Semester, academic year saved

National, Normal
Source:
The National,Friday June 3rd, 2016

THE University of Papua New Guinea has managed to save semester one and the whole academic year by revising its calendar, says vice-chancellor Professor Albert Mellam.
He said the university had been working hard in the past 10 days when classes were suspended to revise the academic calendar.
Mellam said the council decided to suspend the semester to give students, the senate and staff some “breathing space”.
“The students will (now) go through the motion of sitting for the examinations, then it allows for the assessment to take place, then we will commence semester two,” Mellam said.
He said the 2016 academic year would end on Nov 5 – three weeks after schedule.
“The plan was not something that the university took lightly. We have gone through a rigorous process over the last 10 days and discussed that plan in various committees,” he said.
“We were satisfied that we fulfilled the academic requirements contained in the calendar.”
He said semester one would end on July 22 – meaning all assessments should be completed by then.
Week one of semester two will begin on July 25.
“If things go according to plan with no more disruptions, the students will depart and vacate the campus on the Nov 5.”
Mellam said it was critical that the revised calendar be followed so that next year’s classes were not affected.