University of Melbourne uses six-year-old COVID-era lectures amid financial struggles and student complaints
Consensus Summary
The University of Melbourne is facing criticism for using six-year-old recorded lectures from the COVID era in its bachelor of biomedicine program, despite charging domestic students nearly $13,600 and international students over $56,000 in tuition fees. While the university insists in-person teaching is prioritized and outdated materials are being phased out, students and their families express disappointment, arguing that high fees should correspond to current, engaging content. The university’s financial struggles are also highlighted, with an operating deficit of $122 million in 2025 and a fifth consecutive deficit forecast for 2026, though its overall assets remain substantial at nearly $11.5 billion. The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has raised concerns about the quality of teaching and the university’s financial transparency, linking wage negotiations to long-standing issues about staff workloads and investment in the workforce.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- The University of Melbourne is using six-year-old recorded lectures from the COVID era in its bachelor of biomedicine program alongside in-person teaching.
- Tuition fees for the bachelor of biomedicine course were nearly $13,600 for domestic students and over $56,000 for international students in 2025.
- Acting dean Mike McGuckin of the faculty of medicine, dentistry and health sciences stated that in-person teaching is prioritized and the university is phasing out the COVID-era material.
- Monash University also uses a mix of recorded and face-to-face lessons, while Victoria University has no recorded lectures, offering only live, interactive classrooms.
- The University of Melbourne reported assets of nearly $11.5 billion and a net financial surplus of nearly $273 million on revenue of over $3.7 billion in 2024.
- Acting vice chancellor Glyn Davis warned that the 2025 accounts showed a $122 million operating deficit, the fourth in a row, with a fifth forecast for 2026.
- David Gonzalez, president of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) at Melbourne, criticized the use of outdated teaching materials and called for fair wage growth and workload improvements for staff.
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The article was published on 2026-04-24T10:25:43.018495, while the SMH article was published on 2026-04-25T14:25:49.301295.
- The parent of a student spoke anonymously to THEAGE about the disappointment in using six-year-old material, emphasizing the high fees and desire for a full university experience.
- The SMH article includes a note at the end: 'Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights.'
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- No contradictions found between the two sources regarding factual claims.
Source Articles
Students paying $56,000 to watch six-year-old taped lectures at Australia’s most prestigious university
Students and a teaching union are unhappy over six-year-old online lectures being used for one of Australia’s most expensive undergrad degrees.
Students paying $56,000 to watch six-year-old taped lectures at Australia’s most prestigious university
Students and a teaching union are unhappy over six-year-old online lectures being used for one of Australia’s most expensive undergrad degrees.