Australia¡¯s ¡°block model¡± champion has credited the teaching and learning innovation for helping engineer a remarkable turnaround in its finances.

Victoria University (VU) converted an A$18 million (?9 million) deficit in 2023 to an A$66 million surplus last year after boosting its revenue by 15 per cent, largely thanks to increases of 19 per cent in federal government funding and 26 per cent in earnings from international students.

At the same time, the university reduced its overall expenses by shaving 6 per cent from its salary bill ¨C something it achieved despite increasing its staff headcount by over 200 and enrolments by almost 3,000, according to its 2024 annual report.

Vice-chancellor Adam Shoemaker said the lower staffing costs partly reflected major job cuts in 2023. But he said the block model was a key part of the ¡°constant vigilance¡± that kept costs down across ¡°the whole gamut of expenditure¡±.

51³Ô¹Ï

Under the block model, students take subjects sequentially in intensive periods of around four weeks rather than undertaking multiple courses simultaneously over terms or semesters. While the approach was pioneered in North America in the 1960s, VU is the first institution in the world to teach its entire suite of tertiary credentials by block.

Shoemaker said the model was key to VU¡¯s ¡°student-focused¡± approach that had attracted staff and boosted enrolments. Forty-two per cent of students came from families with no previous experience of tertiary study, and they enjoyed a 93 per cent success rate.

51³Ô¹Ï

He said the model had also helped rein in expenses, because it was more cost-efficient to have lecturers coming on to campus for three-hour block sessions than one-hour tutorials. Staff also benefited because they spent less overall on transport and childcare.

VU¡¯s 2022 acquisition of a central Melbourne tower building had added to the savings, because its configuration allowed ¡°every room¡± to be adapted. ¡°We don¡¯t think of any space as being just reserved for one purpose, and that actually is incredibly efficient,¡± Shoemaker said. ¡°If you¡¯re manifesting your space use in a really flexible way, it changes the whole universe.¡±

Shoemaker said a complete overhaul of ¡°the back end in admissions¡± had also produced savings. Students applying for standard courses now received responses in about three days, down from 20.

Meanwhile, a skills development focus had improved revenue. Early childhood enrolments had risen from about 600 in 2020 to 4,000 in 2022, after the state government asked VU to be ¡°one of the lead sites¡± in producing the workforce to facilitate Victoria¡¯s extension of kindergarten to three-year-olds. Similar growth had occurred in nursing and cybersecurity, Shoemaker said.

51³Ô¹Ï

He said a harmonious relationship with staff, reflected in a for the institution¡¯s latest enterprise agreement, had also helped financially. ¡°We¡¯re always trying to¡­be a better place to work, not just [for] salary. That is what attracts people to come.¡±

The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) had a less effusive view. Victorian secretary Sarah Roberts said the institution was ¡°hurting in every department¡± following staff cuts of around 20 per cent.

Roberts said independent reviews of the block model in 2021 and 2024 had found it imposed ¡°unsustainable¡± workloads on teachers, yet the university had ¡°steadily¡± increased the size of block classes. ¡°NTEU data shows that most teachers end up contributing significant amounts of unpaid labour to provide the feedback and support students need,¡± she said.

Union branch president Matthew Klugman said VU¡¯s financial turnaround rested on the efforts of ¡°overworked¡± staff, particularly academics. ¡°Teaching staff have dedicated their careers to supporting educationally disadvantaged students. We work here because we care about our students. Will VU care about its staff and deliver safe and sustainable workloads?¡±

51³Ô¹Ï

Shoemaker acknowledged that staff were ¡°working pretty intensively¡± but said the block model was preferable to ¡°the old style of workload¡±. Conventional semester-based timetables gave staff a week or so to mark major essays for hundreds of students, just before final exams that had to be marked in another 10 days, he explained.

¡°The workload question will always come up, but¡­we¡¯ve improved the¡­manifestation of intensity by having smaller numbers,¡± he said, arguing that the biggest challenge with the block approach was the ¡°continuity¡± of four-week teaching sessions interspersed by short breaks.

51³Ô¹Ï

¡°[The union would] probably say [the] jury¡¯s still out on the year-long impact, but we have a joint consultative committee to address any issues. They know we¡¯re of goodwill and we respect them, and they respect us. It¡¯s not perfect, but it¡¯s getting better all the time.¡±

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com