On 16th April, UNSW officially announced the introduction of a new “flexible semester” system to be implemented in 2028, in place of their current trimester calendar.
The new system will include two standard 12-week teaching semesters, a mid-semester break aligned with school holidays, optional summer and winter terms for intensive/catch-up courses and accelerated study, and alignment with UNSW’s current “hexamester” calendar.
According to an article posted to the UNSW website, the decision “reflects the preference of undergraduate students, who have told us they want to engage more deeply with course material, and academics, who advised us that students would benefit from more time to develop thinking and approaches to help them navigate a world where new and emerging technologies like AI are rapidly changing the landscape”.
It further aims to provide flexibility and choice around study load, as well as balancing paid work and extracurricular activities, and expand “flexible learning opportunities” for postgraduate students.
The decision comes after a 2023 review of the trimester system found that 40 per cent of students had less time for paid work, 41 per cent had less time to participate in non-academic activities, and 63 per cent had difficulty socialising with friends at other universities.
Staff surveys conducted in the same period found dissatisfaction with the “relentlessness of assessment and special consideration” and the inability to complete set work within working hours. The trimester system was found to cause “significant workload and anxiety issues for both staff and students”, thereby requiring change.
The UNSW SRC officially voted in favour of abolishing the trimester system in April 2024.
The trimester system was introduced in 2019. In 2020, UNSW was found to have the lowest student satisfaction rate in the country due to the trimester system.
