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A legal challenge to the University of Otago medical school admissions plan was resolved out of court.
Last month, a parent, who has removed the name, took the university to court for its Policy Mirror on Society, which is designed to boost the number of Maori, Pasifika, refugee and low-socioeconomic medical students.
The man filed a civil lawsuit against the university after his son, who did not fit into a special category, was denied entry into his medical program, despite the student’s results averaging more than 92 percent.
For 2020 admission, 120 of the 202 spots available to first-year Health Sciences students were for those who entered special categories. Of these, 79 (39%) were Maori and Pasifika.
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In a joint statement Monday, the university and the applicant said a solution had been reached.
The man did not receive any compensation and the university did not promise to change its admissions process or “the outcome of anyone’s application for admission.”
However, the university accepted the procedures and highlighted the “convenience of greater clarity and transparency” in its admission process.
The man was satisfied that the university would take action toward that result, according to the statement.
The university said the discussions would include “careful consideration and broad consultation,” informed by its commitment to Te Tiriti or Waitangi and their Maori and Pacific strategic frameworks.
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The University of Otago medical program is one of the most competitive in the country, with more than a thousand students competing for around 280 places, both undergraduate and graduate.
“Applicant agrees that any review of the admission process should be carried out in respectful consultation with a variety of stakeholders, including the Maori and Pasifika communities, and acknowledges that court proceedings are a useless distraction that will not assist with the required thoughtful dialogue. . “
The university remained “fully committed” to the principles underpinning its Mirror on Society Policy, according to the statement.
Neither the man nor the university wanted to comment further.
Kavinda Herath / Things
University of Otago Vice Chancellor Harlene Hayne says the legal challenge to her special admissions scheme for medical students will face a fight. (File photo)
Last month, a discussion paper on the selection policy change presented to the University of Otago Medical Admissions Committee suggested limiting the number of Maori special entrance slots to 56 students and Pasifika to 20. Since then, the university he said that the discussion paper was not a “change proposal.”
