An Australian university’s decision to scrap face-to-face classes with students will mark “the death of campus life”, furious staff members have said.
The University of Adelaide announced this week that it will phase out in-person classes for “the majority of students” when the campus opens in January 2026.
Traditional in-person lectures will be replaced by “enriched digital learning activities” that will be “self-paced” and “self-directed.”
Courses will have a “common digital foundation” and digital learning is expected to account for a large share of courses by 2034.
“These activities will provide an equivalent amount of learning to traditional lectures and will form a common foundation for digital learning across all courses, providing a consistent experience for students,” the University of Adelaide said in a statement.
‘These asynchronous activities will be self-paced and self-directed, and will use high-quality digital resources that students can interact with anytime, anywhere.’
However, activities such as tutorials and workshops “can be delivered on campus to create an enriching experience for the cohort or, in cases where digital delivery provides the best outcomes for students, through the online learning space.”
The University of Adelaide is a merger of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, combining the state’s two largest universities.
The University of Adelaide will not offer in-person classes for “the majority of students” when it launches in 2026 (University of Adelaide pictured)
Traditional in-person classes will be replaced by “enriched digital learning activities” that will be “self-paced” and “self-directed” (pictured, students attend a conference in Melbourne)
Division secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) South Australian branch, Dr Andrew Miller, said moving classes online had left staff “furious”.
“We were promised that the new university would be created in partnership with staff, students and community stakeholders,” Dr Miller said. The Guardian.
“This decision has evaded that commitment. Co-creation means giving capacity and empowerment to collectively build the university.”
Dr Miller says staff were not adequately consulted about the decision and that tutors should be allowed to take part in learning programmes.
He said fFlexibility between online and in-person learning was better for students, some of whom benefited more from one or the other.
NTEU National President Dr Alison Barnes told the publication that The decision will mark the “death of university life.”
Dr. Barnes said students could miss out on important feedback they would normally be able to ask staff in person after in-person classes.
Online learning does not facilitate the same kind of easy access, he added.
Some University of Adelaide students (pictured) said in-person classes allowed them to ask questions of lecturers in person and motivated them to get out of bed.
Some students currently studying at the University of Adelaide said they were uncomfortable with the change.
“In-person classes are a really good motivation for people to get out and go to college (and) have that separation between home and school,” said one freshman. The advertiser.
“It’s nice to be there, you can ask the teachers questions, you can attend classes. You don’t have to send an email and wait six days for a response.”
A University of Adelaide spokesperson said modern students require flexibility and online learning is the best way to achieve this.
“Universities have become increasingly responsive to students’ needs for flexible learning over the years,” the spokesperson said. Hello Soitthe student newspaper of the University of Sydney.
‘Lectures are passive learning activities that can be delivered online to maximize flexibility for students without affecting the quality of learning.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted the University of Adelaide for comment.
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