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of the study’s significance resides in its potential to provide generalizable guidelines for
community college practitioners considering implementation of HyFlex courses as part of their
offerings.
Current HyFlex guidelines in the literature are relevant for
community colleges but may
not focus on student equity in important ways this study may uncover. Community college
students tend to work while attending college; during normal times they need options for
attending classes as they juggle the demands of college, jobs, and family. Beatty (2019) pointed
out
a potential benefit, in terms of cost and space savings, of HyFlex for the institution,
explaining the HyFlex approach brings modalities together; therefore, two course
sections, with
two separate teaching contracts and potentially two separate professors, can be merged into one.
An alternative to this model could be combining the two sections so the course is cotaught by
two instructors and the cost of the teaching contracts remains the same, but space
savings apply
while creating opportunities for faculty collaboration. Another benefit for students is because
HyFlex courses are a combination of an online and a face-to-face course and students have the
option each week to choose how they participate, they may be more likely to participate in
learning activities even when they have a work or family commitment that conflicts with a
scheduled in-person class session (Beatty, 2019). This participation flexibility may increase the
likelihood students will complete their courses and programs more quickly.
