To cap it all off

The ancient wooden doors of the University of Otago registry are closing.

Not completely. It might be more accurate to say they are being thrown a little less wide.

All the same, the institution's newly tightened enrolment policy has some claiming "a dramatic change in New Zealand's history" and "another nail in the coffin for open entry".

• When studying is just the job 

Contrary views hold that it is just an economically pragmatic case of "when push comes to shove", an inevitable result of government policy.

In a move designed to halt the rapid growth in first-year domestic student numbers, the university will introduce a two-tier enrolment system from 2011.

Those with strong academic records based on their year-12 secondary school results will be guaranteed entry; others will be ranked by virtue of academic results and other factors.

Although the university has yet to disclose exactly what those "other factors" might be, the Tertiary Education Strategy, the blueprint for our universities' policies, clearly states the Government wants to see more people under the age of 25 achieving at degree level. This is particularly so when government funding for university places is tight - as it is at the moment.

Whether that translates to more young bottoms (therefore fewer older ones) on lecture hall seats in North Dunedin remains to be seen.

However, in its draft document submitted to the University of Otago council last week, the working party charged with looking into how best to manage enrolments for 2011 and beyond reiterated that focus, with it targeting "a higher proportion of under-25s and full-time students, a higher proportion of Maori and Pacific students and more who progress to postgraduate study".

One of the fundamental changes here is that under the Education Act (1989), those over the age of 20 have the right to attend university without a formal qualification. But under the university's new policy they fall into the category "special admissions", and may well have to jump through the same hoops as other hopeful students.

The working party acknowledged the Act provision but suggests the enrolment of special-admission students might be limited "in the context of formal enrolment capping". Programmes currently open-entry will thus become closed.

Precisely how many people might be excluded is not possible to say, the university contends. A second-tier student desperately wanting to go to university could probably still get there. They might just have to settle for a second-choice area of study.

All this tightening of criteria has largely been prompted by economic conditions. The University of Otago is battening down, attempting to weather a couple of fronts: limited government spending in the tertiary sector and a growth in student demand partly caused by a lack of jobs.

Last year, the University of Otago's total roll was 21,507. Although official figures have yet to be released, the Otago Daily Times understands the university's roll has reached 22,000 for the first time.

Domestic enrolments at Otago this year are 4.4% higher than in 2009.

By the end of this year, the university is expected to exceed the level funded by the Tertiary Education Commission by 520 to 550 equivalent full-time students (efts). In last month's Budget, the Government announced an extra 765 efts would be funded for New Zealand universities. Otago has yet to announce what its slice of that pie will be.