Trends in undergraduate course delivery methods favor flexible, accessible modalities with enhanced virtual components, as driven by post-pandemic student preferences, faculty experiences, and university-level goals and policies. In the spring 2023 to spring 2024 academic semesters, curriculum overhaul facilitated a more flexible modality structure in the introductory Crop Science course at Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS). Students were offered the choice to either attend in-person or synchronously online via Zoom and given the freedom to switch modalities as desired throughout the semester (recordings of lectures were not posted). This environment offered the opportunity to explore 1) student interaction with an online modality option, 2) impacts of modality selection on student success, and 3) general student attitudes and perceptions of the flexible modality offering. Data collection included student demographics, Zoom attendance records, exam and course grades, and end-of-semester student evaluations of teaching. On average, students attended approximately 25% of lectures virtually on Zoom, although 41% of students never used Zoom. While a higher Zoom use rate was significantly correlated with poorer course performance, course unit-to-unit differences in Zoom use behavior were not a good predictor of subsequent exam scores. Zoom usage was perhaps a better indicator of overall course engagement than learning effectiveness, and additional instructor-initiated touchpoints for students with a higher virtual preference may be a strategic response to this fact. Even students who did not utilize the virtual modality were more likely to recommend the course because online attendance was an option. Student perceptions of the course modality flexibility were overwhelmingly positive. This study demonstrates that implementing a flexible course modality can be relatively simple and can positively impact student experiences and perceptions, without direct detriment to student learning and success in the course (provided appropriate technology is available at the institution).