The Rise of HyFlex Learning in Higher Education

Before the pandemic, most education took place in traditional classrooms. While some universities had started offering online courses, these were largely asynchronous and supplementary. That changed dramatically in March 2020, when educators and students were suddenly thrust into a fully remote learning environment. What began as a necessity soon evolved into innovation, with hybrid formats gaining traction as institutions adapted to new realities.

One key takeaway from this global shift is clear: education doesn’t have to be a binary choice between in-person or online. Instead, flexibility is becoming the new standard. Teachers, administrators, and students alike have realized that giving learners more control over when and where they engage with content can lead to deeper engagement and better outcomes.

A model that exemplifies this approach is HyFlex—short for Hybrid-Flexible. First developed at San Francisco State University around 2005 to address enrollment and accessibility challenges, HyFlex has since gained widespread adoption. According to EDUCAUSE, many institutions have embraced this “student-directed hybrid” model under various branded terms, including Peirce Fit®, BlendFlex, Comodal, Trimodal, and FlexLearning, among others.

What Is HyFlex Learning?

Northern Illinois University describes HyFlex as a course design model that blends the best of hybrid learning with maximum student choice. It allows students to attend classes in person, join remotely, or alternate between the two depending on their needs. They can switch their mode of participation week to week—or even by topic—based on what works best for them.

From the student’s perspective, HyFlex offers the ultimate in flexibility. It empowers learners to align their education with their schedules, preferences, and responsibilities without compromising academic access. Institutions that had already implemented HyFlex before the pandemic found themselves better prepared to adapt during the crisis. As interest in the model grows, many see it as a glimpse into the future of higher education.

Of course, this approach is not without its challenges—but its potential to redefine how we think about learning is undeniable.

The Challenges of the HyFlex Model

While the HyFlex approach offers undeniable advantages—especially in terms of flexibility and accessibility—it also comes with a set of challenges. In an October 2020 article titled Our HyFlex Experiment: What’s Worked and What Hasn’t, published in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Kevin Gannon, a history professor at Grand View University and director of its Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, offers a candid look at both the benefits and limitations of this model.

The core benefit is clear: students have the freedom to choose how they engage with a course—whether in person, online, or a mix of both—based on their individual needs. During the pandemic, this flexibility also allowed institutions to continue delivering education safely and effectively.

However, that same flexibility introduces complexity. “HyFlex courses are hard to build, and even harder to teach,” Gannon notes. Designing a single course that accommodates multiple participation modes—while maintaining quality across all of them—demands considerable time, effort, and resources from instructors.

Student choice, while empowering, can also be a double-edged sword. Gannon observes that the mode students choose isn’t always the one that supports their learning best. Without guidance or structure, some may struggle to stay engaged or fall behind. Moreover, HyFlex isn’t universally applicable. It works best in content-heavy courses or those structured around lectures with occasional discussions or Q&A sessions. Courses that rely on hands-on activities, real-time collaboration, or lab work may not translate as well.

That said, Gannon acknowledges that despite the challenges, the model has made a real difference: “We have students who, quite literally, would have had to drop out of their courses” if HyFlex hadn’t been available.

Making Learning Work for Everyone with HyFlex

For many instructors, the shift to HyFlex learning wasn’t a strategic choice but a necessity. One example comes from a university department focused on early childhood and family studies, where a professor had to adapt her teaching model to ensure access for all students—even under challenging circumstances.

Initially, her classes were fully remote. Later, when the university mandated a return to in-person instruction, logistical and personal realities made a strict return impossible. To accommodate students facing illness, self-isolation, or life events, she informally adopted a HyFlex approach. Students could attend class in person or join via Zoom each week based on their individual needs. One student, for example, chose to stay home to care for a newborn. Another required knee surgery but didn’t want to fall behind.

While this flexible setup provided vital continuity, especially during the pandemic, the instructor found the experience extremely challenging. Preparing for each class took significantly more time and demanded extra creativity to ensure students learning remotely could fully engage with in-person activities. Despite her commitment to offering options, she often felt that the hybrid format made it difficult to deliver the same quality of instruction to everyone.

This was especially true for her course, which focused on preschool curriculum and required hands-on, materials-based learning. Most sessions included interactive activities using items like wire, various paints, and sculptural materials—activities designed to prepare future teachers for real classroom environments. These exercises, fundamental to the course’s learning outcomes, were difficult—if not impossible—to replicate online in a meaningful way.

In her view, the HyFlex model simply doesn’t suit interactive, experiential courses that rely heavily on active student participation. For such classes, she would prefer to teach either entirely in person or entirely online, rather than try to blend the two.

So, is HyFlex the future of higher education? Not universally. While it may not be effective for every course type—especially hands-on or learning-science-based models—it does offer valuable flexibility for certain subjects, formats, and student populations. And that flexibility is increasingly important.

As campuses return to more traditional operations post-pandemic, it's essential to recognize that the conditions which made HyFlex necessary for some students still exist for many others—and always have. Learners who work full time, care for family members, or lack reliable transportation continue to rely on adaptable course formats to access higher education. Moving forward, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution—but multiple delivery models, including HyFlex, will likely play a role in making education more inclusive and responsive to diverse student needs.