The Great Shift or the Great Return? A Comparative Student Analysis of Post-Pandemic Teaching Modes

Post-pandemic higher education has often been framed as having undergone a structural “Great Shift” toward Hybrid and Blended Learning. This study tests that assumption by comparing student perceptions across two phases: a 2022 historical baseline (N = 344) capturing post-pandemic expectations, and a 2025 follow-up cohort primarily based in Italy (N = 129) assessing current teaching practice. Students classified their courses using a four-category taxonomy ranging from fully face-to-face to online. Results show no evidence of a large-scale transition to Hybrid learning. Only 6.2% of respondents report experiencing a model in which online activities meaningfully replace physical seat time. Instead, the dominant configuration is “supported traditionalism,” where face-to-face teaching remains central but is augmented by digital repositories and administrative tools. Additionally, nearly 30% of respondents belong to a “Native Cohort” with no pre-pandemic reference point, rendering post-COVID comparison narratives increasingly obsolete. Interpreted through Blended Learning theory and the SAMR model, the findings suggest that post-pandemic change reflects technological augmentation rather than pedagogical transformation, with strategic implications for institutional priorities and quality assurance.