In the recent past, universities and colleges across the world have shifted from complete online teaching to the hybrid system of delivering education to the students.
Because COVID-19 is here to stay until the vaccine comes, schools and students, both, have been seeking ways to making education more inclusive, and thereby, maximizing engagement. And that’s how, hybrid learning came into emergence, constituting both online learning and in-person lectures.
More than 50% of Colleges in the US are Back to In-Person Classes
July 2020 study showcasing sudden inclination towards hybrid learning by US educational institutes
As per a recent report pertaining to higher education in the US amid the pandemic, more than half of the colleges & universities have reopened for in-person classes during the fall semester (August-September). The educational authorities in the country have realized that things have come back to normal up to some extent, and it’s safer to run a few in-person classes to educate students. However, the circumstances do not look feasible in the US to reopen educational institutes, as there are 1,000 reported death cases each day as a result of coronavirus spread.
Education management authorities in the country are simply ignoring the current circumstances that look really bad. But then, the students are missing out on their education, on the other hand, which too, is critical for their overall development. And, hybrid learning seems to be the aptest education solution for higher education in the current times.
What Does the Stats Say on this New Higher Education Solution?
A recent survey conducted by the Chronicle of Higher Education and involving 1,000 colleges across the US, stated that 53% of the colleges in the country planned to offer at least some classes in-person at the start of the fall semester. However, the percentage was significantly higher, i.e. 63%, about a month ago when the colleges considered the same option.
An amalgamation of an online-only system and a hybrid education-delivery system has gained some really good traction off late, in the US. The online-only subscription plans saw a jump from 9% to 12% in the month of July, while the hybrid teaching plans saw a much stronger climb, and almost doubled in percentage, i.e. from 18 to 32 percent during the same period. Only about 3% of colleges under the study wanted some more time to make a decision regarding whether to start in-person classes now, or not.
3 Major Reasons for Universities to Transition to Hybrid Learning System
Scarcity of Digital Educational Content
Most colleges, a couple of months ago, have had little to no digital content available for their students to teach. This did result in combining together an array of solutions to impart education to their students, remotely. Colleges and universities were simply not prepared for the circumstances that emerged out of the COVID situation. The ultimate result of the same was a disengaged learning experience for the students.
Perfectly made digital content catalogs were not available to a large percentage of schools and universities at the beginning of the pandemic, while some universities delivering professional education don’t yet have all sort of digital content reservoirs needed to educate students in different degree courses that they are now running remotely.
Engagement Levels
The other big reason for colleges to shift to hybrid learning was that the students were finding it highly disengaging to receive education in an online arrangement. Research conducted by Top Hat, an education software company, found that 78% of students believed, an online learning experience has been highly disengaging. Blended, or hybrid learning, brings in a high level of engagement to students, besides resulting in better learning outcomes.
Credit Worthiness
2015 saw the credit integrity of MOOCs rising at an unprecedented pace because of the high quality of education its courses offered. Since then, we have seen many credentialing portals emerging to the scene to make access to education simpler for students worldwide. Especially, in the times of COVID, the subscription to remote learning is seeing an all-time high.
Added to that, if the accrediting body or the university has got a good reputation, its educational credentials do hold enough weight to get you a respectable job, or to make your candidature strong for job roles at the top firms in your industry domain. On top of that, online courses are much cost-efficient, especially when it comes to higher education. Blended learning programs, as a matter of fact, will hold higher integrity and creditworthiness than an online-only learning program, on any day.
