Choosing between Online, Hybrid, and Hyflex
Choosing between different teaching modalities is a strategic decision. Academic departments may boost student achievement by strategically developing classes in new modalities and scheduling class formats purposefully to provide flexible options and reduce bottlenecks. Newer-to-UO modalities such as online and hybrid can increase access for nontraditional students, students with caregiving responsibilities, students with health or disability-related challenges, and students who commute from surrounding areas. Consider facilitating a discussion among faculty in your academic unit to discuss how online and hybrid courses might be leveraged to promote student success. You might might begin by considering the following strategic questions.
Step 1: Consider Strategic Questions
1. Supporting Degree Completion
How much flexibility might a typical student need in an academic year to address scheduling complexities or other competing obligations (for example, family, work, or internships)?
3. Promoting Student Success
What is the optimal mix of class formats to support your students' success? How does that mix promote community and engagement while also providing flexibility?
2. Sequencing Courses to Enhance Access
Would a particular sequence of courses in a given modality enhance student access (for example, a specific cluster of prerequisites, Core Education courses, requirements within your four-year plan, or courses leading to a minor)?
4. Rotating Modality Schedule
Would some courses lend themselves to a rotating modality schedule (for example, two terms in person, one online)? Could you predetermine the rotation so that students can plan for a specific online course in a future term or year?
To help units answer these strategic questions and make decisions about course modality, UO Online and the Teaching Engagement Program have defined five Guiding Principles of Course Modality Decisions: decisions should be 1) student centered, 2) data informed, 3) strategically based, 4) informed by faculty expertise and 5) develop faculty expertise.
Step 2: Compare the Affordances
Modality Definitions
Pedagogical Promise
Required Preparation
Online: an asynchronous online class offered fully online with no scheduled meeting dates or times.
Please note: "synchronous" online classes are an exception at UO that require permission of the Office of the Provost. Synchronous classes are offered fully online but, unlike asynchronous classes, students are required to participate in online meetings or lectures on specific days and at specific times as listed on the class schedule.
- Gives students more time to process and reflect on material
- Material offered in multiple media formats, which can be revisited and reviewed by students as needed
- Flexible work-time supports diverse student learning preferences, priorities, and pacing
- Accommodates work and family schedules
Before a class is taught online for the first time: instructor consults with UO Online about the essential elements in online course design
Before each instructor teaches online for the first time: instructor attends a “Preparing to Teach Online” session with UO Online
Hybrid: a class combining reduced class-room instruction with added asynchronous online instruction. All students attend class in person, but the amount of time spent in the classroom is reduced and replaced by online learning activities.
- Instructors choose what works best in-person and what works best online
- Students come prepared to make the most of in-person discussion and classtime
- Students build community in-person while also enjoying flexible schedules
Before a class is taught hybrid for the first time: instructor consults with UO Online or TEP about essential practices for blending online and in-person activities to create an integrated student learning experience
Hyflex: an in-person class connected to a synchronous online section of the same class that meets at the same time.
- Accommodates programs for which some students live in Eugene or Portland and others do not
Unit's scheduler reserves a Hyflex classroom with upgraded classroom technology
In Person: a class that takes place with the instructor and students meeting in the same room at the same time as listed on the class schedule.
- More opportunities for spontaneity, peer learning, and social engagement
- Students get real-time feedback on their application of skills and concepts
- Hands-on skill development in lab or studio
Instructors publish a Canvas site by the first day of the term that provides essential class information, including the class syllabus
Step 3: Understand the Requirements
According to UO Senate policy on Instructional Modalities (passed May 2023), departments are responsible for ensuring that online and hybrid classes at UO meet the federal guidelines, and that instructors assigned to teach these classes have appropriate experience or training. To assist with that, the Senate outlined these expectations:
- Before a class is taught online for the first time, the academic unit will ensure that the instructor of the new class consults with UO Online about essential elements in online course design.
- Before each instructor teaches online for the first time, the instructor will attend a “Preparing to Teach Online” session with UO Online.
- Before a class is taught hybrid for the first time, the academic unit will ensure that the instructor of the new class consults with UO Online or TEP about essential practices for blending online and in-person activities into an integrated student learning experience.
UO Online provides workshops and individual consultations to help faculty and academic units meet these expectations. For upcoming workshops, please see the UO Online event calendar.
Step 4: Align with Unit Goals
Before making a decision about course modality, a course should be considered within the context of the unit's curriculum and aligned with its goals. UO Online and the Teaching Engagement Program have a Modality Program Assessment Guide to help your unit develop a strategic plan for course modality decisions. Facilitating student success is central to course modality decisions. Academic units may enhance student achievement by employing diverse class modality formats purposefully to provide more flexible, accessible options and reduce bottlenecks in the curriculum. One of the key insights in conversations across campus with unit decision-makers and administrators was the desire for guidance on how to assess and utilize course modalities to enhance student outcomes within units. It is recognized that individual units have diverse student needs, pedagogical drivers, and faculty competencies that will factor in to enhancing student outcomes through course modality formats; thus, the goal is not to establish a standardized approach to course modality decision-making at the university. Rather, the assessment guide is intended to provide units with a template for assessing student needs within a unit’s curriculum and setting goals to improve a unit’s utilization of modality formats in their course development and scheduling decisions.
Step 5: Get the Support You Need
Step 6: Schedule your Class
The UO Office of the Registrar is eager to help you schedule your unit's classes, ensuring that they are coded correctly and represented transparently for your students.
Academic & Classroom Scheduling provides the Registrar's scheduling policies, curriculum information, data resources, and forms.
For more information, please contact Sarah Strickler, Senior Assistant Registrar for Classroom Scheduling, Curriculum, and Catalog.
Contact: sstrick2@uoregon.edu | (541) 346-1264