Modes of Instruction (Course Modalities)

Courses may be offered in a variety of instructional formats, including in-person, online, hybrid, and flexible learning options. Understanding a course's modality can help you determine where and how class meetings will take place, whether attendance is required at specific times, and the level of on-campus participation expected.     

In Person (P) 
In-Person classes require all class meetings to occur on campus during the scheduled class meeting times. Contact includes instruction, learning activities, and interactions (both student-student and/or student-instructor).

Hybrid 
Hybrid classes offer a combination of in-person and online instruction. Online contact hours (synchronous or asynchronous) displaces some portion of the required contact hours that would normally take place in a scheduled in-person (face-to-face) class. A hybrid class is designed to integrate face-to-face and online activities so that they reinforce, complement, and elaborate one another, instead of treating the online component as an add-on or duplicate of what is taught in the classroom.

  • Hybrid Asynchronous (HA): Hybrid Asynchronous classes offer a combination of in-person and online instruction/contact hours. Online portions of the course are offered asynchronously. 
     
  • Hybrid Synchronous (HS): Hybrid Synchronous classes offer a combination of in-person and online instruction/contact hours. Online portions of the course are offered synchronously. 

Online 
In an Online class (synchronous or asynchronous), all required contact hours are online only. Contact includes instruction, learning activities, and interactions (both student-student and/or student instructor). All the class work, examinations, quizzes, writing assignments, lab work, etc. are fully online. 

  • Online Synchronous (OS): Online Synchronous courses resemble on-campus In-Person ones in that students must be (virtually) present at the same time. All required instructional hours are online. 
     
  • Online Asynchronous (OA): Online Asynchronous classes require all contact hours be held online asynchronously. Instruction takes place online asynchronously. The modality allows students to access materials and assignments on a flexible schedule in accordance with deadlines set by the professor. All required instructional hours are online. 
     
  • Online Mix (OM): Online Mix classes offer a combination of online synchronous meetings and asynchronous online work. 

HyField (HF) 
HyField classes offer a combination of in-person instruction hours that occur off campus doing field based experiential learning during scheduled times and online instruction hours that may be asynchronous and/or synchronous. HyField classes do not require classroom access—all in-person instruction occurs off-campus. 

HyFlex (HX) 
A HyFlex course provides students multiple learning paths and is distinguished from other mixed modality courses by relying on individual student choice from session to session, rather than having the instructor determine the modality for any given lesson. The number of formats available to students will vary from course to course. HyFlex courses are in person with option of synchronous online, and/or asynchronous online contact hours.