AUT has backtracked on its plans to extend the term until Christmas.

AUT has done a 180 on its plan to introduce "block courses" and extend the academic year until nearly Christmas.

The university planned the change in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

It would have seen students study each paper in four-week blocks, with teaching continuing until December 20.

But students weren't happy with the plan, with one labelling it "the worst idea" ever.

One lecturer described the move as "reckless", saying it would disadvantage the students it was supposed to benefit.

The university has taken this feedback on board, switching back to a semester-based approach.

The academic year will now end on November 6. Exam weeks will no longer take place, with assessments carried out through the semester instead.

In an all-staff email seen by Stuff, Vice Chancellor Derek McCormack said the university received "considerable feedback, directly and on social media" from concerned students.

Several of the students' issues were about the new system extending through the usual study breaks and lengthening the academic year into late December, he said.

Others were about the uncertainty created by changing the academic calendar "at a time of widespread uncertainty and anxiety generally".

McCormack said efforts had been made to address the main issues, but "unfortunately significant concerns remain".

The switch to block learning would therefore no longer happen, he said, and instead the calendar would be "aligned as far as possible with the usual semesters".

This would be more familiar to students and resolve many of the concerns raised, he said.