Exclusions Increased

By NZSPA Reporter Don Gray

Wellington — Inadequate laboratory space and lecture room accommodation as well as poor individual performances are the reasons given for this year's increased number of exclusions from the universities.

Students excluded from one university will also not be allowed to enrol at another. According to the Victoria University Registrar (Mr. L. O. Desborough), the universities exchange details of scholastic failures.

The exclusion regulations were helping to weed out the poorer students and to overcome the accommodation problems in lecture rooms, he said.

Before a student can be excuded from a particular course he usually has to fail to pass two units in two years. But some are not so lucky.

The Otago Medical School has always been notable for excluding about half the students who apply for admission each year. Now three of Auckland's special schools are also following this trend.

Auckland's deputy Registrar, academic, (Mr. D. W. Fullar) said the number of students at the Ilam School of Pine Arts had to be restricted to 125 because of confined laboratory space. About 20 students were expected to miss out on places, but they would probably be able to attend courses at Canterbury, he said.

The number of professional students in Architecture will be limited to 60 this year and the number of Engineering students to 170 but it is not expected that any Engineering students will have to be turned away.

However, the Registrar later said no students who applied for the special schools were excluded.

Canterbury has placed a limit of 200 on the number of Engineering students it can take but it is expected that the overflow of 20 or 30 can be included in the Auckland total.

Science students at Auckland may also be diverted from Botany and Geography to other science subjects because of a shortage of laboratory space.

This year at Otago 44 students were excluded from Arts and Science subjects because of unsatisfactory academic progress. In Canterbury, the figure was 110, with a further 120 receiving "warning letters."

At Auckland students who do not make satisfactory academic progress have to apply for re-enrolment. About 400 applications were expected this year. At Victoria the number was expected to be 250.

Usually about 40 per cent of these applications were successful.