College Terms.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19137, 21 October 1927, Page 10

College Terms.

University regulations are puzzling to outsiders, and even to graduates of only a few years' standing, for they seem to change from year to year without any particular purpose. Many former students of Canterbury College, for instance, must have been puzzled by the vast list we published yesterday of those who have been granted "terms" by the College. In the past there was an official examination for terms, and successful candidates were grouped roughly into grades in order of merit, but this year, apparently, terms have been granted purely at the discretion of the examiner. The position of extra-mural students, over whom there has been much discussion .lately, is especially interesting. They get terms without having to satisfy the College that they have done any work at all, whereas the student who makes some sacrifice to attend lectures is still liable to be "ploughed." The new arrangement may, for all we know, have many excellent reasons in its favour, but it is hard to reconcile the change with the agitation we heard not so long ago for Canterbury College to be made a separate University, The new system peems to work in exactly the opposite direction and deprive the College of some of its standing in the eyes of the students, for everything now rests on what happens at the, end of the year. Previously there was at least some indication of whether students had done a thorough or merely an indifferent year's work, but now the College just presents them to the outside examiner without any very definite system of selection. There must be many people who, while quite prepared to admit that there were objections to the old regulations, would like to know the purpose of the new.