A common drawback of a straight online class is that students don't get the chance to meet instructors and classmates face-to-face. With a hybrid course, students spend some time in classing building rapport with instructors and peers. This gives students more comfort in contacting instructors outside of class for help, even during the online portion of the class. Hybrid courses often include teamwork and hands-on projects during the in-class portion that work better in a traditional class structure.
While students get a taste of the classroom, they can still enjoy the flexibility and convenience often sought in online courses. Many students taking hybrid classes work full-time during the day. The ability to complete much of the course online preserves their work life. Often, the in-class portion runs during the evening as well. Students with families can also work the online portion of a hybrid course around their family commitments.
A January 2013 University of Washington provost report noted that hybrid setups do offer the best of both worlds -- online and in-class. However, they create significant challenges for schools and instructors. Instructors sometimes struggle to put together a hybrid format that mirrors the experience of students in-class or online. Technological challenges and delays can negatively impact the online portion of the course. In some cases, instructors excel at either online or face-to-face instruction, but not necessarily at both.
No two hybrid courses are exactly alike. While schools often promote this fact as a plus because of flexibility and diversity of experience, it may frustrate students who prefer routine. One hybrid course might involve three weeks of face-to-face time while another requires six or seven. Instructors typically have significant discretion in the types of activities they teach in both portions of the course as well.