| | OCTOBER 20239balance that can be highly valuable. Some students perceive hyflex or full-flex options as more attractive than a traditional on-campus education, in stark contrast to the deficit model outlined above. In a previous role, I worked on a large-scale `full flex' online programme that defined itself by its flexibility, and the tensions within it were visible on an almost daily basis. Some students thrived on the freedom that the highly flexible approach offered them, while others told me they yearned for the structure of a cohort. Module leaders worked incredibly hard to foster engagement, but because students defined the pace of their studies individually some felt they were casting their comments into a void when they participated in online forums. Overall, ultimate flexibility worked well for a very particular group of students: those who excelled at time-management, needed little or no support from teachers or peers, and were extremely motivated. So the people who still thought structure was important, but were more than happy to create their own.And for those of us working to deliver the programme, the more flexible it became externally ­ e.g. no prescribed route through the programme, no time limit on completion ­ the more rigid we had to become internally. Our entire back- and front-end infrastructure, including student record systems, learning platforms and assessment models, had to be incredibly robust, and were often built from scratch. The large up-front investment that this required, combined with the lack of boundaries around student intakes and completion, became a barrier to change internally. We were able to redesign the curriculum, enhance our learning platform, and support our students through change, but doing so was highly complex and labour-intensive. Before embarking on blended, hyflex or full-flex provision, universities might find it useful to write down exactly what they mean by flexibility. W hich specific benefits are they seeking to deliver, and to whom? At what cost? And what will need to remain (or become) rigid in order to deliver it? This process should include careful analysis of the specific forms of student and teacher engagement that would be encouraged or proscribed via a flexible approach, both explicitly and tacitly. Finally, to realise the full benefits of flexibility for students, many universities will have to rethink their entire human and technological infrastructure ­ so they must draw on deep insights into who their students are, and the specific opportunities and constraints of their institutional context. A critical perspective, both on flexible approaches and more traditional ones, is long overdue. Before embarking on blended, hyflex or full-flex provision, universities might find it useful to write down exactly what they mean by flexibility. Which specific benefits are they seeking to deliver, and to whom and at what cost?" The Experience environment also allows students to log in just once and access multiple resources, reducing the need for duplicate credential entries
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