The Organisation of the Academic Year: Trends, implications and issues

Executive Summary

The structure of the academic year is changing in Australian universities. Enrolments in 'non-standard' teaching periods, outside the two main semesters, are growing rapidly, particularly in summer sessions. Some institutions are considering a radical re-structuring of the calendar towards a trimester system, with three equal teaching periods providing year-round teaching.

The two principal factors driving this process of change are the desire to achieve greater efficiency in the use of expensive infrastructure and a perceived demand from students for flexibility in their study schedules.

For a trimester system to meet these demands effectively, enrolments should be equally distributed across the three teaching periods, and students should be able to commence in any trimester and take 'time off' from study to suit themselves.

The evidence from universities in other parts of the world suggests that this model may be difficult to achieve in practice. A trimester system failed in the United States in the 1970s and, although summer schools remain an important feature of higher education in that country, they operate as supplements to the main teaching periods, with much smaller enrolments. There is still comparatively little interest in Europe and Asia in year-round teaching for mainstream courses.

There is no doubt, however, that the trend towards extended teaching in Australian universities will continue. It seems likely that, in the immediate future, this will mostly take the form of increased offerings in summer sessions without disruption to the two standard semesters. There is considerable potential for expansion of summer offerings, particularly at the postgraduate level.

What has been largely lacking in the discussion so far is a detailed analysis of how proposed structural changes may impact on the core activities of the university-teaching, learning and research. The main issues to be considered are the possible effects on sequential learning, student intellectual development and maturation, the student on-campus experience, and the nature of academic work.

Whichever structure is chosen for extended teaching periods, it is vital that planning be based on the following principles:

sequential learning structures are maintained for students to the extent judged necessary by the academics in the discipline;
compression of any teaching periods allows sufficient time for some depth in student learning and maturation;
compression of teaching periods does not run counter to sound assessment practices;
where the on-campus experience based on social interaction is an important part of a university's mission, this is equally supported in all teaching periods;
where cohort formation is seen as a valuable aspect of the student learning experience, this is supported and not weakened by administrative structures and arrangements;
there is rigorous monitoring of the equivalence of intensive and accelerated programmes to 'regular' courses; and
academic staff research time and opportunities are protected.

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