Methods of Course Delivery

Updated: December 7, 2021

Purpose

These designations will be used by the registrar to identify how a particular section of a course is delivered to the students. Designations will be attached to individual sections during registration so students know whether they need to be in a specific location at a specific time, and what technologies are required for them to participate fully in the course.

Requirements for all New York Tech Classes

Institutional thresholds for required content/contact hours and online activity must be maintained for all courses. Students are required to have a computer with a webcam and access to a reliable internet connection.

All course sections will have, as a minimum, a full course syllabus, contact information and office hours for the faculty, and all deadlines and due dates posted on the institution's approved LMS. All classes should strive to include additional resources and activities, as well as means for students in each class to connect with other students in a virtual environment.

Methods of Delivery

Please note, the method of delivery of a course may be modified at any time as permitted by governmental and/or accreditor regulations.

Download the Modes of Instruction

Three methods of delivery are the same as we have used previously: in person, blended, and online. The only change is in the definition of blended, to align with nationally-accepted standards. (While we used to mandate that blended courses have at least 50% of the content online, we have adjusted that to 30% as defined by the Online Learning Consortium.)

In Person (IP)¹: Traditional classroom courses that are anchored and measured by the number of hours spent in required in-person class meetings in various formats such as lectures, studios, labs, or other required face-to-face activities. This delivery method also includes courses that replace a small amount of the traditional classroom activity with Internet-based work, but very little (up to 29%) of the traditional in-class time is reduced.
Blended (BL): A course in which between 30 and 79 percent of the traditional classroom time (or contact hours) are replaced with asynchronous² online activity. There is still a defined schedule for the required in person class meetings and any online sessions that are delivered synchronously³.
Online (OL): A course in which most or all (80% or greater) of the contact hours are conducted through asynchronous online activity. The times for the students to participate are generally flexible, although there are due dates for specific assignments throughout the semester, and there may be occasional synchronous activities (in person or via videoconferencing) or exams.

The fourth method of delivery is new, and is a response to new modes of delivery that were adopted in spring 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and resulting work-from-home orders.

Hybrid Remote Instruction (HRI): Due to social distancing restrictions imposed by COVID-19, some courses are being offered in a remote synchronous modality. These are courses where the majority of the contact hours are met through synchronous videoconferencing technology. In this mode, at the faculty's discretion, there will be some in-person experience, for example for projects and exams. Courses may also be supplemented with some asynchronous online activity.

From time to time, circumstances may require an update to our class offerings. Students are encouraged to check their class schedule regularly for any changes to the time, day, location, or instruction mode of classes.

Notes

The current DL mode of instruction (point to point video linked classrooms across multiple campuses) is a special implementation of this method of delivery. In The DL mode, both the instructor and students are physically present on campus.
Asynchronous = not happening at the same time (students attend lecture or participate in classroom activities on their own time, and without real-time interactions).
Synchronous = occurring at the same time (students attend lecture or participate in classroom activities in real-time).