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The rapid development of digital technologies is reshaping our economies as well as our entire administrative and educational systems. Education is seen as a critical component of gaining a competitive advantage in today’s technological era because it encompasses teaching and learning. ICT improves educational standards by using technology to help students learn more effectively. Understanding the difficulties students confront and their incentives for using e-learning in order to support long-term adoption is critical. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is constantly improving education by adopting a contemporary and sustainable e-learning system and combining cutting-edge educational technology. There are 27 public universities, 36 private universities, and 25 institutes geographically dispersed across several parts of the Kingdom. There are 75,807 faculty members in public and private universities and 1,383,882 students enrolled in public and private colleges and affiliated institutions in Saudi Arabia, of which 95.1% of students are Saudi students. Under the guidance of 31 cultural missions, more than 53,000 Saudi students are finishing their scholarships in 57 different nations. Exactly 20,676 international students on Saudi scholarships are enrolled in Saudi colleges from 163 different nations. The modern educational technology for facilitating e-learning was started in 2020, with the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis (Saleh et al., 2022). Due to unfamiliarity and lack of comprehension of the technology, students, educators, and school administrators expressed their discontent with the e-learning educational system in Saudi Arabia. Technological adoption in the educational system by students and instructors needs to be explored extensively to find its usefulness in improving people's comprehension and understanding of e-learning sustainability.
This study is undertaken in the context of students' adoption of e-learning in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is a large country with a significant and growing higher education system. The Saudi government has been proactive in supporting the development of e-learning for both students in traditional courses and those engaged in distance-learning courses. Only three studies have attempted to identify the CSFs for e-learning in Saudi Arabia (Alhomod & Shafi, 2013; Altameem, 2013; Fryan & Stergioulas, 2011). The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that affect e-learning and how they are viewed in Saudi Arabia. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), a well-known theoretical framework, is used in this study as a basis for adoption. The primary focus is on exploring factors of e-learning adoption among students of higher educational institutions in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the study attempts to analyze students’ perception of perceived opportunities and challenges they face in adopting an e-learning system and how far e-learning adoption affects their engagement and behavior intention towards e-learning adoption in higher educational institutions. Researchers also try to explore and analyze the opportunity, challenges, and problems faced by students in adapting the e-learning system in the higher education system.