Changes to make it tougher to get into university

Getting into university is likely to get harder for students in sweeping changes backed by Bay principals.
The New Zealand Qualification Authority has finished its review of the University Entrance (UE) requirement and recommended five proposed changes.
The minimum requirement for UE will be changed in 2014 and will require secondary school students to gain NCEA Level 3 with 60 credits or higher.
Students currently need 42 credits at level 3 or higher.
NZQA deputy chief executive of qualifications Bali Haque said the changes had been made in consultation with representatives from schools and the tertiary sector, including the Ministry of Education, universities, polytechnics, industry training organisations and others.
While the new requirements weren't a radical change, it does raise the bar for UE, Mr Haque said.
Otumoetai College acting principal Bruce Farthing agreed with Mr Haque and said the changes were necessary.
"What he's said is exactly what I would have said, they're not radical changes and it does raise the bar in more ways but the bar should have been a bit higher and this is certainly the right thing to do.
"I absolutely think the new standards are achievable and I think it actually encourages students to do more work at school to meet the bar."
Mr Farthing said most students were achieving 60 credits at NCEA Level 3 (the new UE criteria) and instead of putting people off going to university, the new requirements encouraged people to work harder to gain a place.
Tauranga Boys' College principal Robert Mangan and Tauranga Girls' College head Pauline Cowens agreed.
"These changes are motivating and there's been a good amount of lead-in time so this is not a surprise and the students can now work towards these new levels," Mrs Cowens said.
She shared her ideas with the school's Year 10 students in an assembly this week.
This group of students will be in Year 13 in 2014 and the ones affected by the changes.
Mr Mangan said the changes to UE "gave clarity" when they were previously "in the dark".
"I'm in support of the changes to get level 3 part of the requirement. Students tend to be studying more credits than they need for university entrance and if they achieve it earlier in the year, some tend to drop off but this will keep students engaged more at the senior level of the school."
Mr Mangan said he didn't have an issue with raising the bar.
Mount Maunganui College's Terry Collett said the new UE standards were appropriate in ensuring students were at suitable academic levels for university programmes.
"The new standards will mean that students have to demonstrate some depth in three subjects from the approved list set by NZQA, rather than cherry-picking a number of credits from across a range of standards. Students should be able to demonstrate that they have a good grasp of disciplines that they are likely to pursue at a tertiary level.
"For the majority of students the numeracy requirement will make little, if any, difference as eight credits are already required for NCEA Level 1, and the new standards only require another two credits. The 10 credits in Literacy at level 2 is an appropriate minimum expectation - students must be literate to manage university studies, regardless of their specialist discipline."
New UE requirements from 2014

Achievement of NCEA Level 3 (60 credits at level 3 or higher and 20 credits at level 2 or higher).
Fourteen credits in each of three subjects from the list of approved subjects.
UE numeracy - 10 credits at level 1 or higher from specified achievement standards or three specific numeracy unit standards.
UE literacy - 10 credits (five in reading and five in writing) from specific level 2 and higher achievement standards.