The Solution!

Realising that there is nothing more annoying to the student than these niggling problems which can only be settled by discussion between pupil and teacher, some members of the present student executive long ago came to the conclusion that there should be provision in the College's academic constitution for regular formal discussion of problems between students and staff, and the idea of Faculty Committees composed of representatives of both bodies was envisaged. In this respect, Victoria, which has acquired the reputation of being perhaps the most intellectually progressive of the New Zealand Colleges, was well behind Auckland and the Australian Universities.

So the subject was proposed to the Executive, a sub-committee was set up to outline the scheme and collate information from institutions where these student-staff committees are unctioning successfully, and a report was submitted recommending that the system be introduced in our own college if students are sufficiently of [gap — reason: illegible]e opinion that it will be of assistance to them. This opinion can be ascertained at a general meeting to be held soon after the first term begins, but the purpose of this article is generally to introduce the subject and to give students an idea of what faculty committees are, and how they work.

In brief, their purpose is, of course, to foster co-operation between staff and students, In a university, where the teacher's function tends to be of a more advisory nature than in earlier educational institutions, there are clearly obvious grounds for such cooperation. It is possible that students may have ideas about the teaching of their subjects which could with profit be considered by the staff, but which are not communicated to it for lack of just such the opportunity which the proposed committees would afford. The immediate function of the committees, therefore, would be co-operative discussion not only on curricula as set down in the Calendar, but also on the method of dealing with the curricula—i.e., discussion of the subjects and of their method of presentation.