COLLEGE LECTURES

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 126, 30 May 1931, Page 6

COLLEGE LECTURES

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

ALTERNATE YEAR COURSES

Attention was drawn by Mr. J. 11. Powell at tho meeting of tho Victoria University College Council on Thursday, when tho annual report oi: tho Professorial; Board was under consideration,'to tho wide difference in the number of students taking subjects wHich wcro day and evening courses in alternate yeai's, and ho asked whether in view of the system of. tlie change of lectures considerable difficulty was not experienced in regard to staffing] In raising the question, Mr. Howcll dealt specifically with' tho subject of English. . Tlio, table in tho Professorial Board's report, ho said, showed that in 192S there wove 79 students taking that course. In 1920 there wero 222, and for' the past year the total was 90^ Professor Gould said that the alternation imposed a big task on tho staff. Mr. A..l ilaitvE.C.":. (f:Thcy have a hard year, .then an. easy year." ' .Tho'chairman (Mr. P.,Le.vi-) said ho did not think any difficulty had been found as far as tho students were concerned. . "There is a' slight difficulty I think," said Professor Gould. "The difficulty, from the students' point of view is in arranging their courses." In tho caso of a-part-timo student he had to arrange his subjects not perhaps as ho would desire or as the relation of one subject- to another would dictate, but according to time-table. In his opinion he thought the time- was : favourable to refer the matter to the Professorial Board for a report. . ■ . The chairman said-that when the system was introduced the_ idea was to encourage gradually more full-time students, and probably it'had had that effect to sodio extent.; Professor Gould said he did not think it was intended that the university colleges in New Zealand should bo allday institutions. . A.very useful, service- was being, provided students, who, unable to become full-time students, would .otherwise bo deprived of a university education. Mr. Howell said ho supported Professor Gould's recommendation. ■ A motion was carried referring tho question of- J alteruate-year classes in certain subjects -to the Professorial Board' for a report, with a request that special attention: be paid to the- quest tion of whether there is a necessity for additional staff- assistanco in sonio of the classes in. tho alternate j'.ears.