NEW ZEALAND UNIVERSITY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21983, 19 June 1933, Page 10

NEW ZEALAND UNIVERSITY

EXCHANGE AND INTERCHANGE •■)'•.■■ ' INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EXAMINATIONS." (From Oub Own Correspondent.) ' LONDON, May 12. .; In the Universities Review for. April there is to be found a New Zealand letter dealing with matters of moment in connection with university procedure in the Dominion; The reader is given the following information:— ; The most important development in university affairs in recent months concerns the examination system. At present the work of the first two years of the three required for the B.A. degree is marked in New. Zealand and the third year's work by examiners, in Britain. The work of the, candidates for honours arid M.A. is also .marked in Britain. There are obvious disadvantages in this system of external examination. Results, are necessarily received five or six weeks later than would probably be the case if the papers were marked in New Zealand. This disadvantage has, however, been declining in importance lately/ as results have been received several weeks before the beginning of the new academic year. , - Professors whose work is judged largely > by ,the results of external examination are inclined to regard * ne system as a slight upon their own ability. The Academic Board of the university recommended to the senate that examination' in stage 111 (final 8.A.) and honours in arts > and science should be conducted as far as possible in New Zealand, and that the senior teacher in each subject in the four constituent colleges of the university should be a member of the Board of Examiners in that subject. When the senate dis-

. cusSed this recommendation there was a considerable difference of opinion, the professorial members supporting it and the other speakers for. the most part counselling caution in making a departure which would still further isolate the university. It was stated in the course of the debate-that the external system: was retained only in some "universities in India and in New Zealand.' No information-seemed to be forthcoming on combinations of internal and external examination such as that in vogue in some.other not unimportant univer-: sities, arid the'• vagueness of the debate on this point seems to suggest that more study might be'given to the subject. . Br James Hight, rector of * Canterbury College, expressed the view that external examination did not keep the university in e ,touch with .modern thought. This could be brought about much better by. study, interchange of .professors, and occasional visits to other universities. Eventually, the Executive Committee was left to draw up a scheme for, submission to the senate. It is to be hoped that representative views of graduates" with experience abroad will be obtained. Many of those with whom I have, spoken agree that external examination is by. no' means ideal, but they would like to see the system of exchange visits in full working : order, and on a proper financial basis before any radical change is made. It is pointed out that internal examination for the third and fourth years' work will limit still further the.leisure of the professors, and wijl add to their present.difficulty in keeping up to date in their work. Tn a country like New. 'Zealand; too, 'oh which the influence of : early history and iriterprovincial rivalry is still very apparent, there is likely to be' some difficulty in maintaining public confidence in the complete impartiality of awards of important scholarships. At present the merits < of all candidates in any particular- subject are assessed by examiners in Britain. . When two candidates from different colleges are_ of nearly equal merit in a science subject there may be ed-me difficulty in making an award. A delicate system of arbitration on the merits of theses and so on will have to be evolved. In stage 111, except for the i award of senior scholarships, there is»not the same difficulty of standards as in the case of the honours examination for the final year's work, and it is possible that the senate will decide to begin with an,extension of internal examination to the third year's work only. In commenting on the debate in the senate, one leading newspaper' said editorially that many members of the university would think it "premature and dangerous" to scrap the external system: "The important question :is not," it said, /'how the New Zealand degree stands abroad, but what standard of scholarship it actually ' represents. That standard has to be defended against several dangers, and raised, if possible, in spite of- them. The university is small, it is isolated, and it is poor. Its teachers are denied" the stimulus of frequent association with leaders in their own branch ofstudy. ... In the circumstances, therefore, caution is necessary, and it would be incautious to_ end, totally and hastily, a system which allows the standard of:New Zealand degrees to be submitted to the ecrutiny of the most advanced scholars, carefully chosen."