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Welcome to spring 2025 with its complex challenges and boundless opportunities! So much happening that affects our work: budget and enrollment balancing, serving the needs of increasingly diverse student and faculty stakeholders, and no additional time in the day (despite the promise of "Daylight Savings") to get things done.
In 2024, I started turning to GenAI and building custom GPTs to help my students working out-of-class find interactions to support their learning that aren't available with another person "in the moment". I've explained this approach at conferences and in blog posts this past year. (Many others have been exploring these approaches too.) More recently (in 2025) I'm building custom GPTs that support faculty and design staff in the process of HyFlex Course and Program design. Our new blog series and this year's Gathering/Webinar series focus on explaining, demonstrating, and discussing the challenges and benefits of this effort.
2025 should be another productive and exciting year for us in the HyFlex community worldwide.
This newsletter 1) announces our next "HLC Gathering" (webinar) on May 1, 2025, announces the extended CFP deadline for the upcoming HyFlex Collaborative Conference, 2) summarizes recent HyFlex-related happenings "in the news", and 3) highlights recent HLC blog posts.
Upcoming Events:
1. HLC Gathering (webinar)
Next Community Gathering – May 1, 2025: In this webinar, we will launch our 2025 Gathering Series, GenAI to Support HyFlex Course and Program Design. This first session will provide a brief overview of the series and then provide an explanation and demonstration of our first custom GPT for HyFlex Design, HyFlex Strategic Planning. We will share access to this GPT during the webinar so those participants with an OpenAI account for ChatGPT (free or paid) can experiment with the GPT as we discuss and then continue afterward. Please register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hyflex-learning-community-gathering-may-2025-registration-1330436885539 The recording will be available at https://www.hyflexlearning.org/gathering-archives/ along with all the HLC Gathering recordings from the past four years.
2. HyFlex Collaborative Conference Extends CFP until May 1
New: The Call for Proposals for the HCC 25 conference has been extended until May 2, 2025. See https://aatlased.org/hyflex-collaborative/hyflex-call-for-proposals/
The HyFlex Collaborative is pleased to announce the 2025 annual HyFlex Collaborative Conference on Thursday, June 26, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time. The title of the summer conference is Elevating HyFlex: Innovations and Best Practices for Future-Ready Learning Environments. The 2025 HyFlex Collaborative Conference will explore innovative approaches to multimodal teaching and learning, focusing on the evolution of HyFlex education. Contributions from leading national and international HyFlex researchers will be featured. This event will showcase how integrating cutting-edge technologies, advanced pedagogical strategies, and robust institutional frameworks can create agile, future-ready learning environments.
HyFlex in the News:
1. HyFlex Tech in 2025: Trends in Higher Ed by Jordan Scott
https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2025/04/hyflex-tech-in-2025-trends-hied-perfcon
In this timely article, Jordan Scott explores how HyFlex education is evolving in 2025, with artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a transformative force in both course delivery and design. At the University of California, Berkeley, new classroom builds and renovations include AI-enabled Zoom Rooms equipped with Logitech Rally Bar Minis—signaling a major investment in flexible, tech-forward learning spaces.
HyFlex originator Brian Beatty (San Francisco State University) notes that community colleges are expanding HyFlex to boost access and equity, while also experimenting with AI tools like custom GPTs to simulate discussions and support asynchronous learners. Meanwhile, Glori Hinck, senior instructional designer at the University of St. Thomas, shares how AI is streamlining faculty workload by generating quiz questions from video content and verifying APA style in assignments.
From infrastructure to instruction, this piece offers a compelling snapshot of how institutions are integrating AI to make HyFlex more scalable, responsive, and effective for students and faculty alike.
Read the full article here: https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2025/04/hyflex-tech-in-2025-trends-hied-perfcon
2. HyFlex: The Future of Education by Natalie Turner
https://www.easternprogress.com/lifestyles/hyflex-future-of-education/article_d0d6f8bb-c95d-41cb-bedb-c8e2add9c398.html
Eastern Kentucky University launched its first five HyFlex courses in Spring 2025 as part of a pilot study led by 11 researchers across six colleges. The courses allow students to participate in person, synchronously online, or asynchronously—offering flexibility critical for many EMS students working full- or part-time.
Student Blake Parman and faculty member Bill Young (Emergency Medical Care) highlight both the adjustment period and the long-term benefits: better academic performance, flexible access, and increased engagement. “I feel like I’ve done better...because I have multiple ways of viewing the content,” Parman shared.
Nedim Slijepcevic, assistant professor of instructional design, sees a niche future for HyFlex at EKU—valuable for working professionals but not a fit for entry-level undergrads. The model won’t replace traditional instruction, he notes, but “it has its place.”
This article offers an authentic, student-centered look at HyFlex in action and a thoughtful reflection on its scalable potential in higher education.
Read the full story here: https://www.easternprogress.com/lifestyles/hyflex-future-of-education/article_d0d6f8bb-c95d-41cb-bedb-c8e2add9c398.html
3. UMFK Offers Enhanced Flexibility with Computer Systems Administration HyFlex Model
https://thecounty.me/2025/03/29/education/umfk-offers-enhanced-flexibility-with-computer-systems-administration-hyflex-model
The University of Maine at Fort Kent (UMFK) is expanding HyFlex learning with its Bachelor of Science in Computer Systems Administration program, offering students the flexibility to attend courses in-person, synchronously online, or asynchronously based on their needs. This adaptive structure is designed to reflect both students' real-world responsibilities and the nature of the tech careers they're preparing for.
UMFK President Deb Hedeen emphasizes the university’s mission to provide dynamic, personalized learning that "meets students where they are." Assistant Professor Kelly White adds that this model is especially well-suited to computer systems administration, mirroring the hybrid work environments students will encounter in the field.
The flexible course model can shift semester by semester, delivering instruction exclusively in-person, as a live mixed-mode session via Zoom, or as fully asynchronous with optional synchronous engagement.
UMFK’s approach demonstrates how HyFlex can be strategically deployed within specific degree programs to support access, personalization, and professional relevance.
Read more: https://thecounty.me/2025/03/29/education/umfk-offers-enhanced-flexibility-with-computer-systems-administration-hyflex-model
4. Education Your Way: Our Approach to Accessible Learning by Lake Land College President Josh Bullock
https://www.myradiolink.com/2025/03/26/editorial-from-lake-land-college-president-josh-bullock-3/
In a compelling editorial, Lake Land College President Josh Bullock shares how the college is reimagining access through a variety of flexible learning models—HyFlex among them. What began as a technological response to the pandemic in 2021 has evolved into a commitment to meeting students where they are—literally and figuratively.
Bullock illustrates how HyFlex enables students to stay on track despite life’s interruptions, whether it's car trouble or caring for a sick child. Complementing HyFlex, Lake Land has launched several flexible delivery innovations: “Tech 2 Day” trades classes meet only two days per week; the hybrid paramedic program requires one weekly on-campus day; HVAC-R courses offer evening starts every few weeks; and “Flex Tech” lets Applied Engineering students complete labs at times that suit them.
Lake Land also backs its flexibility with practical support—loaner laptops, regional extension center labs, and a focus on minimizing in-person requirements. Bullock calls on readers to rethink what accessibility means today: not just affordability, but educational possibility amid life’s unpredictability.
Read the full editorial here: https://www.myradiolink.com/2025/03/26/editorial-from-lake-land-college-president-josh-bullock-3/
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