Other formats

    Adobe Portable Document Format file (facsimile images)   TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

Salient. Victoria University of Wellington Students' Newspaper. Volume 31, Number 20. September 3, 1968

New Institutions for a new age

New Institutions for a new age

A university was not an island unto itself but was part of the main stream of tertiary education, Sir Peter Venables, Ph.D., F.R.I.C., said recently.

Sir Peter, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ashton, England, was speaking on "New Institutions for a New Age".

The university was dependant in the last resort for its freedom and responsibilities on the understanding and goodwill of government and body politics, he said.

With a greater degree of academic autonomy accorded to tertiary institutions, there had to be a greater understanding of their nature and work by the community.

There were certain aspects to institutional autonomy, Sir Peter said.

Each tertiary institution should have a governing body which should include members of the teaching staff, and there should be no interference in internal administration by external regulations.

"The autonomous institutions of an effective system system of tertiary education must be interdependent in the rational distribution of courses and resources, but also in ensuring the escalation of ability through the system".

This must be achieved without inducing a corroding sense of failure in those who have not the ability, aptitude or temperament to go to the op, Sir Peer said.

Tertiary education must meet the needs of industry and commerce.

'Sandwich' courses could be innovated. This means the application of knowledge: six months at a technical college or university and six months in industry each year for four or five years.

He also spoke on student involvement in the life and work of an institution, and unrest.

"Students are not competent academics and their involvement in the conduct of academic examinations and judgment of standards, and in the appointment of staff, is inherently unsound and ought to be fully resisted.

"Short of this ultimate academic responsibility, student participation in the work and life of a university should be as full as possible", he said.

Sir Peter said protests had become identified with bearded, long-haired, strangely clad, far-out hippy students.

One should not fall for this communication-image because its undertone supported a campaign in some quarters to disparage the universities.