This descriptive study sought to understand the instructional potential of a new course design for teaching adults in higher education. Increasingly referred to as a hybrid course format, it entails dividing a course into both online and face-to-face sessions that are separately calendared. A primary focus of the study was to identify teaching principles that are recommended by established adult education models and to describe how they have been incorporated by hybrid course designers. Also studied was how combining the online and face-to-face instructional modes provides structural opportunities for improving communication and teacher/learner dynamics. The adult education models analyzed were the andragogy model, the self-directed learning model, the transformative learning model, and the experiential learning model. The structural opportunities investigated included content delivery choices such as the use of lecture- and learner-centered activities and the best practices recommendations previously published for hybrid instruction. An online survey was administered to 267 hybrid course instructors at Utah Valley University, where 20,667 students have participated in a hybrid course. This university was actively engaged in developing the hybrid course design into a quality instructional option. The online survey provided descriptive data about how hybrid course instructors at the university perceive their understanding and use of adult education theories and how they utilize the online and face-to-face modes.

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Instructors at a U.S. Military School transitioned traditional courses used for professional development (PD) of military and civilian personnel to fully online and hybrid formats that combine online and face-to-face instruction. No evaluation of student satisfaction or instructor experiences during the transition has been conducted. The purpose of this sequential mixed methods summative program evaluation was to evaluate hybrid and online delivery of 2 PD courses by analyzing student satisfaction data and instructor experiences. This study was grounded in Knowles, Holton, and Swanson's adult learning theory and Anderson's and Salmon's online learning theories. Data from 96 course evaluations from students who completed traditional, online, and hybrid versions of the PD courses, and interviews with 4 instructors who taught the courses were analyzed. Kruskal-Wallis analyses of variance tests were used to examine student satisfaction ratings for significant differences. Student satisfaction narrative and instructor interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis and axial coding to find themes. There were no significant differences in student satisfaction ratings among course delivery methods. The courses were not relevant to jobs, contained little interaction, and identified technology challenges as common themes in the student comments and the instructor interviews. Based on the findings of this study, an evaluation report was drafted with recommendations to incorporate job-related activities, interactive teaching strategies, and technology orientation sessions for future course transitions. This endeavor may contribute to positive social change by informing military officials and faculty to guide future course transitions from traditional to online and hybrid delivery.