Hybrid learning is a course or program design that deliberately mixes distance education delivery with required face-to-face instructional time in the same physical location.
How it is measured
Institutions typically code hybrid sections separately from fully distance education sections in their student information system. Credit hours or contact hours are allocated between the two modes. For federal reporting, the presence of instructional face-to-face time moves the course out of the exclusive distance education category.
Example: a 3-credit writing course meets on campus for 75 minutes once a week and requires students to complete drafts, peer reviews, and discussions inside the learning management system the rest of the week. This is hybrid. The same course delivered entirely online with no required campus instructional meetings is distance education.
How it differs
Distance education requires exclusive remote instructional delivery. Synchronous learning can occur inside either hybrid or fully distance courses. A program that mixes hybrid and fully online courses is not a distance education program if any required course demands instructional campus time.
Common errors
Calling a course hybrid because students can optionally attend office hours on campus. Using “blended” and “hybrid” interchangeably without checking the local threshold. Reporting hybrid enrollments as distance education in IPEDS.
References
- 1. THECB distance education categoriesHybrid defined as majority but not exclusive distance
- 2. IPEDS reporting guidance on hybridsHybrids not counted as distance education
Hybrid learning is a course or program design that deliberately mixes distance education delivery with required face-to-face instructional time in the same physical location.