Studying Omnimodally While Working Full Time

Why omnimodal higher education is necessary today

Labour markets and professional careers are changing rapidly. This requires practice-oriented competences, continuous education and training, as well as flexible pathways to recognised qualifications. Working students are often employed at 80 to 100 percent; their learning times and places are irregular, and peak professional workloads can hardly be planned in the long term.

At the same time, expectations from the economy and society regarding the permeability of the higher education system are increasing: degree programmes should enable students to study alongside employment, aligned to needs and connected to further pathways. Representatives of the business community – such as economiesuisse – emphasise the importance of rapid, competence-oriented educational routes and flexible study models.

Traditional compulsory attendance requirements, rigid end-of-semester examinations and inflexible time windows are reaching their limits in this context. They can lead to delays in studies, jeopardise completion rates and place a burden precisely on those students who are already heavily committed to work and family.

Omnimodal higher education responds to these challenges by offering several equivalent access routes to a curriculum: face-to-face teaching, synchronous online participation and asynchronous learning through recordings are systematically aligned with one another. What is decisive is not the technology itself, but a consistent, quality-assured design that allows freedom of choice without compromising academic standards and assessment integrity.

HyFlex+ as an integrated, quality-assured model

With HyFlex+, Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences will implement such an omnimodal study model across the board in Bachelor’s and consecutive Master’s programmes from May 2026. Building on the HyFlex model according to Brian J. Beatty, three equivalent learning pathways are connected: on-site face-to-face sessions, live streaming in real time and complete class recordings for flexible use anytime and anywhere. These three pathways are uniquely complemented by the AI-supported learning app “Brian”, which structures and deepens self-study independent of time and place.

Depending on their professional or private situation, students can switch between these learning pathways without losing curricular coherence. The learning app Brian supplements synchronous teaching with a systematically structured self-study component in which content is deepened, knowledge gaps are closed and learning progress is continuously reviewed. In this way, Brian makes a measurable contribution to improved learning and examination outcomes.

The core of HyFlex+ is a consistently student-centred design: learning objectives, learning activities and assessment formats are aligned in such a way that they remain achievable regardless of the chosen learning pathway. This constructive alignment ensures comparability and validity. Omnimodality therefore does not mean unstructured flexibility, but clearly structured freedom of choice within binding academic standards.

The assessment model is aligned with the lived reality of students who are employed to a high percentage. Instead of a small number of highly condensed end-of-semester examinations, shorter, more frequent module examinations are introduced, which can be completed digitally and from any location on one’s own computer. Examination windows at two-month intervals allow individual peak workloads to be taken into account without interrupting studies. Internal data show that modular examination cycles increase pass rates, reduce examination stress, and better reflect learning progression.

Brian is closely integrated with the assessment system: part of the examination questions is based directly on the material covered in the learning app. Consistent, regular self-study is thus measurably rewarded and becomes a central resource for academic success – an important signal in an environment in which, alongside academic excellence, perseverance and self-organisation are required.

Didactic and organisational prerequisites

HyFlex+ changes the logic of teaching and learning at Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences. A primarily course-centred understanding is replaced by an integrated learning process design across multiple routes.

From a didactic perspective, the model requires a clear structuring of modules: the learning objectives are formally defined in the teaching and learning plans, and it is specified which content is to be developed in synchronous formats and which in self-study supported by Brian. All learning objectives formulated in this way are relevant for assessment and are appropriately reflected in the module examination.

The total workload per ECTS remains unchanged. Through the introduction of Brian, however, part of the previous face-to-face and live-streaming components is shifted into a structured and specifically supported self-study component. The workload is therefore not increased but redistributed didactically – with the effect that temporal flexibility increases further, and studies can be combined even more effectively with employment at 80–100 percent.

The role of teaching staff is changing: alongside subject and teaching expertise, the design of coherent learning pathways comes to the fore. Lecturers develop into instructional designers who plan learning processes, analyse data from Brian and provide targeted feedback on this basis. The learning progress and usage data generated in Brian feed into the planning of synchronous teaching and enable it to be aligned in real time to the needs of students. Examination results are systematically analysed within the framework of module reviews and used for the substantive and didactic further development of modules, so that subsequent cohorts benefit from optimised teaching and learning arrangements. A central team supports teaching staff by technically setting up and maintaining the Brian courses, allowing them to focus on content design, didactic design, and alignment with module examinations.

To ensure that HyFlex+ does not lead to a gradual shift from social, synchronous learning towards the mere consumption of class recordings, lecturers are specifically supported in making face-to-face sessions and live streaming visibly more value-adding: through interaction, application, discussion, and cooperative learning formats. Synchronous teaching should not repeat what is already available in recordings or in Brian but deepen learning processes and strengthen social cohesion within the study groups.

On an organisational level, implementation takes place in stages. From May 2026, class recordings will be rolled out across the board and, in a first wave until 2028, Brian will be integrated into a large part of the modules – prioritising those with many enrolled students, high practice requirements or noticeable failure rates. From 2028, expansion to the remaining modules will follow.

Accompanying this, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are being established to record the use of the different learning pathways, success rates in module examinations and the satisfaction of students and lecturers. In this way, HyFlex+ is not only introduced, but continuously further developed in an evidence-based way.

Expected impact for students, teaching staff and the higher education system

For working students, HyFlex+ creates a new quality of compatibility between studies, employment, and private life. Modules are generally studied over a period of two months and subsequently examined; examinations take place six times per year and include first attempts and resits. Students can choose at which session to sit which examination. This freedom of choice significantly reduces examination stress and demonstrably contributes to high levels of satisfaction. At the same time, the model requires a high degree of personal responsibility: those who rely exclusively on asynchronous formats risk forfeiting social and discursive learning opportunities.

For teaching staff, HyFlex+ represents a significant professionalisation boost. The use of learning analytics from Brian makes it possible to identify learning progress more precisely within the ongoing module, to target support more accurately and to reflect on the effectiveness of synchronous teaching in a data-based way. Examination results and student feedback are incorporated into module reviews and serve the continuous substantive and didactic further development for subsequent cohorts. At the same time, demands regarding planning, coordination, and feedback increase – tasks that require additional time and institutional resources.

At an institutional level, HyFlex+ positions Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences as a responsible innovator in the field of demanding higher education alongside employment. The omnimodal orientation makes it possible to further develop degree programmes specifically for those who are employed at 80 to 100 percent while nevertheless striving for a high-quality, accredited degree.

At system level, HyFlex+ contributes to the further development of the Swiss higher education landscape. Through the combination of omnimodal study architecture, supported self-learning infrastructure and modularised assessment, new reference points are set for the design of degree programmes alongside employment. Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences understands itself as a reflective actor that takes regulatory requirements – for example with regard to data protection, assessment and accreditation – seriously, while at the same time making use of existing room for innovationto test needs-oriented, evidence-based solutions.

In the short term, the focus is on the comprehensive introduction of class recordings, the introduction of Brian in selected modules and the optimisation of learning pathways with accompanying monitoring. In the medium term, the full integration of Brian into all modules and the further refinement of learning pathways will come into focus. In the long term, Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences aims to set standards for HyFlex higher education in Switzerland and to contribute experiences from its own practice to the higher education policy discourse.

HyFlex+ as a driver of equitable higher education

HyFlex+ combines high flexibility with binding quality standards and thus responds to the real living and working conditions of working students without lowering the standard of academic depth and assessment integrity. Through the combination of several equivalent learning pathways, systematic support of self-study and an assessment design aligned to professional requirements, HyFlex+ opens up new forms of participation in higher education and makes an important contribution to equal opportunities in Switzerland. Higher education should not remain a privilege of those who can either afford full-time study without employment or a classical part-time study programme with employment reduced to a maximum of 50 percent at public institutions. Key to this approach is that freedom of choice is always embedded in a clearly structured, didactically sound overall model.

Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences understands HyFlex+ as a long-term transformation project of study architecture and teaching and learning culture. The impact of the model is continuously reviewed empirically; adjustments are made based on data and in dialogue with students, lecturers, and external stakeholders. In this way, HyFlex+ contributes to shaping higher education alongside employment in Switzerland in a way that is fit for the future – for people who must combine work, education, and personal obligations during demanding phases of life.