What Is Hybrid Education?
Hybrid education classes, also referred to as blended education classes, combine online class sessions with on-campus, face-to-face class time. For example, in a traditional class an instructor and his students might meet three times a week on campus. But in a hybrid class the majority of the lectures and coursework would be completed online and the class would only physically meet once a week or once every two weeks. In this way, hybrid education attempts to offer students the best of both worlds.
Who Takes Hybrid Education Classes?
Hybrid education can work well for students who have difficulty motivating themselves to keep up with their online classes. By checking in with the professor once every week or two, the student is forced to take responsibility for the assignments her or she has and hasn't done. This style of learning may also benefit busy students who require the convenience of online classes but who still want to work in a group or classroom setting with other students. Hybrid classes also offer greater flexibility when it comes to balancing education with a job or family commitments. While you still need to be in class some of the time, it is far less than if you were attending traditional classes.
Amid our troubled economy, many people are going back to school in order to improve their job prospects. Eduventures, an education market research firm, found that almost half of all adults in the U.S. are seeking more education in order to improve their job performance. As people go back to school to enhance their skills, more and more of them are choosing online or hybrid education. Around 20 percent of students take at least one online course and about 10 percent take all their classes online.
Hybrid education classes offer an alternative to online-only or classroom-only education, and this combination education style might offer better results. A recent study conducted for the U.S. Department of Education found that mixing online and face-to-face education might produce the best results for students. The study also found that online students performed better than students in traditional classrooms. For many people, hybrid education is more convenient than a traditional education and more helpful than strictly online classes.
How Much Does it Cost?
Hybrid classes, because they are usually offered in conjunction with a bricks-and-mortar college or university, tend to be more expensive than some online-only classes. Many of the larger online universities, like the University of Phoenix, also offer hybrid courses.
The biggest sources of blended education classes are community colleges and public universities. The cost of college can vary widely from an average of $2,000 for a community college to $6,000 per year at a public university to about $23,000 for a private university. Many schools also charge an additional fee for online courses. If you want to take some introductory courses, there are online-only institutions that can be much cheaper. Some of the online-only universities offer good deals on courses, but you should always research the school before signing up.
Additionally, hybrid education classes do offer some other cost advantages that you might not have considered. The reduced time spent on campus translates to less money spent on gas traveling to and from school. And since most of the course material is delivered online, there will be less printing fees and book expenses.
Article Resources:
Digest of Education Statistics
Kevin Carey, “College for $99 a Month,” Washington Monthly Sept./Oct. 2009
Minnesota Public Radio
Carol Lloyd, “Online education comes into its own,” San Francisco Chronicle, 8/2/2009
“Getting An Education On The Internet,” National Public Radio
The Adult Learner: An Eduventures Perspective
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: The 30 Fastest-Growing Occupations
The College Board
National Center for Education Statistics