This paper presents the results of research into the differences in perceptions of distance learning among university students and lecturers at state universities in the Republic of Slovenia during the outburst of the COVID-19 pandemic. 992 university students and 179 university professors have completed an anonymous online survey. Results show that there were statistically significant differences regarding the status of the respondents, their age, their self-evaluation of the knowledge of the use of distance learning techniques, and the evaluation of the adaptation of the content of the teaching compared to the teaching before the outbreak of Covid-19. Moreover, the results also show that students had higher scores on the factor of distance learning than the professors. Such results imply that although some distance teaching techniques had already been used before the COVID-19 pandemic, their full potential needs further development and adjustment to the new normal. Interestingly, neither the gender nor age of the respondents has proven to influence the perception of distance teaching and learning. Regarding the perception of distance learning among the students and lecturers, more effort will need to be invested to address the different expectations of both students and lecturers.

Keywords: Distance learning, the use of information and communication technology in distance learning, perceptions of distance learning, university students, university lecturers.