Reasons For Changes In Victoria Timetable

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29250, 7 July 1960, Page 12

Reasons For Changes In Victoria Timetable

(Now Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, July 6. The new arte faculty timetable waa not designed to exclude part-time students from. Victoria University, but to give consideration to the growing number of full-time students and the university's aorommodation problems, the Vice-Chancellor (Dr. J. Williams) said today in reply to criticism made by Mr D. C. Seath (Opnositlon. Waitomo) in the Addrem-in-Reply debate in the House ot Representatives last night. "If Mr Seath has been correctly reported. I can only conclude that he has been misinformed as to what actually was decided at the last meeting of the university council and the reasons for the decision,” said Dr. Williams. Because of the rapid growth of student numbers at the university, the sizes of classes had increased and would increase greatly, he said. This raised acute accommodation problems. From next year onwards, the university would not have enough rooms of sufficient size to take all the classes in part-time hours, for which they had hitherto been scheduled. In fact, the existing timetable constituted an inefficient use of the university’s classroom accommodation.

A further complicating factor arose from the need to allow students a reasonable choice of subjects for their degree courses. Timetable clashes had to be avoided in subjects commonly taken together. The number of classes held at the university each week was about 600 and this figure, in itself, indicated the complexity of the problem of avoiding undesirable timetable clashes. “This matter greatly limits the university’s freedom of choice in deciding hours for particular classes,” he said.

The over-all effect of the new timetable was that about 34 per cent ot arts classes would, in future, fall outside the hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.. compared with 40 per cent, for the present year. “This movement of 6 per cent of classes into the 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. hours can scarcely be described as ’revolutionary’ to use the word attributed to Mr Seath.” Moreover, a substantial part ot new daytime classes had been scheduled between the hours of noon to 2 p.m. which for many part-time students was not inconvenient “The result may be summarised as a comparatively small shift into daytime hours which, as far as possible, would be those most convenient to part-time students. “The new timetable will certainly not mean that students will, henceforth, be prevented from taking substantial portions of the arts course as part-time students. “It is also somewhat more suitable for the large and growing number of full-time students in the arts faculty. In 1960. more full-time students were enrolled in arts than part-time students. “Many of the parents ot these full-time students have made considerable financial sacrifice to enable their children to attend full-time, arid it is fair that the university timetable should be framed with some regard to the needs of these students. “It is to be remembered that these full-time students take many more subjects and secure a higher proportion of marks in the subjects they take than do part-time students. On this ground also, this group of students deserves reasonable consideration. “The question of possible hardship to students had been carefully considered. The university proposed for the next two years the duplication of some classes, the retention of some of the present timetable hours, and the holding of special tutorials for some exempted and other students. Moreover, the needs of some students may be met by the facilities for extra-mural study provided by the university at the Palmerston North University College,” Dr. Williams said.