First major Aussie uni ditches face-to-face lectures

A large Australian assemblage has ditched face-to-face lectures wholly successful a determination which has reportedly outraged staff.

Adelaide University, which volition motorboat successful 2026 arsenic a multimillion-dollar merger betwixt the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, announced “most students” volition nary longer be face-to-face lectures, which volition beryllium gradually replaced “by affluent integer learning activities”.

“These activities volition present an equivalent learning measurement to accepted lectures and volition signifier a communal baseline for integer learning crossed courses, providing a accordant acquisition for students,” a station connected the University of Adelaide website reads.

“These asynchronous activities volition beryllium self-paced and self-directed, utilising high-quality integer resources that students tin prosecute with anytime and anywhere.”

The assemblage stated courses volition person a “common integer baseline”, with the proportionality of integer learning expected to summation by 2034.

Other activities specified arsenic tutorials and workshops “may beryllium delivered on-campus to make a affluent cohort experience, oregon successful instances wherever integer transportation provides the champion outcomes for students, done the online learning space”, it noted.

Dr Andrew Miller, part caput of the National Tertiary Education Union’s (Nteu’s) South Australia subdivision demanded the assemblage reverse the decision, revealing unit are “furious”.

“We were promised the caller assemblage would beryllium co-created with staff, students and assemblage stakeholders,” helium told The Guardian.

“This determination sidestepped that commitment. Co-creation means giving bureau and empowerment to collectively physique the university.”

Dr Millier, who claimed the determination was made without the due engagement of staff, said unit should person their ain accidental successful learning outcomes.

“Flexibility [between online and face-to-face] ordinarily works some ways – immoderate learners payment tremendously from face-to-face learning with a specializer world contiguous portion determination are different autarkic learners that payment from much distant integer engagement.”

Dr Alison Barnes, the nationalist president of the Nteu, further slammed the “outrageous” move, arguing the displacement to an online exemplary adds to the “death of field life”.

“Having lectured astir of my big beingness … I deliberation astir however galore students person approached maine earlier oregon aft lectures to rise world issues, things they haven’t understood astir worldly oregon privation other assistance with,” she told the publication.

A spokesperson for Adelaide University said the determination distant from face-to-face lectures is not new.

“Universities person been progressively responding to pupil needs for flexible transportation implicit the years,” they said successful a connection pupil paper Honi Soit.

“Lectures are passive learning activities that tin beryllium delivered online to maximise flexibility for students without impacting learning quality.”

News.com.au has contacted the University of Adelaide for comment.