Dear Colleagues,

Earlier this year, I asked for your input on whether hyflex should be added as an option for course modalities this fall.

What we heard: 

• A large majority (83%) of survey respondents – across staff, faculty, and students – supported including hyflex instruction mode on the course schedule. You also expressed support for empowering academic programs to determine whether they would support this mode for classes in their program. 
• Faculty need additional support, including course design guidance as well as enhanced classroom technology, in order to deliver hyflex classes effectively.

What we decided: 

• Hyflex instruction mode will be an option on the course schedule for Fall 2023. 
• Programs will have discretion to determine if they support this mode in their program and if so, which courses will be offered in this mode. 

Our primary driver for adding this option is that hyflex has the potential to provide more flexibility and access for students (such as accommodating unexpected crises or illness). Respondents raised concerns about making expectations clear, faculty workload, and the impact on class cohesion, attendance, and group work. Many noted this could work well for some classes, but definitely not all. Effective instructional design and technology are key for successful implementation.

We’ve updated the definition of hyflex to make it clearer and better reflect the true nature of this mode:

Original Definition: A course that offers live class sessions that can be attended in-person on campus, online via Zoom, or re-watched asynchronously afterward. Students can choose their preferred mode of attendance week-to-week and class-to-class. Some coursework and interactions may be offered online-only, so that students are interacting both in live and asynchronous ways.

Updated Definition: A course in which students can choose their preferred mode of engagement week-to-week and class-to-class: in-person on campus, online via live class sessions, or asynchronous. Courses are designed to support equitable interaction with course content, peers, and the instructor, regardless of the mode of engagement chosen by the student.

What this means: 

• Program chairs are encouraged to communicate with their faculty members about whether or not to include hyflex mode as an option on any of their courses for the fall 2023 schedule.
• Faculty who would like to deliver courses in this mode should engage their program chair. If approved, we strongly encourage them to set up a one-on-one consultation with DLINQ to think through course design implications. DLINQ will be developing more resources to support faculty who are interested in teaching in this mode.
• Students will see some courses in this mode on the fall schedule, and hyflex will be included on the course instruction mode definitions on our website.

Thank you for your thoughtful engagement in this process and continued innovation and creativity in how we deliver instruction.

Jeff Dayton-Johnson

Vice President for Academic Affairs & Dean of the Institute