Course Modality Help

Beginning with Winter 2023, the entire University is adopting new course modality terms to help clarify instructional mode for students viewing the Time Schedule.

The four modalities are:

  1. In-person: Instruction is given through face-to-face meetings.
  2. Hybrid: Some, but not all, required class meetings occur in a physical classroom. When not meeting in the physical classroom, students and instructors will attend class online, either through required synchronous sessions or required asynchronous activities.
  3. Online Synchronous: Students and instructors interact online synchronously through regularly-scheduled, required meetings using applications such as Zoom. Students should also expect to interact with others and engage course materials asynchronously.
  4. Online Asynchronous: Students and instructors always interact with others and engage course materials asynchronously. While there are no regularly-scheduled, required synchronous class meetings, students are expected to meet all assignment deadlines and may be asked to schedule occasional, brief synchronous one-on-one check-in meetings with the instructors.
The Time Schedule Office is working with UWIT to update TSConstruction so that users can select the appropriate modality. Until then, please use the following to indicate modality:
  1. In person
  2. Hybrid
  3. Online Synchronous
  4. Online Asynchronous

For completely online courses (whether synchronous or asynchronous), you must first have curricular approval to offer the course as distance-learning. Instructions on how to gain curricular approval to offer a course as distance-learning, please see https://registrar.washington.edu/curriculum/guides/distance-learning/.


For more information about University Handbook provisions concerning DL courses, see Volume Four, Part III, Chapter 2, Section 1 & 7 ; Chapter 7, Section 1; Chapter 9, Section 3; Chapter 11, Section 1; Chapter 13, Section 3; Chapter 14, Section 1,2, & 4; Chapter 15, Section 1.

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