News 26/7 – Massey and Otago Entry Issues

July 26th 2010 at 7:47am, By Dave Guerin

Massey Closing the Door TVNZ covered it and had some concern from the Minister plus the info that 1,500 fewer students than the normal 5,000 would be enrolled in summer school this year. The Manawatu Standard had more, including feedback from extramural students, while Newstalk ZB had an extra quote or two.
Otago turns away thousands, 31 Otago Uni has turned away 31 students in the second semester due to its cap policy, which really isn’t very many – 32 were turned away for not completing their forms correctly. The numbers turned away next February will be of great interest to marketers as it will show how much surplus enrolment each uni has – I’m picking Auckland to have the largest number turned away.
Top Chef HSI’s Modern Apprentice of the Year (a chef) was profiled in the Dominion Post on Saturday. In other news, a group of Chinese students have come to Whanganui UCOL to learn Western cooking.
Maori Language Week I’ll cover a few activities around the country. First up, Otago Uni will have hangi food on the menu. Also, Victoria Uni law academics have created “a Legal Maori Corpus and Legal Maori Lexicon, which will both be invaluable resources for researchers of Maori legal history and Maori linguists”.
Health Research Otago Uni research shows that a healthier diet, on top of medicine, can help diabetes treatment. Surprised? Auckland Uni research shows that some face long waits for abortions.
Whales Otago Uni is starting a 3-year southern right whale research programme, that will also include NZ sealions. It will be based down in the Auckland Islands and they’re leaving soon – think I’d rather be in Rarotonga. The Southland Times did a story too. The Otago Uni research that showed an association between sexuality and childhood events had a lot of coverage – here’s one story.
Teacher Upgrades The University of Auckland has launched new scholarships for school teachers to upgrade to a Master’s degree.
Rep Changes Some queer students are concerned about the restructuring of Otago Uni Stdents’ Assn leading to a change in their representation.
Possum Control There’s more in the Southland Times on an SIT-built possum gate - it explains how it works and where.
Helping Cats and Boxers A Massey Uni researcher is hoping to create a vaccine for cat skin cancer. A Massey Uni student is looking for extra boxing fights before he goes to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.