The demand for online higher education is strong, with nearly 61% of all undergraduate and 56% of postbaccalaureate students taking at least one course online (NCES, 2022). We suggest hybrid education can effectively incorporate both online and in-person learning to cater to a variety of learner preferences and support university enrollment. While not a panacea, hybrid education can be a middle option that addresses the complaints of both in-person-only and online-only education.
What counts as hybrid education?
Hybrid—or blended—modality education includes both in-person and online learning, which can be synchronous or asynchronous. There are many ways to execute hybrid education. For example, our Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology (MIOP) program at Kansas State University is a hybrid graduate program which offers a two-week, in-person summer session, and asynchronous online fall and spring courses. Offering a course that is mostly online and meets infrequently (e.g., nights or weekends) in-person can also be considered hybrid education.
Hy-flex classes, on the other hand, are in-person courses with the option for students to attend remotely at their convenience, which more closely aligns with in-person courses. Some programs allow students to pick an online or in-person section of their required courses; we do not generally consider HyFlex to be truly hybrid unless students are required to pick some courses from each modality.
Benefits of hybrid education
Meta-analytic findings comparing online modalities to in-person learning suggest that online education is just as effective as in-person education (Sitzmann et al., 2006). Interestingly, studies that use a more precise classification (online only, hybrid, in-person only) find that hybrid modalities are significantly more effective than in-person modalities and that there are no differences in effectiveness between in-person and online only courses (Means et al., 2013).
We have personally observed how a hybrid modality can benefit students in our hybrid master’s program, which attracts working professionals from around the country with full-time jobs and families. Our MIOP program has an in-person summer session where students are part of a cohort and enroll in two classes over two weeks. Each class is five days, Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 5:00 pm. The summer session allows our learners to be on campus, immersed in university culture, and exposed to more challenging topics with in-person support (e.g., statistics). To their benefit, students can meet other students and faculty, join study groups, and be socially engaged in and outside of the classroom. During the fall and spring semesters, students complete classes asynchronously. This allows our students the flexibility to work full-time, be involved with their families and communities, and still feel socially connected to peers and faculty after meeting in-person for two summers.
Hybrid versus online-only
We believe a hybrid approach to education effectively supports learners and has four unique advantages over online-only programs: increased social support, exposure to university culture, increased student retention, and support for learners who need flexible education options.
Social support. Meeting other students, faculty, and staff face-to-face can help students feel more supported and reduce the perceived barrier to ask for help. While in-person, students see firsthand the communication and interaction styles of others and often feel more comfortable approaching these familiar faces when returning to an online environment. Instructors may find it valuable to meet and teach to students in-person, rather than creating content for the proverbial faceless void. Overall, the student-student, student-staff, and student-faculty interactions facilitate social connectedness and engagement with the content, the program, and the university.
Exposure to university culture. Though great efforts can be made to help online students feel included (e.g., care packages, frequent communication from all levels of the university), it is hard to truly convey culture without experiencing the campus itself. The in-person component of hybrid education gives students a chance to experience campus and university culture.
Student retention. Retention rates will vary by program type, student level, and many other factors. However, our hybrid program has higher re-enrollment (95%) compared to a fully online MBA program at our university (81%). Ultimately, we imagine that our students receive more support in our hybrid program, which reflects in our high re-enrollment rates.
Supports learners who need in-person interaction and online flexibility. Learners who want the in-person learning experience but also need flexibility to fit with their personal and work demands are a great fit for hybrid education. A hybrid approach can combine the flexibility of online classes (take them anytime from any place) with the personal touches and real-time communication of in-person education.
Hybrid versus in-person only
Flexibility. The online segments can be scheduled in a way that helps students meet other demands of their time and attention. While the program may ask students to spend one week or one weekend on campus, students can still regularly focus on their families, jobs, and other responsibilities outside of school.
Optional proximity to a college campus. Depending on the in-person requirements, hybrid programs can reach almost any learner, regardless of the learner’s location. This creates access to learners and locations that are otherwise too far from a university or community college to participate. Though occasionally traveling to campus requires a commitment, it does not require permanent relocation. This flexibility also helps reach learners who may need to travel for work or personal reasons throughout their time in the program.
Challenges of hybrid education
Hybrid learning can be challenging for both students and educators concerning planning, travel, adjusting course formats to in-person and online, and potentially navigating an overwhelming volume of information to teach and learn in a short time.
Travel costs and time commitment for in-person classes. Hybrid programs allow learners from a variety of locations to enroll. Although this is generally a benefit, it may come at the potential expense of logistic and financial challenges for students. To attend in-person classes, students must negotiate work and family obligations, and incur the additional time and financial costs of travel. Careful planning and program support can help, such as offering shorter or infrequent in-person courses where students can reasonably take time off work and travel to campus.
Increased planning for program and instructors. Programs may be involved in coordinating student travel, campus transportation, preparing in-person events, etc., in addition to prepping for course content. This may require additional staffing to coordinate, which the program, department, or college, may or may not have funding for.
Exhaustion during short courses. If the in-person components are offered over a brief period of time (to accommodate non-local students), learners may feel exhausted and overwhelmed by the amount of content covered. Additionally, it can be difficult for instructors to strike a balance between teaching effectiveness and covering enough material for the course. Pre-preparation on the part of both students and faculty can help make the most of in-person time and interaction (a benefit of being in-person) can help energize the group during a long day.
May appeal to a limited audience. Some learners are very happy completing degrees entirely in-person or entirely online, and they may not be swayed toward hybrid programs. We suggest, though, that many learners thrive under a larger variety of modalities (hybrid) and may, in fact, prefer it. A hybrid program may offer a much-desired opportunity to experience in-person classes to a student who would not otherwise be able to attend an in-person program (e.g., cannot permanently relocate to the university, works full-time, cannot afford to take a career gap, or has family or other obligations that prevent relocation).
Conclusion
Many institutions may feel pressured to decide between online or in-person modality when offering classes or degree programs. We encourage educators to consider programs and courses where combining aspects of both modalities would be appropriate. Compared to exclusively online and exclusively in-person programs, hybrid programs offer a variety of unique benefits in a way that can be the best of both worlds.
Sarina Maneotis, PhD, is currently a teaching assistant professor at Kansas State University where she oversees K-State’s applied Master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology (MIOP) program. Prior to joining K-State in 2020, she worked in industry, advising on a variety of safety, leadership, and human resource data analysis projects. Her research focuses broadly on intersections of employee performance, wellbeing, and motivation. She is passionate about developing teaching practices that help students hone skills for translating research findings for organizational purposes and use scientific inquiry within the real-world parameters of organizations. She was recently received K-State’s 2023 Global Campus Excellence in Online Teaching Award in recognition for her teaching practices.
Chi-Leigh Warren is an industrial and organizational psychology graduate student in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Kansas State University (KSU). She has supported KSU’s Master’s in I/O Psychology (MIOP) program as the program assistant and graduate teaching assistant since 2020.
References
Means, B. Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., & Baki, M. (2013). The effectiveness of online and blended learning: A meta-analysis of the empirical literature. Teachers College Record, 115.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2022, December). Number and percentage of students enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by distance education participation, location of student, level of enrollment, and control and level of institution: Fall 2020 and fall 2021. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_311.15.asp
Sitzmann, T., Kraiger, K., Steweard, D., & Wisher, R. (2006). The comparative effectiveness of web-based and classroom instruction: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 58, 623-664.
