What is Hybrid Learning?
Hybrid learning is considered the most effective method of postsecondary education according to the U.S. Department of Education’s 2009 study. Hybrid learning combines the benefits of both classroom and online education to provide the optimal learning experience for a college student. But how exactly does hybrid learning work?
The Hybrid College Program
The most common method of hybrid learning is a college program that has specific campus and specific online courses integrated into its regimen. An example of this is Coleman University‘s academic programs that offers Distance Education alternative for classes outside of the core program taken at the campus; this basically means that the student may choose to take general education courses online and major-specific courses on campus.
The Hybrid Class Option
Sometimes it’s not in the program’s setup per se to have hybrid classes, but the student is able to custom-tailor their educational standards nonetheless. An example of this is a student attending community college; there is no specific program for completing general education, although there is a set standard of certain classes that may or may not be taken online. Hybrid learning varies by the student’s preference class-to-class.
The Benefits of Hybrid Schools
Schools that offer both campus and online classes provide more solid educational experiences, even if the student does not utilize both methods.
Coleman University, one of the examples above, has a fully-online Master’s Degree in Business and Technology Management. Though this program is conducted entirely online (which is considered superior to entirely on-campus), the student has the comfort of knowing that Coleman University offers several campus-based programs and a team of professors used to both platforms. Coleman is not an online-only college that may lack the instructoral experiences of traditional classrooms.
Another school that offers a wide range of online and campus options–but has programs that can be campus-only, online-only, or in between–is Saint Leo University. Saint Leo University’s Center for Online Learning is for online-only programs, but Saint Leo University also has a main campus in Florida and 15 other regional branches for campus-based education. The college has also been around for over a century.
