Lincoln space shortage

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32563, 24 March 1971, Page 9

Lincoln space shortage

Lincoln College would be facing an acute accommodation problem unless early approval was given for the building of the proposed library - administrative block and extensions to the Hilgendorf wing, the principal (Dr M. M. Burns) told the monthly meeting of the college council yesterday. Dr Burns said that the accommodation problem had been accentuated by the marked increase in the student roll and the increases in the proportion of students with degrees. Even if early approval was given, the library block would not be ready for occupation until the beginning of 1974 and it did not look as if extensions to the Hilgendorf wing would be ready before the end of 1975, said Mr H. M. Harvey, assistant registrar (buildings and services). This year there was a roll of 1020 full-time students, but present facilities were designed for a roll of 550 students only. By 1975 it was estimated that there would be between 1900 and 2000 students and by 1978 the total roll would probably rise to more than 2000 students, he said. The estimated 1975 roll would be made up of about 220 post-graduate students, 1000 under-graduate students and the balance in diploma students.

Mr Harvey said that the increase in the number of degree students at the college this year was more than 35 per cent. On March 1 there were 461 under-graduate degree students and 149 post- , graduate; students. 1 “If our enrolment projeq- ' tion is correct we will be short of about 700 seats in lecture rooms of varying sizes,” he said. There would also be a shortage of about 200 work places for undergraduates, 30 places for advanced students and 60 ’ places for research students. I In addition about 100 more > non-laboratory places for sen- . ior students would be needed. s In the library at least 300 5 more reader places would be required. ; “The crux of the whole mat--1 ter is in the weight the aui thorities place in our enroll ment projections,” he said. . "Unless we get planning pert mission these problems can > only get very much greater.” Professor R. H. M. Langer ■ said that the college would be facing supreme difficultiies 1 even if the time schedule for • the proposed buildings was ■ kept to, and he would hate * to think what would happen I if there were any delays. , There were at least three I pressing points to be considI ered, he said. i The first was that the postgraduate roll was rising I steeply and there was no reaL son to suggest that it was , going to change. Already it i was very difficult to provide i research students with research space.

The second grave difficulty concerned the under-gradu-ate teaching laboratories. Students could not be given the opportunity to go back to the labs to try another experiment, because other classes were using the rooms. Thirdly it was not even possible to provide 130 sq. ft for a private study for teachers.

“How can we ask people to work effectively without a private room?” he asked. The present accommodation at the college hardly did justice to the role Lincoln College had to play both now and in the future, said the registrar (Mr H. G. Hunt). Mr G. Gibson said that he did not think that there was any other case as “utterly bad” as that facing Lincom College. Dr Burns said that in the past the rate of growth at Lincoln College had been underestimated by the University Grants Committee, but now the committee accepted the college’s projections as reasonable and realistic. In his report presented to the meeting Dr Bums said that progress on the union building at the college was fair, but unless there was a marked increase in the rate of construction the chances of the building being completed within the tender schedule were remote. Unless the contract was completed on time, the college would be faced with great difficulties in coping with examination requirements for 1971, he said.