UNIVERSITY REFORM
SUGGESTED CHANGES.
DISCUSSED 3Y GRADUATES,
MEETING OF CONVOCATION.
'i'lio question of University reform was discussed at a meeting of the Court of ~ Convocation of the -Middle University " District, held last night at Victoria Coi- , (ege. jlr. T. li. Pleimng, president, was , lu tho chair, and there was an attendance of about forty graduates. The chairman explained Mat the meeting was called primarily to discuss the . circular forwarded by tne Senate to all . graduates, containing three schemes for ' the reform of the government of the Uni--1 versity. It was tnought that full consid- - oration of the circular by convocation - would give individual graduates a lead in 3 their attitude towards the three schemes. The schemes had been evolved by a. committee of the Senate, set up at its last . meeting at the beginning of the year. , They had been sent to ail graduates, but , not officially to presidents of the Courts , of Convocation or to tho College Councils. - Hp thought this was rather a strange I course of action. Convocation and tiie college councils were statutory bodies of r the University, and he thought they should havo been considered. Tho committee of the Senate had taken an unusual method of ascertaining the opinions [ of graduates. As the question was such a comprehensive one, he suggested that , principles only be discussed at the mcetL ing,l and that details of the various scflemes be considered later. , : The Schemes Explained. Professor T. A, Hunter gave a resumo • of the three schemes, which were pul> i lished in The Dominion last week. Schomcs A and B, he said, agreed on tho principle of academic control of academic legislation. Scheme A proposed that the Senate should stand apart, as a separate body from the four colleges. Scheme B proposed that tho "University be constituted of tho four colleges, instead of being merely an examining body, with the four colleges affiliated to it. Tho Governors of the colleges would be, ipso facto, tho governors of the University, i.e., tho Senate. Scheme C proposed that the Senate bo constituted as at present, with the chairman of the various college councils, professorial boards, and courts of convocation as an advisory body—a "go-between" connecting tho Senate with the colleges. Federation of Colleges. Professor 11. B. Kirk proposed: "That tho university bo constituted of the four colleges, instead of being as at present a purely examining body, with the four colleges affiliated to it." Mr. W. l'\ Ward seconded the motion. Mr. A. do B. Brandon said that one of the evils of modern times 'was tho system of electing governors and rulers by. the "mechanical process of counting heads." Ho favoured Scheme C. but thought that there was too much election about it. He suggested several modifications to tho proposed system of the election of the Senate. Mr. J. O'Shea asked what different functions would bo performed by tho university if .reform were carried out 011 the lines of Professor Kirk's motion. Professor von Zedlitz said that tho university would be a combination cf tho four colleges, and tho Senato would bo a supreme governing body. Mr. O'Shoa: Who would" appoint tho professors ? Professor von Zedlitz:' Tho university. Mr. O'Shea: But what would happen in such a case as that of Otago, whero certain professors are appointed and paid by the Presbyterian Church? Professor Kirk: Such matters of detail could bs arrauged later. Professor von Zedlitz said that they might act on the same lines as tho university of Wales. Affiliated colleges in Wales-could make appointment to .their , staffs, but they had to. be approved by •the university before they could be called professors of tho University of Wales. Professor Kirk said he did not think there was tho remotest suggestion in, his motion of any desire to interfere with the autonomy of the colleges, their legislation, or their finance. Professor Hunter said that at nresent there was a great gulf between tho university and the colleges. There was nothing to prevent a college from, instituting si chair in :i subject not in tho university curriculum, or refusing to teach subjects proscribed by the Senate. If the' money of the country was to be profitably spent, it was essential that thero should be a real governing body of tho university. Thero was nothing to prevent the university from doing what it Imd done years ago, and affiliating, say, Nelson College. If the university consisted of a federation of tho four colleges, this would be impossible. The proposed change was a vital one. At present the colleges and the university did not pull together, but they would do so if they were all part and parcel of the one organisation. The motion dealt only with a principle. How it could be given effect to was another question. The motion was carried. Advisory Board Proposed. Professor Hunter moved: "That an academic body be established to make recommendations to the Senato with regard to examinations, degrees, diplomas, scholarships, prizes, and courses of study." Mr. P. Levi seconded tho motion. It was explained that tho proposed bodywould consist of experts, who would bo best fitted to arrange the details of tho work of tho University. Jlr. Brandon claimed that the motion pre-supposed that tho Senate would be a body incapable of fulfilling the functions of the governing body of a university. (Dissent.) Ho thought the proposed board would bo unnecessary if the Senate had a large enough proportion of professors. A Professorial Agitation. Mr. O'Shea pointed out that the Senate already had ten professors, out of twentyfour .members. Ho went on to say that Professor Hunter's motion was an attempt to set the wholo matter aside. Tho agitators had been fostered by tlio.Professorial Board of Victoria College. The professors had brought the matter before Parliament last year, and had arranged for evidenco to be given before a committee of tho House. They, had gone about it very carefully and very quietly, and the evidence had been all on one side. The whole movement had for its aims that tho professors should obtain control of
the Senate. The professors wanted external examinations. (Hear, hear.) Ho knew of no British public body which allowed its servants to take part in its government. The Senate must not have a majority of members of the teaching staffs. The reason of the agitation was that the professors wanted more power. This would not bo'good either for tho professors themselves, tho students, or the University. (Laughter.) Mr. O'Shoi was proceeding to attack the system of proposed Home examinations, but the chairman ruled 'him out of order. lie concluded by expressing the opinion that the graduates, as courts of convocation, had too small a representation on tho Senate—(Hear, hear)—whereas tho professors bad too many representatives. He felt so strongly on t'ho matter that ho proposed—if he could get anyone to associate with liiin—(laughter)—to form a New Zealand University Defence Association. 1 Professor Kirk said that the evidence before tho Parliamentary Committee had not been all on tho one side. Tho Chancellor and others gave evidence against 111? reform proposes. .Mr. \V. F. "Ward moved an amendment, seconded by Mr. Luke, "That tho discussion on the appointment of an Advisory Board bo postponed until the constitution of the Semite has been considered." The seconder said that there was no reason I hat another scheme, apart from those under consideration, should not: be adopted, and the fourth scheme might very well be the best. The amendment was lost by lfl votes to U, and the motion was put to the meeting forthwith, and carried without dissent 1 . A Lay Senate. Professor Hunter moved: "That the Senate consist in the main of the lay I (non-professorial) members of the govern- ] ing bodies of tho.individual colleges." Iln . ompha-iise'l that tliev wevo not bound , down to .any one of tno proposed schomos, . wl/jjlfc W been put forward moroly. to ,
givfl t.liom a lead. The profc.yors on tlio Senato uoiiJil, inular liis proposal, ;u'l as advisers to the lay i:icmb?M-i>n qiiesliuns ri'tiuiriii" expert kiunvlAlgo, but they ?tiit Id ill iui way control the Senate, as -Mr. O'Shea feared. The Senate would bo almost entirely a lay body, with an ajlviiirv body of professors, as proposed in his previous motion. The motion was seconded by the liev. •T. W. Compton. Jlr. Want oppo?od the motion. As College Councils were constituted at present, there was no guarantee that their members would be of sufficient standing to hold oflico on the Senate. Mr. J. A. Lulce moved an amendment: "That the Senate consist of eight mom-' ■bei'.> appointed by the governing bodies of the colleges, four by the Advisory Board, four by the Courts of Convocation, and four by the Ciovernor-in-Council.'" Mr. O'Shea seconded the amendment. Professor Huntsr said that the Senato was -at present constituted exactly as proposal by tln> amendment, except that tho proposed Advisory Board returned four ineml)er3, in place of one each from the. four Professorial Boards. They wanted to attract to the College Councils the best typo of men, and tliey would get the» men if they were to becomo members of the Senate. After some discussion the movers find seconders of both motion a.nd amendment, with the consent of tho meeting, withdrew their proposals in favour of a motion hy Professor Kirk: "That the Senate, the supreme governing body of the universitTi 1* mainly elective, convocation lieing, directly or indirectly, tho principal electing body." This proposal was carried unanimously. Committee Appointed. It was finally decided to set up a committee to consider t!ie constitution of the governing bodies, and to report to a future meeting o£ Convocation. The committee consists of Professors Hunter and von Zedlitz, Miss Teycheune, Messrs. A. de B. Brandon, J. O'Shea, S. Eichelbamn, B. Stacker, and T. B. Fleming. _ The committee lias power to add to its number. Mr. A. S. Atkinson moved: "That this Court of Convocation strongly urges Par--' liament to set up a Royal Commission to investigate the question'of university education in New Zealand." The motion was seconded by Mr. S. Eichellxiuan, and carried without discussion.
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Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1815, 30 July 1913, Page 3
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1,681UNIVERSITY REFORM Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1815, 30 July 1913, Page 3
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