Salient. Victoria University Newspaper. Volume 38, Number 14. June 20, 1975
A Suggestion
A Suggestion
1. | The scrapping of the June exam period, and three week holidays in May and August at the same time as other universities. There could be a June study week as well—there is nothing sacrosanct about a 26-week teaching year—other universities don't have it. |
2. | With all exams at the end of the year, courses could either be block taught or run throughout the year. This decision should be left up to the students and staff in each class at the beginning of the year—timetabling should be no problem as most block courses now have other courses in the same subject in the other half of the year at the same times of the week (eg. Econ. 201 and 202, Hist. 201 and 203). |
3. | A careful look at the workloads of each course should be undertaken with a view to rationalising most part-unit courses to six credits. (History has recently done this for its stage two and three courses.) The primary benefit of this is to decrease the number of exams students are required to sit—it also allows a clear amount of work to be prescribed for each course. |
4. | The present pre-set exam timetable, which restricts students choice of the courses they can take, can be removed with the longer period of time available for the exam timetable to be drafted. |
This is a broad proposal—but then the present debate is about broad proposals. One major benefit in it—on an even broader and more nebulous consideration—is that it should reduce pressure on students in the first and early second terms, thus allowing more time for the hallowed non-academic 'university life'.
Undoubtedly many people will prefer other proposals—let them bring them forward! Only through a full discussion can we hope to arrive at a University timetable that is as acceptable as possible to as many as possible. And if the University is to really function in the interests of people this sort of democracy is vital.
Note: these are only illustrations of what could happen, they are in no way alternative proposals. For explanation see text.