The COVID 19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the physical and emotional health of the population. In the case of specific populations, such as students and instructors, the change in the teaching-learning model has required both groups to adapt to online learning platforms and modify all academic activities in the context of implementing the emergency remote education model. The relevance of mental health has been continually neglected; however, due to the COVID-19 epidemiological outbreak, the impact of confinement on populations’ mental health has been incorporated into public discussion. In particular, the health emergency’s impact on health workers in the first line of care has been highlighted. The effect of mental health on the lockdown population and those encouraged to work from home, a group in which university professors and students are located, has been emphasized. To understand the changes faced by higher education instructors and students, derived from the implementation of the emergency remote teaching model in the context of the pandemic, we developed a study to investigate the experiences of this sector, with particular emphasis on the mental health stressors associated with their academic activities. We examined indicators related to anxiety, depression, motivation-demotivation, coping, and contextual and family conditions that could generate stress in the teaching-learning process during the emergency remote teaching model. We recruited a sample of 1,040 participants (380 instructors and 660 students) from more than 97 universities and 118 academic programs across the country. As a result, we have found that teachers have faced less difficulty with the teaching-learning model changes and how they deal with confinement. Similarly, this study has identified that women in general, both instructors and students, have more significant signs and symptoms related to mental health conditions, while men, both instructors, and students, resent the lack of socialization in the work and study centers environments.

Higher education teaching practices experience in Mexico changed from face-to-face teaching to the emergency remote teaching derived from the health contingency by COVID-19. The change from face-to-face to an online modality in the Mexican education system represented a great challenge for teachers of all educational levels. In Mexico, the federal government declared on Tuesday March 24, 2020, Phase 2 of the plan to address the country’s Covid 19 pandemic. Governments in at least ten states decided to suspend their activities and services as of March 17, including the education system. On April 13, the Mexican education system began activities in the online modality exclusively; however, derived from the country’s technical adequacy and digital connectivity conditions, a large proportion of the educational campuses, academic programs, and the teaching staff were not prepared for this situation. This cross-sectional study was carried out to analyze the faculty members experiences about the change from face-to-face to an online modality in the health emergency context due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We designed a study to gather information on practice in the new online learning scenario. For this purpose, we collected data on the previous experience in the conduct of online courses, the technological tools used, the barriers faced while driving online courses, the current conditions of use of educational and technological tools, the vision for the future, and some indicators of physical and mental health.In a sample of 341 faculty members, those working in public institutions were on less favorable terms than their peers attached to private universities. In contrast, lecturers recorded better conditions for dealing with modality change than full-time teachers. Likewise, lecturers more often mentioned having their infrastructure to teach courses from their homes than full-time teachers, which indeed responds to less access to the universities facilities in which they teach. Another important aspect to highlight is the increased proportion of teachers in public institutions and lecturers who have other jobs, so their workload can be more intense than those of their peers.

Transition from face-to-face to remote courses in Mexico represented a challenge for teachers, students, and parents from all education levels. The Mexican federal government declared phase two of the plan to reduce COVID-19 spread on March 24, 2020. In some states, mobility restriction measures started by March 17 included the education system. On April 13, educational activities began in the remote mode exclusively, and this situation could be extended until the end of the 2020–2021 cycle, if health conditions do not improve. Universities, teachers, and students were not ready to implement the emergency remote teaching (ERT) strategy because of the limited conditions of technological adaptation and digital connectivity in the country. The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to investigate the experiences of graduate and undergraduate students concerning the change from face-to-face to the ERT modality in the health emergency context due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We collected data from 660 students from 38 universities and 22 states across the country. The study investigated students' previous experience with online courses, technological tool use, barriers faced during the new teaching–studying modality, current use of educational and specialized tools, and some physical and mental health indicators. As a result, we found problems related to time management of their work activities, the balance of time between home and school activities, and perception about studying days, which they felt strenuous. More than half of all students reported Internet connection problems. Students from private universities declared a higher use of technological tools. Students from public universities expressed more significant difficulties following teachers' instructions, perceived less attention from teachers, considered the change to remote courses was difficult, and felt overwhelmed by the required technological skills. Students in the first two years of university reported a higher proportion having deemed the most strenuous study days and having had difficulties following the teachers' instructions and considered that the distance modality change was hard. Finally, all the students declared that the expenses increased in their home in the highest proportion were electricity, mobile phone data, and Internet service. Future research should focus on measuring the impact of ERT on students’ learning outcomes.