Secondary schools in Dunedin say the University of Otago's
new criteria for selecting pupils to study at the institution
next year may be one of the best things to have happened to
education for many years.
The university this week released, under embargo, its
selection criteria to Otago secondary schools.
The criteria were created in response to the Government
placing caps on funding supplied to universities to subsidise
domestic students.
As a result, many universities have decided to restrict entry
to courses in 2011.
There are no restrictions on enrolments by international
students who pay full fees.
There are now two pathways for admission to programmes:
preferential (guaranteed) entry and competitive entry.
It is expected the majority of students admitted to Otago in
2011 will be able to achieve entry via the preferential
pathway.
University of Otago programmes subject to the new system are
bachelor degrees in arts, applied science, biomedical
sciences, commerce, consumer and applied sciences, music,
science, theology and law.
Also included are first-year health sciences, other
first-year or intermediate courses and the certificate of
proficiency for undergraduate papers.
New and recommencing students who do not gain preferential
entry, and are applying for a capped programme in 2011, will
be placed on the competitive entry pathway.
These people will be offered places in order of priority,
subject to the availability of places in their nominated
programmes.
Several Otago secondary school guidance counsellors and
principals, who all declined to be named, welcomed the new
criteria because they meant the bar had been raised and
pupils would have to put in more effort to gain preferential
entry.
One said under the old system some pupils scraped through on
42 credits and, although they qualified, they were not
suitable for university study.
Another said some educators believed the bar should be made
even higher.
"Raising the bar is a good thing, because we don't want
people going to university and wasting taxpayers' money."
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