NCCU, Cisco Systems partner with 'Hybrid Learning' to increase access for students on and off campus

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the NC Central campus buzzed with activity and classrooms were full. "I’d say things have changed alot," said NC Central senior Maurice McKellar, who spent much of his college experience in a virtual learning mode.

He remembers how schools and universities had to quickly adapt to learning online with hopes of returning to the classic classroom model. Now, McKellar prefers both models.

He said, "It definitely gave us like a lot of opportunities to change the way we do things and still get an education."

"The world has changed and hybrid work is going to be the way of the future," says Scott McGregor, with Cisco Systems, an IT and networking company. They have partnered with NC Central as the school has embrace that hybrid model.

Cisco’s Webex app allows people to meet with anyone, anywhere and in real time. "The video and audio capabilities of our technology makes it easy for that student to really feel like they are much more present than it was in the past," said McGregor.

It wasn’t as smooth of a transition for other "sister institutions" according to NCCU’s chief information officer, Leah Kraus. She said, "Because we had prepared with a strong infrastructure, a strong network infrastructure and a strong partnership with CISCO, we were able to really pivot."

Jessica Ganao, chair of NCCU’s Department of Criminal Justice says the new Hybrid-Learning model meets the needs of many of her students who work other jobs. "Where our students will come into the classroom physically, come through Webex or we will record the sessions and allow them to view them after the class has taken place for that day.

School leaders say on-campus learning will always be an important part of the college experience for most students and faculty, however, now they have more options.

"I’ve been calling it moving from hybrid school or hybrid learning. We are really hybrid-living. I don’t really see us going backwards," said Kraus.

NC Central leaders say the flexibility of the hybrid-learning approach will make classes more accessible to students who may not be able to participate on campus.