Project approach
Following a preliminary consultation review in October 2023, engaging over 200 student and staff leaders, it became evident that our current academic calendar falls short of optimally achieving our University’s strategic goals. This realisation prompts us to explore the possibilities of an improved alternative academic calendar.
In April, we released a Discussion Paper, to commence Stage 1 of our review process. It delves into the critical issues and opportunities surrounding our existing and potential future academic calendar, and initiated a co-design process, inviting diverse perspectives and broad input from students, staff and community members to shape the options for our future academic calendar.
In August, we launched an options paper as part of phase 2 of this project. The options paper summarised the process to date, highlighting key themes from initial feedback, presenting the options considered, analysed, and subsequently prioritised.
Initial feedback revealed that no single option, including maintaining the current calendar, would fully meet the needs of our staff and students. This finding emphasised the importance of co-designing a calendar that offers flexibility for our diverse student body, and supports our staff and our community.
Throughout this project, students and staff have been provided opportunities for input and to participate in consultations for an Alternative Academic Calendar. This project has been broken into three Stages.
Stage 1: included an all-student survey launched at the end of April. This survey allowed us to gain deep insights into what matters most to students regarding various elements of the calendar, such as break timing, frequency of teaching terms, and study load.
Stage 2: introduced an Alternative Academic Calendar Options Paper. This document summarises the project’s progress to date, highlights key themes from initial staff and student feedback, presents two alternative academic calendar options being considered and why, and outlines the next steps in determining a future calendar. Consultation during this phase included dedicated staff consultation sessions, written feedback and all student surveys.
Stage 3 / implementation phase: The project team collated all feedback from the past two consultation phases. We’ve listened to our students and staff and proposed two options for consideration. Option A combines compulsory Semesters, with the addition of a flexible mid-year teaching term for undergraduates and retains the current trimesters for most postgraduates. Option B consists of three teaching terms, two of which are compulsory, providing all students with the flexibility to take at least one term off during the year. One of these options will proceed to implementation in 2026.
Initial feedback revealed that no single option, including maintaining the current calendar, would fully meet the needs of everyone. This finding emphasises the importance of co-designing a calendar that offers flexibility for our diverse student body, and supports our staff and our community.
With the launch of the Options Paper a new round of staff and student consultations has begun. We are currently conducting student focus groups to explore how potential changes to the Academic Calendar might impact students’ study habits, work commitments, and personal lives. Additionally, we are running another all-student survey to ensure we gather a broad range of student perspectives.
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.