning in Higher Education

Background: As the main step to implement and develop electronic learning (e-learning), it is very important to understand how learners accept it. The current study aimed at examining the main factors of e-learning acceptance by the students of Garmsar branch of Payam Noor University, Garmsar, Iran. Methods: The descriptive methodology was used in the current study. The statistical population included 184 postgraduate estudents in Garmsar Payam Noor University in the academic year of 2014 15, out of which 124 persons participated in the study. The data collection instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire developed by the relevant research tools; the judgmental method was applied to reach the validity and Cronbach’s alpha value was 0.73. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS version 22.0 to conduct a basic analysis of the means and standard deviations and regression. Results: The findings of the current study indicated that behavioral intention was under the influence of 3 factors including perceived ease of use (β = 0.62, Sig = 0.000), perceived usefulness (β = 0.63, Sig = 0.017), and attitude (β = 0.85, Sig = 0.000). Conclusions: According to the findings, by increasing the students’ awareness about e-learning systems, their tendency toward using such systems increases.