Summer school numbers rise

Student enrolments at the University of Otago's latest summer school have risen about 9%, officials say. Final figures would not be available until later in the year but latest figures indicated enrolments had risen to about 2240.

School director Dr Elaine Webster was ''very pleased'' with the outcome.

''I was hoping that we would achieve a higher enrolment than last year.''

Through the summer school, students can gain credit for courses with six weeks of study, instead of about 13 weeks usually required to complete equivalent papers during the main university study year.

The 13th annual school continued to contribute to the Dunedin economy during a traditionally quiet time of the year, including by encouraging more students to stay on and study at Otago over the summer, officials said.

The school had also established itself as ''a very good thing''academically and a ''very special feature'' of overall University of Otago study, Dr Webster said.

''It's an important part of what Otago University does.''

The latest school offered 76 papers, including 12 being taught for the first time.

Enrolment growth had come across a wide range of disciplines and in both new and established papers, she said.

The school's most popular paper, a second-year course on forensic biology, attracted about 147 students, up more than 20 on last year.

Papers in law, economics, management and anthropology were also popular, and an English course on effective writing had gained 58 enrolments.

The school offered the university's first disabilities studies paper, and a new third-year paper on ''theology, money and markets'' was offering an innovative approach to understanding how and why markets operated. One of the teachers for this paper was Prof Andrew Bradstock, director of the university's Centre for Theology and Public Issues.