Vice-Chancellor's Report 1978-82

Staff Growt h and Compositio n The number of full-time academic staff in the review period increased from 396 at the end of 1978 to 426 at the end of 1981 ， with the bulk of the increase coming from the Faculty of Medicine which filled 23 teaching posts in the academic year 1981/82. The proportion of senior teaching staff has expanded over the years, especially in the ranks of professors and readers. Again, new appointments at the Faculty of Medicine was partly responsible for the overall improvement but there were also a number of promotions and new appointments at other Faculties. In 1981/82, senior teaching staff of senior lecturer rank and above accounted for 28.4% of the academic staff strength, up from 19.2% in 1978/79. Corresponding to this development and as a consequence of it, the proportion of junior teaching staff below the rank of lecturer fell from 26.5% in 1978/79 to 18.1% in 1981/82. The Faculty of Medicine under the leadership of the Dean, Professor G.H. Choa, was most successful in recruiting to its Faculty six distinguished professors from British and North American universities. Four other professorial appointments were made in other Faculties during this period. Student Growt h and Compositio n After rapid expansion up to the mid-seventies, the University entered a period of consolidation, and student numbers on the whole became fairly stable. Overall undergraduate enrolment rose only marginally during the four-year period from 4,365 in 1978/79 to 4,431 in 1981/82, an increase of a modest 1.5%. The proportion of male to female students remained practically unchanged at the ratio of two to one. The bulk of the increase in student numbers was accounted for by the admission of 60 Pre-Clinical Year One students to the Faculty of Medicine in 1981/82. The Faculty of Medicine aside, the only Faculty which showed an increase in student intake was the Faculty of Science, its student enrolment rising steadily from 1,179 in 1978/79 to 1,236 in 1981/82. However, within the Faculty itself, the increase in student numbers was by no means evenly distributed. Student increase was most noticeable in the Department of Computer Science—its enrolment surging from 10 in 1978/79 to 87 in 1981/82. The Department of Electronics also registered a growth in student intake; and 28 first-year students were admitted 9