University Limits Overseas Students

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32298, 16 May 1970, Page 1

University Limits Overseas Students

Limits on the number of overseas students to be admitted to the University of Canterbury next year were announced yesterday by the Vice-Chancellor (Professor N. C. Phillips).

About the same number as are enrolled this year will be admitted: more than 640. or about 12 per cent of fulltime students.

To this end, the number of overseas students enrolled for the first time in 1971 will be restricted to 150, excluding graduate students. Of the 150, not more than 100 will be admitted to science classes. The university regretted the need for the restrictions, Professor Phillips said. In general, overseas students made good academic progress, and by adding variety to the student population were an asset to the sity.Overseas students had much to teach New Zealanders: also by educating and training them the university was

- making its best contribution - towards helping developing ’ | countries. Rapid Rise ■ ' However, Professor Phillips - isaid, the time had come when Jin the interests of both New , Zealand and overseas students B isome regulation was neces■jsary. Since 1965, the number .I of overseas students attending the university had trebled 1 'and new admissions had risen • | from 46 in 1965 to 145 in 1 1969 and to 308 this year. s The university could not ■ continue at this rate without 1 a serious deterioration in 1 standards of teaching and re- ■ search, because of the pressure on its resources and be1 cause of its responsibility to > find places for qualified New Zealanders, Professor Phillips sisaid.

In reaching its decision, the university had taken account of the limits imposed by living accommodation, by teaching accommodation, and by teaching staff, materials, and equipment Concentration

One problem was that overseas students tended to conicentrate in certain faculties, notably science and engineerilng. he said. If no steps were taken to control admissions, the faculty of science would Inext year require a greater (increase in staff and associated facilities than the university could afford. The rise in overseas enrolments had occurred mainly among private, unassisted students—37 per cent of such enrolments in 1965. but 92 per cent this year. [ In selecting 150 overseas istudents for next year, the I university would give precedence to those sponsored by the Government under the Colombo Plan and similar schemes, and whose academic! records gave them a reason-1 able prospect of success in i their studies, Professor Phillips said. For the rest, the choice would be made on academic merit alone. Even with a limit of 150 on new students, the overseas enrolment of about 640 would be a higher proportion than in most universities in Australia and New Zealand. The formal limit of 20 overseas entrants to the first pro-i fessional engineering course i would be retained, although, | as in the past, it might be possible to admit more to make; up the 200 first professional! students that the School of Engineering could accept each year, Professor Phillips said There was no question of denying readmission to overseas students who had fulfilled the normal academic requirements, he said As far as the university was concerned, overseas and New Zealand students were on exactly the same footing as to exclusion for unsatisfactory academic progress.