E.—7a.

68

and that the Council shall in all academic matters act upon the advice of an Academic Board. The Academic Board shall be charged with the duty, under the Council, of approving all curricula and all standards and methods of examination. The Council shall appoint as professors of the University such teachers in the Constituent Colleges as it thinks fit, and shall, in all future appointments of independent heads of departments in these colleges, be entitled to appoint representatives to a joint committee formed to advise the College Council in making such appointment. The teachers in each college will be organized into Faculties as prescribed by the statutes of the University, and these Faculties shall have the right to submit, through the Professorial Board of the College, for the approval, of the University, courses of study in any subject within the Faculty. Such courses when approved shall be university courses, and shall qualify, as prescribed, for degrees and diplomas. Examinations shall be conducted by the senior teacher of a subject, together with an external examiner appointed by the Council on the recommendation of the Academic Board. There shall be a Principal or academic head of the University, who, in addition to being a member of the University Council, shall be Chairman of the Academic Board and a member of all Faculties. Let us now consider how the scheme of University administration just outlined would work out in practice. And, first, let us consider its effect on the teaching staff. Under a federal system such as we advocate, the professors of the colleges will become professors of the University, and the University will take a share of the responsibility in selecting professors, whenever a vacancy occurs on a college staff. Nothing makes or mars the fortunes of a subject or a department of university study more than the appointment of a senior teacher. Given the right man all is possible, but if a second-rate man is chosen, no action the Council can take to condition his work can improve matters much. For the height to which a subject can rise in the University is that of its principal teachers. As has been often said, a university works by the co-operation of keen and enthusiastic students with inspiring teachers in study and investigation, and the benefit the student receives is not so much the well stored mind as the developed, the inquiring mind. During the taking of evidence we often heard the argument, that the standing of the New Zealand degree was assured by the system of external examinations. We believe that the esteem in which a university is held is determined by the reputation of its teachers, and by the amount and quality of the original work which they and the students taught by them have produced. The man who has not developed the method and spirit of research, and who is not actively engaged in endeavouring to extend the bounds of his subject, should have no place in a university. Such a man may be an excellent coach for examinations, but no more. Keeping such considerations in view we feel, therefore, that, when a vacancy is to be filled, no effort should be spared to devise a method for securing a selection committee capable of going thoroughly into the claims of applicants. The matter concerns not only the college, but the University also, and affects education throughout the Dominion. To appreciate this statement one has only to realize how an able and stimulating professor of English literature, for example, may, through his effect on young teacher students, influence vitally the appreciation of simple literature among the children of the far back settler. The appointment of professors should not be affected by local considerations or by the fact that applicants are New Zealanders. The best man, and no one but the best man, should be the test of selection. We recommend that all vacancies for professors, senior lecturers, or for academic heads of colleges be filled by the College Council, after a report by an expert selection committee composed of, say, four representatives nominated by the College Council, and three representatives of the University. Such a selection committee might, conceivably, be composed as follows : The academic head of the college (if any), and the Chairman of the College Council, together with other persons nominated by the Council, one of whom should be a teacher in the college possessing expert knowledge of the subject in question or of cognate subjects. The representatives of the University should have expert qualifications, and should include the Principal of the University, if it is decided to appoint such an officer. To

University must have share in appointment of professors.

Value of degree depends upon teachers.

Expert selection committee necessary.

Constitution of selection committee,