‘Furious’: Adelaide University becomes first major Aussie uni to ditch face-to-face lectures

Staff have been left outraged by the decision, which will see students having no face-to-face teaching at all.

A major Australian university has ditched face-to-face lectures entirely in a move which has reportedly outraged staff.

Adelaide University, which will launch in 2026 as a multimillion-dollar merger between the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, announced “most students” will no longer attend face-to-face lectures, which will be gradually replaced “by rich digital learning activities”.

“These activities will deliver an equivalent learning volume to traditional lectures and will form a common baseline for digital learning across courses, providing a consistent experience for students,” a post on the University of Adelaide website reads.

“These asynchronous activities will be self-paced and self-directed, utilising high-quality digital resources that students can engage with anytime and anywhere.”

Adelaide University will become the first major Australian university to ditch face-to-face lectures. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

The university stated courses will have a “common digital baseline”, with the proportion of digital learning expected to increase by 2034.

Other activities such as tutorials and workshops “may be delivered on-campus to create a rich cohort experience, or in instances where digital delivery provides the best outcomes for students, through the online learning space”, it noted.

Dr Andrew Miller, division secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union’s (Nteu’s) South Australia branch demanded the university reverse the decision, revealing staff are “furious”.

“We were promised the new university would be co-created with staff, students and community stakeholders,” he told The Guardian.

“This decision sidestepped that commitment. Co-creation means giving agency and empowerment to collectively build the university.”

Face-to-face lectures will be replaced “by rich digital learning activities Picture: NCA NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Dr Millier, who claimed the decision was made without the proper involvement of staff, said staff should have their own say in learning outcomes.

“Flexibility [between online and face-to-face] ordinarily works both ways – some learners benefit tremendously from face-to-face learning with a specialist academic present while there are other independent learners that benefit from more remote digital engagement.”

Dr Alison Barnes, the national president of the Nteu, further slammed the “outrageous” move, arguing the shift to an online model adds to the “death of campus life”.

“Having lectured most of my adult life … I think about how many students have approached me before or after lectures to raise academic issues, things they haven’t understood about material or want extra help with,” she told the publication.

The new university will start taking students from 2026. Picture: Brett Hartwig

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

“Universities have been increasingly responding to student needs for flexible delivery over the years,” they said in a statement student newspaper Honi Soit.

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

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