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Hopes For Student Welfare Services

By I. H. Boyd, Managing Secretary of the Student Union

The one exception to this was Physical Welfare. Mr. Landreth was appointed Physical Welfare Officer in February 1951 to promote the physical and recreational welfare of the students and staff. The emphasis has been on the physical welfare of the individual rather than on organised PT classes for the undergraduate sports clubs. The facilities available in the old gymnasium were completely inadequate by world university standards but served to encourage students and staff to press for improvements.

During the planning of the Student Union Building it became apparent that the theatre, gymnasium and common rooms could not all be fitted on to the site. Therefore a separate gymnasium was built which gave Victoria by far the best facilities for physical recreation of any New Zealand University. Miss Jane Maddox was appointed to assist Mr. Landreth when the new gymnasium was opened in 1961.

The success of this welfare service highlighted the need for other services. After discussions between the University and the Students' Association in the late 1950s it was agreed the responsibility for the management of the Student Union should be vested in a sub-committee of the University Council and an executive officer for this committee should be appointed. This officer was to be a member of the University staff and to provide continuity in the management of the Union facilities.

In August, 1961, I took up this position. Although my official title was Managing Secretary of the Student Union Management Committee, the University Council considered part of my job should be to consider plans for developing Student Welfare Services, using the Student Union as the centre for these services.

The first service I examined was the Accommodation Service run by the Students' Association. For a number of years members of the executive had collected addresses of accommodation and compiled a card index and this information was made available to students. This was all that could be done unless money was spent on staff.

I proposed to the Vice-Chancel-for that secretarial assistance be provided for this service and that it should be run under my direction. Within three months we had appointed Miss Mary Cox to assist with the development of this service. She had had firsthand experience of the organisation of the Leeds University Accommodation Survey published in 1962. So from January, 1962, the University has been paying for this service, and by the time Miss Cox left in April of this year she had built a soundly-organised service.

In the last three or four years prominent businessmen and public servants have often discussed with members of the University staff the acute shortage of graduates in New Zealand. Many over-seas universities run an appointments service to enable students to meet prospective employers and to provide information on careers available to university men and women.

In 1962 proposals were submitted to the University Council by the Professorial Board requesting that such a service be set up at this University. The Council accepted the proposals and in December last year appointed an advisory board of leading businessmen, public servants and University staff to direct the Appointments Service. The Board is to be known as the Appointments Board.

During the 1962 academic year the Arts Faculty, Professorial Board and Students' Association discussed in detail the possibility of setting up Health and Counselling Services at Victoria. Many points of view were expressed as to what the scope of such services should be' but agreement on the main aims was reached and the Professorial Board sent proposals concerning these services to the University Council at the end of last year.

After careful consideration, the Council agreed that a Medical Director of Student Health (a part-time position) and a Student Counsellor (full time) should be appointed. However, the appointments depend on the Government granting funds to run the Health Service.

These Services will be freely available to students and there will be some overlapping between them. To make sure the staff of the services work together for the best interests of students it will be my job to act as co-ordinator for all the services.