Most college online chiefs expect hybrid shift by 2025, survey finds

A survey of college and university chief online officers found that most expect their institutions to offer undergraduate students a hybrid learning experience by 2025.

The survey, conducted by Quality Matters, an online-education assessment group, showed that a majority of schools’ virtual-learning leaders said undergraduates will be taking at least a few classes virtually over the course of their academic careers. But the campus experience isn’t fading right away — 45% said traditional undergraduates will still take a majority of their classes in person, while only 11% said four-year degrees will be primarily virtual experiences.

While the COVID-19 pandemic forced colleges worldwide to change their instruction models overnight, Quality Matters found that student interest in online learning hasn’t waned as the health crisis has receded.

“[Chief online officers indicated that student interest in online learning has increased substantially in the
past two years, and the majority predict that this interest will continue to grow in the next several years,
though at a slower pace,” reads the summary of Quality Matters’ annual CHLOE 7 poll.

The respondents also said that very few students will have either entirely analog college experience, predicted for just 1% of traditional undergraduates, or an exclusively virtual one, which garnered 2%.

Predictions for graduate programs split a bit more evenly: About one-third of chief online officers said grad students would be evenly balanced between in-person and online courses, with a similar number saying post-secondary education will be a primarily digital experience by 2025.

Read the rest of the report here.