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Reimagining hospitality and tourism education: The impact of an immersive block model at The Hotel School Australia (Practice report)
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Reimagining hospitality and tourism education: The impact of an immersive block model at The Hotel School Australia (Practice report)

Judith Mair, Clare du Plessis, Damian Fernando, Yu (Jack) Qin, Erica Wilson and Elizabeth Goode
SSRN, Vol.Series Paper No. 61
Southern Cross University Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Research Paper Series, Elsevier
14/08/2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.7280779
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Abstract

block model immersive learning hospitality education student success Southern Cross Model
This practice report evaluates the impact of an immersive block teaching model known as the Southern Cross Model (SCM) on hospitality education at The Hotel School Australia (THSA). The SCM was implemented as a response to changing industry expectations of graduates, increasing diversity in student demographics, and calls for more flexible and engaging ways of learning. Instead of the traditional semester structure, the SCM offers six-week terms in which students focus their studies intensively on two units at a time. Using quantitative measures and institutional data, this study examined changes in student success, grade point average (GPA), progression, and satisfaction before and after implementation (2022–2025). Findings show that overall success rates increased from 75.9% to 91.5%, GPA rose significantly and absent fail grades (where students do not submit any assessment tasks) declined. Student satisfaction with both units and teaching also improved. Notably, equity cohorts such as First Nations students, and those from low socioeconomic status backgrounds, demonstrated strong improvements. Some challenges were identified for staff, and for those students whose studies were undertaken during the time of transition to the SCM; however, overall, the SCM shows significant promise for enhancing engagement and achievement in contemporary hospitality higher education contexts.

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