It has since become an integral part of the education system since the events of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier in the decade.
In the recently published discussion paper from the Far Eastern University (FEU) Public Policy Center (PPC), it tackled why students prefer hybrid learning set-up.
The FEU PPC is a research center of the university that produces evidence-based analysis on Philippine education and public policy.
It conducts the annual College Experience Survey (CES), which has explored students’ college experiences since 2014, and publishes discussion papers for preliminary research and discussion.
Entitled “More Than a Connection: Attitudes Towards Faculty Interactions and Hybrid Learning,” the data is drawn from the 2022 College Experience Survey (CES).
The said survey gathered responses from 3,318 students across 15 Philippine higher education institutions.
There, it found that 40.1% of students prefer a mid-range hybrid setup involving three days of face-to-face classes. That was followed by 5 days (fully face-to-face, 20.1%) and 2 days (20.6%).
Only relatively few students preferred fully online (0 days, 7.6%) or only 1 day (2.8%) on campus.
The importance of faculty interaction emerged as the strongest predictor, with students who value it being nearly 19 times more likely to prefer more in-person days.
Results suggest that direct engagement with instructors remains an important part of the learning experience, one that online learning has yet to fully replicate.
Many students also continue to see value in the connections and support that come from being physically present in the classroom, with first-year students in particular, seeing opportunities for face-to-face interaction play an important role as they adjust to college life.
Meanwhile, technological factors also show mixed patterns as access to technology and higher digital literacy skills did not automatically translate into a stronger preference for online learning.
Contrary to expectations, students with reliable internet access were also more likely to prefer additional days of campus instruction.
Moreover, and in spite of universities’ continuous investment into emerging technologies — as reflected by FEU Tech’s recent collaboration with OpenAI to provide ChatGPT Edu and Codex — digital and artificial intelligence tools appear noted to be “most effective when they complement interaction between faculty and students.”
As regards to mental health concerns, including COVID-19 anxiety, these significantly reduce preference for on-campus learning.
“Although the pandemic has largely subsided, health and psychological safety continue to influence students’ preferences for different learning environments. Students who expressed greater concern about COVID-19 were generally less inclined to spend more time on campus,” the paper found.
With most campuses having returned to normal operations, students still weigh well-being when considering alternative learning arrangements.
Measures of student autonomy and self-regulation were also deemed not robust predictors after controlling for other factors.
Overall, the paper challenges infrastructure-centric assumptions about hybrid learning and suggests that policy efforts should prioritize faculty-student engagement and pedagogical quality to improve students’ attitudes toward hybrid learning in the Philippines.
“For university administrators, these findings point to the need to strengthen faculty-student engagement mechanisms, particularly in online settings. Investments in faculty training, communication strategies, and pedagogical innovation are essential to replicate the relational aspects of in-person learning,“ the discussion paper’s conclusion read.
It added, “For CHED and policymakers, the results highlight the importance of integrating mental health support and digital literacy programs into hybrid learning frameworks. Regulatory efforts should go beyond infrastructure provision to include pedagogical standards and student support systems.”
Meanwhile FEU PCC President Michael Alba emphasized, “Hybrid learning has become firmly embedded in the higher education landscape.”
“It is essential to make informed improvements to learning that are grounded in evidence. Through the CES, Philippine institutions are provided with valuable data and insights that can help refine hybrid learning models while preserving meaningful faculty-student interaction and maintaining high educational standards,” he added.
