Course Delivery Methods

Course delivery and teaching modes

At Mason, online education includes courses that are 50 percent or more online. Below is a summary of key terms.

Delivery Mode

What percentage of the course is delivered online?

• Face-to-face: More than 50 percent of scheduled class time is on-campus or face-to-face. These are not online courses and are not listed on this website.
• Hybrid online: 51 to 99 percent of scheduled class time is online. Remaining class time requires face-to-face meetings.
• Fully online: 100 percent of scheduled class time is online.

Interaction Mode

When do the instructor and students interact?

• Synchronous: Classes are held on a set schedule, and students virtually attend an instructor-led session on a regular basis.
• Asynchronous: Students can study at their own pace, accessing instructional materials online in Blackboard at any time. There is still a set schedule with due dates.