Overview
- A National Tertiary Education Union survey of more than 4,000 university staff found 62% reported tutorial sizes had increased since 2019 and that over half of tutorials now have 30 or more students.
- About 11.9% of tutorials now run with 50–100 students, up from 5.4% in 2019, while the share of tutorials in the research‑backed 10–19 student range has fallen sharply.
- Staff told the survey they are seeing worse student engagement and learning outcomes, with 78% reporting declines and 52% noting falling student satisfaction scores.
- The union attributes the trend to funding and policy shifts — including the Job‑Ready Graduates changes — plus pandemic pressures and a roughly $1.8 billion funding shortfall that forced larger classes and heavier workloads.
- NTEU leaders are calling for per‑student funding restoration to protect access and equity, warning that larger tutorials leave disadvantaged students unseen and could weaken degree quality over time.