Outrage as major Australian university ditches face-to-face lectures

An Australian university’s decision to stop teaching students in person heralds “the death of campus life”, angry staff say.

Adelaide University announced this week that it will cancel physical lectures for “most students” when the campus opens in January 2026.

Traditional lectures are being replaced by ‘rich digital learning activities’ that are ‘self-paced’ and ‘self-directed’.

Courses will have a ‘common digital foundation’ and digital learning is expected to form a large part of course content by 2034.

“These activities deliver a volume of learning equivalent to that of traditional lectures and provide a common foundation for digital learning across all courses, providing students with a consistent experience,” the University of Adelaide said in a statement.

‘These asynchronous activities can be completed by students at their own pace and in a self-directed manner, using high-quality digital resources that they can access anytime, anywhere.’

However, activities such as tutorials and workshops can be delivered ‘on campus to create a rich cohort experience, or in cases where digital delivery produces the best outcomes for students, through the online learning environment’.

Adelaide University is a merger of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, combining the state’s two largest universities.

Traditional on-site lectures are being replaced by ‘rich digital learning activities’ that are ‘self-paced’ and ‘self-directed’ (pictured, students attending a lecture in Melbourne)

Dr Andrew Miller, secretary of the South Australia branch of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), said moving lectures online had left staff “infuriated”.

“We were promised that the new university would be co-created with staff, students and community stakeholders,” Dr. Miller said The guard.

‘This decision circumvented that commitment. Co-creation means giving agency and empowerment to build the university together.’

Dr. Miller claims that staff were not properly consulted about the decision and that teachers should have a say in the curricula.

He said fThe flexibility between online and face-to-face learning was better for students, with some benefiting more from one or the other.

NTEU National President Dr Alison Barnes told the publication that The decision heralds the ‘death of campus life’.

According to Dr Barnes, students may miss out on critical feedback that they can normally request in person from staff after classes.

She added that online learning does not offer the same ease of access.

Some students at the University of Adelaide (pictured) said the lectures allowed them to ask teachers questions face to face and motivated them to get out of bed.

Some students currently studying at the University of Adelaide expressed discomfort with the change.

‘Face-to-face lectures are a very good motivation to get people to university and [and to] “I have that separation between home and school,” one freshman said The Advertiser.

‘It’s nice to be there, you can ask questions to the teachers, you can go to the lectures. You don’t have to email and wait six days for an email back.’

A University of Adelaide spokesperson said modern students need flexibility and online learning is the best way to meet that need.

‘In recent years, universities have increasingly responded to students’ needs for flexible forms of education,’ said the spokesperson. Honi Soitthe student magazine of the University of Sydney.

‘Lectures are passive learning activities that can be delivered online to maximize flexibility for students without sacrificing learning quality.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the University of Adelaide for comment.