There are inconsistencies in the circumstances under which exemptions from attending compulsory residential schools are granted. Some areas of the University allow few, if any, exemptions and students unable to attend a residential school are encouraged to enrol in something else. Other areas are more lenient in granting exemptions making them more like optional schools. Residential schools are expensive to run - both in terms of the academic and administrative resources required. Residential schools tie up University facilities at times when they could be used for conferences and other academic or community activities.
Residential schools add to the workload of staff and reduce time available for research.
In order to overcome some of the problems associated with compulsory residential schools, some disciplines have moved to optional schools. However, optional schools create another set of difficulties. Some students claim that employers will only support attendance at a school when it is designated as compulsory. Numbers are difficult to predict and plan for. Staff and students question the value of an optional residential school when it is a requirement that students who cannot attend the school must not be disadvantaged - that is, all work covered at the school must be made available in some other form to students who do not attend.