Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning & Leadership

Mode of Instruction

CUNY makes a four-way distinction in mode of instruction for courses offered at the university. A course may be designated as in-person, hybrid, online, or hyflex.

In addition, courses delivered in the hybrid, online, or hyflex modes may be:

Synchronous: instructors and students gather at the same time and (virtual or physical) place and interact in “real-time.”
Asynchronous: students access materials at their own pace and interact with each other over longer periods.

Accurate designation of a course’s Mode of Instruction in CUNYfirst is important for many reasons, including the following:

When students register, they will know what kind of course they are signing up for and can make the necessary preparations. This could include ensuring they have appropriate computer and internet access, setting up their email, Brightspace, and other accounts, and organizing their calendar.
Departments, and the college at large, can use Mode of Instruction data for assessment purposes and to advocate for increased support and resources to teach with technology.
The instructor will have official recognition for incorporating technology into the course.

Please see the table below for the different mode of instruction descriptions.

Source: CUNY Modes of Instruction Memorandum

Modality	Modes of Instruction coding	Description
In Person	P In Person	In-person classes require all contact hours to take place on campus or a designated location during scheduled times. Contact includes instruction, learning activities, and interactions (both student-student and/or student-instructor). Students complete readings, assignments, projects etc. outside of class time. An In-Person class where material is provided online, via a learning management system or website, does not displace any of the required contact hours that would normally occur in a scheduled In-Person class. All class meeting days/times must be listed in the schedule of classes for students at the time of enrollment.
Online	OA Online Asynchronous	Online Asynchronous classes require all contact hours be held online asynchronously. Instruction takes place online asynchronously. The modality allows students to access materials and assignments on a flexible schedule in accordance with deadlines set by the professor. All required instructional hours are online. Contact includes instruction, learning activities, and interactions (both student-student and/or student-instructor). All the class work, examinations, quizzes, writing assignments, lab work etc. are fully online. With the permission of and in consultation with Chief Academic Officer/Provost, assessment activities/exams can be conducted in-person. This information must be made available to the students in the schedule of classes at the time of enrollment. Class must be tagged with In Person Exam Only attribute for students.
Online	OS Online Synchronous	Online Synchronous courses resemble on-campus In-Person ones in that students must be (virtually) present at the same time. All required instructional hours are online. Contact includes instruction, learning activities, and interactions (both student-student and/or student instructor). All the class work, examinations, quizzes, writing assignments, lab work etc. are fully online. All Synchronous class meeting days/times must be listed in the schedule of classes for students at the time of enrollment. With the permission of and in consultation with Chief Academic Officer/Provost, assessment activities/exams can be conducted in person. This information must be made available to the students in the schedule of classes at the time of enrollment. Class must be tagged with In Person Exam Only attribute for students.
Online	OM Online Mix	Online Mix classes offer a combination of online synchronous meetings and asynchronous online work. It is recommended that at least 25% and at most 75% of classes in Online Mix courses are scheduled to meet at a set time online. Students attend some classes on designated online synchronous days, with the remainder of the course being delivered via asynchronous, deadline-based instruction and assignments. All required instructional hours are online. Contact includes instruction, learning activities, and interactions (both student-student and/or student-instructor). All the class work, examinations, quizzes, writing assignments, lab work, etc. are fully online. All Synchronous class meeting days/times must be listed in the schedule of classes for students at the time of enrollment. With the permission of and in consultation with Chief Academic Officer/Provost, assessment activities/exams can be conducted in person. This information must be made available to the students in the schedule of classes at the time of enrollment. Class must be tagged with In Person Exam Only attribute for students.
Hybrid	HA Hybrid Asynchronous	Hybrid classes offer a combination of in-person and online instruction/contact hours. Contact includes instruction, learning activities, and interactions (both student-student and/or student-instructor). Exclusive of exams, it is recommended that at least 25% and at most 75% of classes in hybrid courses are scheduled to meet at a set time on campus, in-person and campuses may set their own meeting schedules and guidelines within these parameters. Online portions of the course are offered asynchronously. Students participate in online portions of the course via asynchronous, deadline-based assignments. All In-Person Class meeting days/times must be listed in the schedule of classes for students at the time of enrollment.
Hybrid	HS Hybrid Synchronous	Hybrid classes offer a combination of in-person and online instruction/contact hours. Contact includes instruction, learning activities, and interactions (both student-student and/or student instructor). Exclusive of exams, it is recommended that at least 25% and at most 75% of classes in hybrid courses are scheduled to meet at a set time on campus, in-person and campuses may set their own meeting schedules and guidelines within these parameters. Online portions of the course are offered synchronously. Students participate in online portions of the course via designated online synchronous days. Synchronous class sessions will take place at an assigned class time(s). All In-Person and Synchronous Online class meeting days/times must be listed in the schedule of classes for students at the time of enrollment.
Hybrid	HF HyField	HyField classes offer a combination of in-person instruction hours that occur off campus doing field-based experiential learning (e.g., primary research, museum visits, local or international team-based projects for a nonprofit or company) during scheduled times and online instruction hours that may be asynchronous and/or synchronous. HyField classes do not require classroom access—all in-person instruction occurs off-campus. Contact includes instruction, learning activities, and interactions (both student-student and/or student instructor). Synchronous class sessions will always take place at the assigned class time(s). All class meeting days/times/location must be listed in the schedule of classes for students at the time of enrollment.
HyFlex	HX HyFlex	A HyFlex course provides students multiple learning paths and is distinguished from other mixed modality courses by relying on individual student choice from session to session, rather than having the instructor determine the modality for any given lesson. The number of formats available to students will vary from course to course. HyFlex courses are in person with option of synchronous online, and/or asynchronous online contact hours. Contact includes instruction, learning activities, and interactions (both student-student and/or student-instructor). All class meeting days/times must be listed in the schedule of classes for students at the time of enrollment. Class must be tagged with all available HyFlex modalities attributes for students.

Note: According to CUNY’s memorandum on Modes of Instruction, “The range of percentages of instruction in different modalities given above are offered as guidance about the meaning and nature of standard definitions of course modalities. They are not intended to be strict requirements. Where courses require synchronous meeting times, it is critical that specific information about exactly when and where class meetings will occur be provided to students at the time of enrollment, so that they can make appropriate and informed registration choices.”

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If you have any questions, please email ctlonline@qc.cuny.edu.