In this paper, Hume and Griffin report that \u201cno online delivery was the dominant category of delivery for all types of training providers prior to the pandemic.\u201d They noted that \u201cthe proportion of training delivered in this way did \u2026 vary between providers, with no online delivery highest among schools (99%); community education (CE) providers (89%); enterprise providers (87%); and universities (83%).\u201d In addition, and in the first year of pandemic, \u201cuniversities reported a substantial decline, of more than 22%, in subjects with no online delivery. This steep decline was countered by a corresponding increase in subjects delivered via blended delivery. Online-only delivery in universities increased marginally by 1% in 2020, remaining stable into 2021.\u201d In addition,<\/p>\n

\u201cother training providers, such as private training providers, TAFE institutes and community education providers, reported similar decreases from 2019 to 2020 in subjects with no online delivery (between approximately 6% and 7%). The proportionate decline of subjects with no online delivery in the second year of the pandemic has been considerably less for almost all the training provider types (noting that this increased in 2021 for enterprise providers). Subjects delivered through blended delivery increased between 2020 and 2021 for private training providers, TAFE institutes and community education providers. TAFE institutes recorded the biggest increase, of almost 6%, while private training providers and community education providers increased by around 3% and 2% respectively.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is also interesting to note that:<\/p>\n

\u201conly private training providers reported a continued growth in online-only enrolments over the three-year period, from 13% in 2019 to almost 17% in 2021. Most of this increase occurred in the first year of the pandemic. In 2021 other training providers have either reverted to pre-pandemic levels (for example, TAFE institutes), or remained at similar levels to 2020 (for example, community education providers and schools). Enterprise providers reported that, by comparison with pre-pandemic figures, fewer subjects were being delivered online-only in 2021. The modes of delivery for VET subjects in schools have remained relatively stable across the three years, with only marginal changes, of around 1%.\u201d<\/p>\n

Delivery modes used across the different program levels<\/h2>\n

The report found that<\/p>\n

\u201cthe trend between 2019 and 2020 of subjects with no online delivery declining, and increasing blended delivery, is also apparent when examining the delivery of VET across program levels.\u201d Indeed, \u201cprior to the pandemic, lower-level (certificates I and II) subjects were delivered without any online training at a much higher rate than for certificates III and above. For certificates I and II, this was at around 85% and 87% in 2019, respectively, whereas for the certificate III this was approximately 66%, followed by certificate IV (50%) and diploma or higher (56%). Between 2019 and 2021, certificate I subjects with no online delivery declined by more than 11%, with the majority of this decrease occurring between 2019 and 2020. For certificate II subjects, the drop was relatively consistent, at almost 4% in 2020 and 3% in 2021. For certificate III and above subjects, the most substantial decline occurred directly in response to the pandemic in 2020, with much smaller decreases recorded in 2021 (for example, the certificate IV decreased by 9% and subsequently 4%, and the diploma or higher declined by 9%, and then 5%). Subjects delivered through blended delivery increased across all program levels between 2019 and 2021, and, as before, the most substantial changes were recorded in 2020. Certificate I subjects witnessed an increase of approximately 5% between 2019 and 2020, with similar increases also recorded for certificate III and diploma or higher subjects. Smaller increases of around 3% to 4% were reported for certificate II and IV subjects. Online-only delivery of subjects increased in 2020 and 2021 for certificate I, certificate IV and diploma, and, similar to previous trends, this increase was most pronounced in 2020. In 2021, however, online-only subject enrolments in certificates II and III were relatively similar to those recorded pre-pandemic, with only a slight increase in 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is the effect of student \u2018remoteness\u2019?<\/h2>\n

Hume and Griffin report that:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt appears that the initial decline, in 2020, of subjects with no online delivery corresponds to the regions that were more severely impacted by pandemic lockdowns and restrictions. In major cities, the proportion of subjects with no online delivery declined by almost 9%. This figure gradually decreased as remoteness increased, with inner-regional declining by 6%; outer-regional was at 5%, and 4% for both remote and very remote. This decline continued into 2021 for all regions but was less pronounced.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, and \u201cacross all regions, subjects delivered through blended delivery increased year on year, although most increases in 2021 were less than those recorded in 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n