Presented By: Jose Lopez, Texas A&M University-Commerce

Students' motivation for optional in-person attendance in a sophomore-level hybrid course was analyzed. The students had the option to meet in-person Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the semester, except for exam weeks where students had to complete exams online. The instructor lectured on Tuesdays, and had students do exercises and team activities on Thursdays. Students had to take quizzes and participate in discussions online once week. Video recordings were provided for lectures, exercise solutions, team activities, and review questions. Regardless of online or in-person, students had access to the same content. At the end of the semester, a survey was conducted using Qualtrics XM Platform „¢ for the students who attended online, while a printed version of the survey was delivered to the students who attended in person throughout the semester. A total of 35 students enrolled in the course, 29 attended online, and 8 students attended in person throughout the semester. Of the 35 students invited to take the survey, 29 responded. About half were transfer students and the other half were non-transfer, with 9 freshmen, 10 sophomores, 8 juniors, and 2 seniors. The study examined whether student classification, residency, employment, previous online experiences, class schedule, and other demographic variables played a role in attending in-person or online. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to analyze the results. The results indicated positive linear correlation between attending in person and transfer, classification, dependents, and age. Research indicates an increased demand for online courses post the COVID-19 pandemic. This study identified characteristics of students who prefer to attend in person when in-person attendance is optional and also found that the majority preferred to attend online. The study serves as a venue for discussing trends in online teaching as well as sharing experiences.