The association between perceived e-learning system quality and student satisfaction: Parallel mediating roles of social presence and learning engagement and the moderating role of digital skills.

Résumé

The perceived quality of e-learning systems remains central to student satisfaction in higher education because digital platforms shape how students access course content, interact with others, and engage in learning tasks. Although system quality, social presence, learning engagement, and satisfaction have been widely examined, prior research has often treated these relationships separately rather than testing them as parallel explanatory pathways within one model. This study examines whether perceived e-learning system quality is associated with student satisfaction directly and indirectly through two parallel mediators: social presence and learning engagement. It also tests whether digital skills moderate these indirect associations. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey of 443 university students in China and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The findings show that perceived e-learning system quality is positively associated with student satisfaction and is also positively related to both social presence and learning engagement. Social presence and learning engagement each mediate the association between perceived e-learning system quality and student satisfaction, with the pathway through learning engagement being stronger. Digital skills significantly strengthen the indirect association operating through learning engagement, but digital skills do not significantly condition the indirect association operating through social presence. These findings clarify that students' responses to e-learning system quality operate through both socio-relational and behavioral mechanisms and show that digital skills matter most when platform quality must be translated into active learning engagement. The study offers practical guidance for universities seeking to improve student satisfaction through reliable systems, engagement-oriented course design, and targeted digital-skills support.