Creating a flexible, contemporary curriculum for Adelaide University

What does it mean to be stackable, modular and digitally rich?   

In early August, colleagues from the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide began work on the first cycle of course development for the new Adelaide University.  

Between now and December 2027, more than 1500 experienced educators, learning designers, academic developers, and library experts will craft content for Adelaide University’s new courses and programs.  

The design of our curriculum is being guided by The Adelaide Attainment Model, which characterises the distinctive elements of learning and teaching at Adelaide University. This model introduces several innovative elements to our new curriculum, and we’ll continue to share updates about those elements with staff over coming months.  

In this update, we are focusing on three central curriculum elements – stackable qualifications, modular courses, and a digitally rich learning environment.  

Drawing on the work of our Curriculum Design Working Groups and focus groups, we have created a range of resources outlining the details and benefits of these curriculum elements, which are available on the Adelaide University intranet. We encourage you to engage with these resources and we welcome your feedback – comments can be sent to futurecurriculum@adelaide.edu.au 

Together, these curriculum elements aim to deliver both an outstanding learning experience for students and a range of innovative teaching options for educators.  

Stackable qualifications 

In a stackable curriculum, students can choose to complete incremental credentials, which build upon each other. This approach to curriculum design promotes lifelong learning and offers increased opportunities for diverse cohorts of learners to access education.  

Where it is appropriate to a program, a stackable structure can provide multiple attainment points for students. For example, if an undergraduate student completes the equivalent of one-year full time study and chooses to discontinue their study, they would receive a diploma. If they complete two years full time equivalent, they would receive an associate degree. They could then return to study at a later stage and complete their bachelor degree.  

This means if a student needs to stop studying for any reason – whether that’s a career opportunity or changing circumstances in life – they can do so at an attainment point with a recognised qualification. They can then return to study later, and their previous qualification can “stack” towards a degree.  

For educators, this structure provides focused learning outcomes for each attainment point and the opportunity for detailed feedback and assessment. Each year builds upon the previous year of learning in an incremental fashion to create a scaffolded learning structure. Aligning each of these attainment points to industry requirements helps educators stay connected with current practice and prepares students for the contemporary workplace.   

Modular courses  

Modular course design breaks each course down into smaller, self-contained units, usually with three modules to a course. Most new courses created for Adelaide University will be modular and the features of this structure will be introduced gradually between 2026 and 2034.  

From day one, it will be possible for modules to be shared between courses, creating a consistent experience for students. Educators will also have the flexibility to refresh or substitute individual modules without needing to redevelop the entire course structure, and the option to test different teaching approaches in a single module, before deciding whether to extend those to a whole course.   

Modules can be specifically aligned to specialist areas to meet industry needs, and, in time, selected modules will become available as a microcredential or short course award, which could then be stacked towards attainment of a higher qualification. This structure would also allow educators to stack existing modules together to form new courses.   

Digitally rich learning environment 

Our stackable and modular curriculum will be underpinned by a digitally rich learning environment, tailored to each course and program and designed to support engaging and active learning. Newly developed Adelaide University courses will have a common digital baseline in 2026, with the proportion of digital learning expected to increase by 2034. 

All Adelaide University courses will use the same Learning Management System, Canvas, ensuring students enjoy a consistent experience across on-campus and online learning, with both modes sharing identical processes for accessing learning materials, submitting assessment tasks, and receiving feedback throughout their learning.  

All Adelaide University on-campus courses will be delivered through high quality hybrid learning, seamlessly combining the strengths of face-to-face and online learning. This will include synchronous timetabled learning activities such as tutorials, workshops, practicals, studios, clinical activities and forums, which 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.  

At Adelaide University, most students will no longer attend face-to-face lectures, which from 2026 will gradually be 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. These asynchronous activities will be self-paced and self-directed, utilising high-quality digital resources that students can engage with anytime and anywhere. 

Over coming months, our course developers will explore the best way to integrate these three curriculum elements into their discipline areas, and we’re very excited to see the outcomes as our first new courses come to life. We will continue to share those outcomes with staff, including through some town hall events later this year.  

Professor Joanne Cys and Professor Katrina Falkner 
Curriculum Domain Lead & Alternate   
Joint Committee, Building a new Adelaide University