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Reed Markham, an oral communications instructor at Daytona State College in Florida, teaches about 60% of his classes online. Mostly, he teaches hybrid courses, where students meet in person at least once a week.
He likes the hybrid model — and his students do too.
Reed says that his students appreciate the added scaffolding hybrid courses offer compared to face-to-face (F2F) modalities. His students connect on discussion boards, take online quizzes, and submit outlines online. Meanwhile, Reed shares reminders, video lectures, and motivational advice.
Daytona State College schedules a similar slate of course modalities: 60% online (including hybrid) and 40% F2F.
Pre-pandemic, community colleges offered some online and hybrid classes. But the COVID-19 shutdown amplified both the popularity and understanding of these modalities.
Community colleges have reopened their campuses, but students aren’t returning at pre-pandemic rates. Why do students continue to choose remote and hybrid courses? And does online instruction — once viewed as less effective than F2F — serve them well?
Students Aren’t Enrolling in F2F Courses at Pre-Pandemic Levels
According to the biannual New America Community College Enrollment Survey, fewer students are enrolling in fully F2F programs. In 2022, only 23% of continuing students and 28% of new students were enrolled in fully in-person programs. A higher percentage of students chose virtual instruction, with 37% of continuers and 35% of new students enrolling in fully or mostly-online programs.
The survey’s authors Tiffany Thai, Olivia Cheche, and Sophie Nguyen report that most students prefer to take at least some of their classes online.
“Nearly two in three continuers, 59 percent of stop-outs [dropouts], 56 percent of new students, and 71 percent of aspirants [college hopefuls] prefer to either be partially or fully online,” they note.
Some students still want to complete their programs fully in-person, however: 35% of continuing students, 34% of dropouts, and 40% of new students preferred this modality.
Online Education Attracts Students with Other Obligations
Even if colleges offer a considerable number of F2F courses, students aren’t always enrolling in them at the same rate as online classes.
For instance, Merritt College in California planned to split its offerings: 50% F2F and 50% online. But students didn’t sign up for the F2F courses at equivalent levels — so the college ended up moving two-thirds of its classes online.
Some students may prefer F2F instruction, but other time constraints prevent them from coming to campus completely or some of the time.
“It’s a refrain I’ve been hearing at faculty meetings for months: students say they want face-to-face classes again, but during registration, they fill all of the online courses first,” said Karen Southall Watts, a humanities instructor at Bellingham Technical College in Washington.
For instance, some learners have pursued opportunities they might not have taken pre-pandemic.
“Many students have experienced shifts in their personal lives as a result of remote job opportunities, changes in their work schedules, or other circumstances brought on by the pandemic. This has resulted in a preference to study online,” said Priscilla Suarez, interim dean of online campus/e-learning at Broward College in Florida.
Since students knew they could take online classes, some were able to pursue more time-consuming job opportunities. In turn, they may not be able to fit F2F classes into their schedules, even if these are their preferred modality.
Other students may not have enrolled in college at all without these options for remote instruction. Journalist Louis Freedberg said that in the California Community Colleges system, many working, older, and caretaker students can take only remote classes.
Watts has noticed a similar trend.
“My humanities course in particular includes a significant number of parents. They take online classes so they don’t have to find and pay for child care,” she said.
Some students also mix a range of modalities, alternating between online and in-person courses.
“While in-person learning has been vital for me as a creative arts student, the convenience offered by online learning has allowed me to quickly advance through general education courses that aren’t as pertinent to my major,” said Giselle Forero, an associate degree-seeking student at Broward.
Is Online Instruction Equivalent to F2F?
A persistent question about remote and hybrid instruction is this: are students equally successful online?
Before the pandemic, a California Community Colleges study found that online students were less likely to finish and earned lower grades than F2F counterparts.
Did the pandemic-era shift to online learning improve this modality?
Some students think so.
In 2020, the New American survey reported that only 25% of continuing students and 19% of new students thought that online courses were better than F2F classes. In 2022, that percentage increased to 37% and 29%.
Still, Watts says she has seen some faculty who don’t embrace online instruction.
“Faculty who are set in their ways, who struggled to move their instruction online, who miss ‘the way it used to be,’ or who fear students using online instruction as a way to cheat are also a driving force in offering F2F versions of courses,” she said.
In other words, these faculty members may drive an overabundance of F2F offerings, as well as avoiding eLearning innovations.
Reed Markham reminds faculty to view online learning as an opportunity.
“Students are very excited about classes that involve interaction. My course involves lots of interaction, and I have more enthusiasm for my classes now than before COVID,” he said.
Online Instruction Will Remain Popular with Community College Students
Some community college students want to return to campus, at least part-time. They understand the benefits of interfacing with students and peers, as well as the added scaffolding of class meeting times.
However, other students may now have obligations that prevent them from attending on-campus classes. What’s more, students who may not have been able to enroll in limited online classes now have more options.
It’s also heartening to note that many students now find online instruction more useful than it was pre-pandemic, likely because faculty had to explore eLearning best practices during the shutdown.
So, as more students conceive of college as only a part of their lives andonline learning continues to improve, perhaps it’s no surprise that they enroll in more online classes than they did before. Though students may understand the benefits of F2F classes, some may choose online learning over decisions to commute, pay for childcare, or miss employment opportunities.
“Colleges have moved past the consumer model, thank goodness, and it’s time to see students as whole individuals. Many of these students have multiple non-student roles: parent, employee, and caregiver. They need classes that meet not only their intellectual and professional needs, but offerings that address their human needs as well,” said Watts.
