Refused entry after one term's work

By Roger Wilde

A Political Science honours student has been refused permission by the Professorial Board to continue a course of study pursued for over two months.

The student, who declined to be identified, was doing an honours course concurrently with a Reading Knowledge Test which he failed last year for the second time.

At the beginning of the year, he applied to the Professorial Board for a special dispensation from the language requirement.

On 6th February he received a reply from the Registrar advising that his appeal against exclusion from class had been allowed.

The student took this to mean he would be permitted to do honours. He left work and began to prepare for the academic year.

A week later he received a letter from the Registrar saying his application for dispensation was being considered and the previous letter had been sent in error.

Upon enrolment he was told his application had been rejected, but was informed of an amendment to the B.A. (Hons.) Course Regulations which allows for a student to do a Reading Knowledge concurrently with an honours course.

"The Department head did not forsee any major problems," Salient was told, "and so I wrote out an application on the spot."

On March 12th, after more than a week of lectures, he was informed by the Registrar that the Professorial Board had declined his application.

On March 20th, he wrote to the Council under Section 34(3) of the University Act appealing against the Professorial Board's decision.

Six days later the Registrar replied that he was arranging for the appeal to be considered.

On April 26th, one week before the end of the first term, the student was informed his appeal had been considered by the Professorial Board and rejected.

The student was disappointed on several points.

He was very disappointed it had taken a term to clarify his position.