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Abstract

This study aimed at finding out the perceptions of university level EFL students and instructors concerning online courses quality and effectiveness. To achieve this aim, a random sample of thirty EFL university level students was selected from three different faculties at MSA University. Also, a random sample of fifteen instructors from three different levels of English courses was selected to conduct the current study. The researcher designed a questionnaire and a structured interview, and they were used as the research tools after ensuring their reliability and validity. The questionnaire consisted of five questions while the interview consisted of six questions. The study participants were asked to answers the questions according to their perceptions. The findings of the study revealed that both the study hypotheses were partially confirmed and partially refuted. The majority of EFL university level instructors and students who participated in the current study believed that online EFL courses are effective and of reasonable quality. Bearing in mind the fact that this was a small scale study conducted on only thirty students and fifteen instructors in one Egyptian university only, the results might be different if the same study was conducted on a larger scale. Therefore, it is suggested that larger scale studies should be conducted in the Egyptian context to obtain more reliable results. Based on the study results, it is recommended to conduct experimental studies to investigate the effectiveness of varied online courses. In addition, more training should be provided for instructors who teach online courses to better meet the individual needs of their EFL students.