If colleges want to make a mixture of online and face-to-face classes work on a traditional campus, they will need to do more than simply offer students the option of showing up in person, or offering “lightning round” quizzes to prevent cheating.  These things represent the bare minimum and really only work to serve the University and their interests, as opposed to the paying student.

The bottom line is that Universities have to take the lead in determining how best to use the hybrid model and then they need to educate students how to use it to their full advantage.

First, instructors and course designers need to define what they are trying to accomplish in the different spaces.  It is already understood that people learn in different ways and it is important that this new type of hybrid course better define what benefits come with sitting on your laptop at home (or even in the actual class) verses being there in person with a traditional pad and paper.  Is the instructor using a smart blackboard, and saving his notes live?  Does the instructor have links and other supplemental materials that he/she will encourage students to draw on during the session?  What are the benefits to using a computer in this class other than sitting in your pajamas to do it?  (By the way, many college students will wear their pajamas to class regardless of where the class is located.)

Not only should courses like these be more up front about what the class has to offer, it is also the responsibility of the University to help connect the dots so students can optimize their experience.  Do students know their own learning styles?  Are Universities providing basic assessments to help students figure this out and then showing them what type of classroom environment and tools will help them take advantage of it?  

The truth is that it is a myth to assume that students know what to do in an online class, simply because they come from a generation where computers are mostly common place.  Not all younger people have the same access to computers and there is a difference in how people use computers for entertainment verses for learning.  One can argue that the lines are blurring here, but it doesn’t mean that a student who likes to chat online with their friends and watch You Tube videos, is going to have the out of the box skills to communicate in an online conference or know how to find other classroom resources.  Schools that are committed to the reality that Online and Hybrid courses will be a growing part of their college environment need to be proactive about making this a quality experience. 

In addition, what can the school do to help the instructor?  How many institutions are using Teaching Assistants to moderate the online spaces during the class?  Online students need to feel the immediacy that comes with timely feedback and recognition in order for them to feel like they are part of the classroom experience.  These spaces need cultivation and it is unfair to ask an instructor to have to manage this on their own simultaneously online and face to face.

Obviously, these are all big issues and there are many sensitivity to navigate as Universities look for the right mixture of educational and financial success.  Doing this will take time, but institutions must no lose sight of the fact that students are not choosing their traditional campuses for either the social element or the educational value in some kind of vacuum.  Schools must continue to keep this balance in order to succeed. 

This may delight undergraduates who do not have to change out of pajamas to “attend” class. But it also raises questions that go to the core of a college’s mission: Is it possible to learn as much when your professor is a mass of pixels whom you never meet? How much of a student’s education and growth — academic and personal — depends on face-to-face contact with instructors and fellow students?