COLLEGE COMMUNICATIONS

NOVEMBER FACULTY MEETING

The College
on Tuesday,

Faculty will meet at 4:30
November 21, in Frank Strong
Auditorium. The chief item of tusiness
will be the presentation and ¢iscussion
of the report of the Curriculum Committee.
Every member of the facvuity should be
present to consider this vepert which
recommends a number of important changes
in the curriculum.

FOUR-WEEKS' GRADES

For years the freshman-sophomore advisers
and the dean's office have felt that the
midesemester grades came toe lats to help
many students. The Comrittee on the Im-
provement of Teaching recommended last
spring that earlier quizzes be given,
graded, and returned to students so the
latter may know earlier when they were
not doing welle The military services
have required earlier reports, and now
inform us that thev must have monthly
revorts on all veterans, a considerable
vanguard of whom are already with use

In view of the required monthiy reports

on the work of all veterans, rnd in view
of the often-expressed desirability of
having earlier reports on sJ1 our stu-
dents, we have decided that we should call
for a foureweeks' report on all non-
veteran freshmen 2nd sophomores in the
College who are doing unsetisfectory

(D, Inc., or F) work.

The Veterans' Administration requires more
detailed monthly reports. Mr. Axe will
send you two report cards for each veteran.
These are to be filled out monthly and one
of them should be returned to Mr. Axe

and the other to the dean's office in
which the student is enrolled.

Accordingly, please plan to send to this
office by Mondav, December 4, reports on
sophomores who are doing unsatisfactory
work, and also the report on esch veteran.

Mid-semester grades on all students doing
unsatisfactory work are due on Monday,
January 8

We believe it is not unreasonable to ex=
pect the fullest and promptest cooperation
of every instructor in the making of

these reports.

CLASS CARDS

If you have not already done so, please.
sign and return your class cards at once

November 18, 1944

to the office of the dean in which the
student is enrolled.

Be sure you have a class card for each

student. Students without class cards
should not be allowed to remain in the
classe

COLLEGE ENROLLMENT

We believe you will be interested in
the following enrollment figures for the
November semester:

Fr, Sophe Jre Sre Spece
Men 180 59 44 20 6 309
Women 384 254 ga. 1396 i90 1017
Total 564 242 a7? \ 208 16 1326

Of this number, 568 are new students who
entered in September or November and 758
are former students. In November, 1943,
the College enrollment was 1187 consist-

ing of 293 men and 894 women,

OUR HONORED MEMBERS

Previous to least July Ist the following
members of the College faculty were on
the retired list:

F. Be. Dains Hannah Oliver
E. F. Engel Elizabeth Sprague
E. M, Hopkins We Co Stevens
Elise NeuenSchwander A. T. Walker

On July ist, 1944, the following were
added to this list:

W. J. Baumgartner Ce Je Posey
F, E. Kester F, N. Raymond
Margaret lynn Me E, Rice
Rose Morgan L. E. Sisson

De Le Patterson

Because we had no one to take their work,
Professors Patterson and Posey were asked
to continue on part-time service for the

current school year.

Who.can mersure the work and worth of
these men and women in building the
University of Kansasé We have fallen
into their labors and with pride we
attempt to carry on in their tradition,
knowing full well that they have estabe
lished ideals and standards which we do
well to emulate and which we will be
fortunate to attain.
 

The only students bout whom there could be any question as.
far as nuke ciibine bade athletics for physical education classes
is concerned, would be those students who participated in two major
sports during fe, goledter, co8 example, footbala and basketball.

Of course, all football men report back to their regular gym classes
as oo as football season is over, and. the same is true of all the
other sports.

The change in policy of Sviowias a boy to take part in two
sue sports during a semester and-to substitute that for the gym
disses took place when our program was changed from an optional

recreational program to the required physical fitness plan. Since

varsity athletes receive two hours of tough physical conditioning

s ©

work six days a week, we feel that that should be much more beneficial
from a.fitness standpoint than one hour's work three times a week in
the physical education class, and therefore felt no qualms in making

this substitution. oo |

 
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS
AND SCIENCES

OFFICE OF THE DEAN
a LAWRENCE

Nevember 22, 1944

Te the College Faculty:

The enclosed report will come up for
consideration and action at a special meet-
ing of the faculty, which will be held on
Monday, December 4, at 4:30 in Frank Strong
Auditorium. Please be sure to bring this
copy of the report to the meeting.

Sincerely yours,

eC en

Paul Be. Lawsen, Dean

 
November 21, 1944

To the College Faculty:

The Faculty of the College of liberal Arts and Sciences has, through-
out its history, been responsive to the needs of the times and has fre-
quently made comprehensive surveys of curricular and organizational prob-
lems. The impact of the world's greatest war upon our educational system
and the necessity of looking into the postwar demands on education seem
to present a logical time for another general study of our organization,
our needs, and our opportunities. Sensing this need, Chancellor Malott,

a year ago, invited the College Faculty to make such a study and presented
a mumber of specific questions for our consideration. The then already
established Committee on Curriculum and Program was given the task of mak—
ing a comprehensive survey and has, for about a year, with the help of
subcommittees and special committees, been studying actively many problems
which the College Faculty should face. The Committee immediately asked
all members of the Faculty to submit their ideas and their recommendations.
This request was renewed several times. Several departments and individual
members of the Faculty made a number of suggestions, both orally and in
writing. To these suggestions from the Faculty and to those presented by
Chancellor Malott, the Committee added a number of its own; and all these
have been given thorough thought.

A Subcommittee on the Improvement of Teaching made a report last
spring which was approved by the Faculty. The major recommendations of
that report have been put into effect. This Subcommittee will soon make
another report on the use of audio-visual aids in teaching.

ae
A Subcommittee on the Improvement of the Advisory System made a re-
port at about the same time. As a result, the advisory system has been
definitely modified. The plan calls for a well-trained corps of freshman-
sophomore advisers, who have greater and more frequent contact with ad-

_ Wisees. In addition, these advisers have available mich more detailed
information about the background, health, abilities, scholastic record,
and aims of the student, enabling them to do a more intelligent and more
personal type of counselling. The College Office records and the advisers!
records of students have been made mich more complete. This group of ad-
visers also has the full cooperation of the new Bureau of Vocational Gui-
dance, which promises to be of great assistance both to students and to
their advisers.

The present report deals with the curricular changes which, after
long discussion, the Committee presents for the consideration of the

Faculty.
Things Which Are Right

Before presenting its recommendations, the Committee wishes to say a
word of high praise for the past and present alertness of the College
Faculty to the needs of our students, to the call of the ever~—changing
times, to the challenge of new and expanding knowledge and of new methods.
There are many things that are right about our curriculum and in many ways
we are far in advance of many institutions which have the reputation of
being in the vanguard of educational progress. Among the things which, in
our judgment, are right, we should like to mention the following:

1. Our past and present determination to emphasize thoroughness and
high quality of work. This has led us into seeming conservatism, result-

ing in such things as relatively strict limitation of student loads,
insistence on full length of terms or semesters, insistence on final ex-
aminations, observance of prerequisites, and our quantitative and quali-
tative requirements for promotion from class to class. These are not the
only means toward achievement of high standards, but they are not the
sign of conservatism; rather they grow out of the desire for excellence.
2. Our willingness and determination to modify our curricula to
meet student needs. The minutes of the College Faculty show, especially
in recent years, an amazing number of changes in courses, both major and
minor in nature, indicating a continuous response to the ever-increasing
Imowledge in every field and to the needs of our students. In addition,
a number of new curricula have been established in recent years. Among
these are the curricula leading to the Bachelor of Science degrees in
Chemistry, Gebleur, Physics, Nursing, Physical Therapy, and Social Work,
and to the Bachelor of Arts degree for Medical Technicians. Also, we are
making much greater use of the courses in the professional schools, as
iliustrated by the establishment, in the College, of majors in Art and in
Music. In fact, the great majority of courses offered in the School of
Fine Arts are now open to College students. With the approval of the
deans concerned, a College scenes may now take for credit any course
offered by the School of Law. The lists of approved courses from the
several eocteselened schools have been greatly enlarged and the number of
hours which may be selected from them by students who are candidates for
the straight A.B. degree has been increased from fifteen to twenty. The
combined curricula with Law and Medicine, of course, permit the substitu-

tion of a whole year's work in the professional school for the fourth

year of College work.
3. The Committee commends the recent decision of the several foreign
language departments to add laboratory work to their basic courses and to
organize further opportunity for training in conversation both through
course work and through the use of the "sound room". It will be interest-
ing to have an evaluation of this step after the program has been in ef-
fect for a few years.

4. Our distribution requirements are, in our judgment, one of the
strongest and best features of our curriculum. They make for broader and
more liberal training in the undergraduate years than is found in other
institutions of our type. No longer is it possible, as it was a few years
ago, for our students to be graduated with but a single college course in
either mathematics or science, or with but a single course either in his-
tory, in one of the several social sciences, in psychology, or in philosophy.

Division I is the division of languages and literatures. It is
through Language that we communicate our teeny te others, either through
the written or the oral word. It is through our own language that we com
mumicate with our own; it is only through foreign languages that we can
understand other peoples and commnicate with them. Division II is the
division of mathematics and the natural sciences. In an increasingly
scientific world our graduates cannot afford to be ignorant of science
and of mathematics, the tool of science. Division III is the division of
history, the social sciences, psychology and philosophy. No one living in
a world of human beings and human organizations can understand that world
without basic training in this division.

Although our requirements call for the distribution, in these three
divisions, of approximately one-half of the student's four-year course,

yet they afford a fine flexibility suited to the wide variety of student
<acein, since the number of possible course combinations is almost in-
definite and allows students to explore a great variety of fields of
study. The Sepewtance of the last eight years, during which these dis-
tribution requirements have been in effect, has shown that, while many
freshmen and sophomores may be opposed to the pee a penshta. the gradu-
ating seniors are practically unanlnade in their favor. Their mature
judgment appreciates and approves the training afforded by them.
Current Curricular Trend

In recent years, a rebellion against the elective system has been
plainly evident throughout the country. Educators and non-educators
alike seem to feel Shit the pendulum has swung too far from the older,
more prescribed curriculum which contained a larger number of subjects
common to the eieining of all students. Back of this trend is the feel-
ing that there are seme “siclls and some areas of knowledge which are an
essential part of a liberal education and necessary for the exercise of
intelligent citizenship. With this trend and with this feelane your Com-
mittee is in partial sympathy. We do not wish, however, to be too charac-
teristically American and swing the pendulum back to the other extreme
just because it is nice to take a swing. We believe that the different
interests of the many students in a modern state university would not be
best served by a too-rigid restriction of our present flexible curriculum.
We do not, therefore, propose to go as far in the direction of a fixed
curriculum oe some other universities are going. We do not find our—
selves too enthusiastic about the combined wisdom of those who think they
know just what these essential subjects are that every student must take,
regardless of what kind of life he is to live or regardless of what part
of the world he may live in. In fact, it is quite difficult to find any
widespread agreement on these essentials even on the part of those who
think and work and live in the very center of these problems.
Res cinehat igen

Your Conmittee has reduced its recommendations concerning the cur-
riculum to only a few which we believe to be of definite importance. It
is recommended that the proposed requirements apply to all students en-
tering the College in the fall of 1945 i eects: It ts further
recommended that the Administrative Committee be authorized to determine
the policy regarding substitutions for advanced-standing students and
possible exemptions for those who enter the College so late that enforce-

ment of the requirements would cause undue hardship.

I. English Composition and English Literature
Our proposal is contained in the following recommendations of the
' English Department:

The English Department recommends to the Curriculum Committee
the establishment of the following course to be required of all
students in the College during the freshman and sophomore years:

1. Composition and Literature. Three hours credit.
The study and practice of the basic principles of com-
mmnication. Regular practice in writing will be ac-
companied by the reading of masterpieces of literature
to give the student examples of the best writing and
to introduce him to the great literary tradition of
cur culture. —

2. Composition and Literature. Three hours credit.
A continuation of course 1.

5. Composition and Literature. Two hours credit.
A continuation of course 2.

4. Composition and Literature. Two hours credit.
A continuation of course 3.

This course, if adopted, would replace the present courses 1
and 2 English Composition and 10, dia, and lib English Literature.
it is expected that if the course is — students will be
classified according to their ability, both in writing and reading,
and that although there will be a common central core of readings,
adaptations will be made to suit the needs and abilities of students
on various levels.

In such a course the English Department would attempt to accom-
plish three things:

1. The development of writing skill.

This would be the primary aim as far as the department is
concerned, since we feel that students who are unable to write
effectively are seriously handicapped in all the rest of their
work, both in the University and outside of it. As we under-
stand the term "writing skill", it involves mech more than mere
correctness. It involves the development in the students of
the ability to analyze abstract as well as specific ideas, and
to present a logical statement of them. It is a process which
calls for steady intellectual development on the part of the
student, and our end can best be obtained by spreading the
training over two years, as proposed in the new course.

2. The development of reading skill.

This is an aspect of training in English which all too
often is neglected both on the lower levels and in college or
university. For those students who have not yet learned to
read except in the most superficial way and for those students
whose reading is limited because of physical deficiencies, we
should hope to make extensive use of the reading clinic in co-
operation with our work. Again, however, we would be concerned
not only with the mere processes of reading as such, but would
concern ourselves with the development of skill in the analysis
of written material, the ability to weigh and evaluate ideas
and to exercise logical judgment of the material which is read.

3. The introduction of the students to the significant great
. writers who stand as the chief figures in our cultural
development. .

This part of the work would, of course, be closely inte-
grated with the other two parts, and with the proposed course
in Western Civilization. It would be our intention to focus
the interest of the students upon the great writers who have
spoken most effectively about the ideas which are the center
of Western European culture.

Your Committee calls particular attention to the following desirable

results of such an English program:
1. The student's training in writing, while not increased in quan-
tity over the present required six hours of English Composition, is spread
over two years instead of one. Good habits of writing can be better es-—
tablished in this longer period of time.

2. The combination of literature and composition will afford better
subject matter for the latter, while appreciation and memory of the former
will be strengthened.

College students are now required to take six hours of English Compo-
sition. They are also required to take a course in literature. The lat-
ter may be in a foreign language, but actually nearly all students meet
this requirement by a course in English Literature. In practice, there-
fore, almost all of our students take eight or nine hours of English, and
many take ten or eleven. The proposed requirement of ten hours of English
for all students will, therefore, actually be but a slight increase in the
amount of English taken by some students, and no increase at all for many
others.

Incidentally, it should be mentioned that the proposal will reduce
the maximum amount of English taken in the freshman year to six hours for
all students, whereas now very few take but six hours, while most take
from eight to ten. This will leave more opportunity in ths freshman year
for other subjects.

Your Committee recommends that this course be required of all stu-

 

dents entering the College in the fall of 1945 and thereafter.

II. Speech
To your Committee it seems highly desirable that we give all of our

students some fundamental training in speech, since obviously every one of
them will be called upon at some time to address groups, large or small.
In addition, many, if not all of them, will be helped in the proper use
of their voices, even in private conversation.

We recommend, therefore, that a two-hour course in Fundamentals of

 

 

Speech be required for graduation of all students entering the College in
the fall of 1945 and thereafter. We further recommend that the content

 

 

 

of this course be integrated, as far as possible, with that of the pro-

 

posed new English course and of the proposed requirement in Western Civi-

lization.

III. Mathematics
Our proposals concerning mathematics are contained in the following
recommendations of the Department of Mathematics:

The Department of Mathematics wishes to submit to the Committee
on Curriculum a program to take care of students who show a serious
lack of training or ability in elementary mathematics. It is becom-
ing increasingly recognized that there is a wide variation both in
the mathematical ability and in the mathematical training of students
entering the University. Students may now graduate from our high
schools with no mathematics beyond arithmetic or they may offer es-
sentially the equivalent of the first semester of college mathematics
taught by a first-class instructor under rigorous standards. Unfor-
tunately, however, the high school transcripts are not reliable evi-
dence of the student's mathematical training or of his ability to
carry college courses at the various levels.

Evidence accumulated here and elsewhere indicates that even a
brief examination will in the great majority of cases serve to test
the student's useable knowledge of arithmetic, plane geometry, and
algebra. For a student with poor training and low ability such an
examination seems to give distinctly more reliable evidence than
does the list of courses and the accompanying grades on the high
school transcript. In view of these facts, the Department of Mathe-
matics proposes that it be permitted to use the results of examina-
tions similar to those now given to all students at entrance as well
as the record upon the high school transcript to determine for each
student the starting point of his mathematical training at the Uni-
versity. Outlined below is a proposed program to accomplish the
purposes in mind.

A. At entrance every student will be required to take an ex-
amination covering arithmetic, plane geometry, and high
school algebra.
-LO

B. A student showing in his entrance examinations a serious
lack of ability to handle the arithmetic of everyday life
shall be required either (1) to prove by an examination

- near the end of his first semester in residence that he
has this minimum ability or (2) be required at his next
enrollment to take a non-credit course designed to give
him this ability. A student might enroll in this course
during his first semester in residence without waiting to
take the second examination. ,

C. Without regard to his high. school record a student showing
in his entrance examinations such a deficiency in knowledge
of elementary algebra or of plane geometry as to make it
highly improbable that he could carry satisfactorily col-
lege courses in mathematics will be required to take a nm-
credit course in elementary algebra or plane geometry or
both before enrolling in any University course in mathe-
matics. Here again a student might, if he so desired, take
a second examination, more comprehensive and given under
more favorable circumstances than the entrance examination,
before being required to enroll in a non-credit course.

D. A student whose high school transcript shows the normal
prerequisites for the standard college algebra course
(Mathematics 2a), but whose entrance examination in alge-
bra indicates lack of training or ability to carry that
course successfully shall be required to take Mathematics 2
or 2b for reduced credit. This practice is permitted but
not required at the present time.

The information already available in the Department will, we
believe, make it possible for us to set the minimm standards for ad-
mission to the algebra courses at such a point that most of those who
otherwise would fail can be transferred to more elementary work which
will give them the necessary preparation. Until the Department has
had experience with this program the number of students to whom it
will apply should be kept at a minimm.

A by-product of this proposal would be a stronger course in
College Algebra than we are able to give at the present time. The

students who ultimately fail in the course retard seriously the
progress of the more capable and more interested students.

The above recommendations of the Department of Mathematics aim at
two results: | 2
1, To make sure that our graduates are not mathematically illiter-
ate and unable to handle the arithmetic of everyday life. We should not

graduate a person who cannot compute the simple interest at five per cent
on $100 for two years. Tests have shown that some of our students cannot
solve this very problem.

2. To improve the work of the Department of Mathematics by admit-
ting to the classes only students who are competent to do the work. In-
cidentally, this will indirectly reduce the number of failures.

Your Committee recommends the approval of the recommendations of the

 

Department of Mathematics, and further recommends that they be applied to

 

 

all students entering the College an the fait of 1945 and thereafter.

IV. Biology
Our proposal is contained in the following recommendation of a
special. committee representing the four departments of biology involved:

In accordance with the recommendation of the Curriculum Commit-
tee of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and in response to
the recommendation of the Chancellor, Dean of the Graduate School,
and Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences that instruc-
tion in General Biology be provided College students, we, the under-
signed, constituting a committee appointed by the Dean of the College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences, recommend that all freshmen be required
to take the two following courses in Biology:

1. General Biology. Three hours credit. Lectures,
demonstrations and assigned field work. Principles

of biology, stressing (1) elementary biological in-
formation common to courses in Botany, Entomology,
Physiology, and Zoology, (2) application to man and
(3) the living organism. This course is prerequisite
to all beginning courses in Botany, Entomology, Physi-
ology, and Zoology.

2. A second required course with laboratory, carrying

a minimum of three hours credit. This mst be the be-
ginning course in one of the four departments mentioned
above.

We further recommend that the course in General Biology be in-
augurated on an elective basis March 1, 1945, and that it be re-
quired beginning September, 1945.

If the Faculty approves the above recommendation, we propose
that the course in General Biology shall be supervised by a committee
from the four biological departments above named and that for the

time being the committee shall consist of the chairmen and heads of

the four departments hereinabove named under the chairmanship of

A. 3, Wax.

It is planned that the new course (General Biology) will be
taught in two one-hour lecture periods and one one-hour period of
demonstration and discussion per week. The lectures will be given
by one person but the hour of demonstration and discussion will be ©
divided into sections of not to exceed twenty-five students and
these sections will be led by staff members of the four departments.

Respectfully submitted,
E. R. Hall
H. B. Hungerford
0. O. Stoland
A. J. Mix

For several years there has been talk of a course in general biology.
A year or two ago, the biology departments discussed the matter quite
fully but came to no decision. This recommendation, if adopted, will ac-
complish at least four desirable results:

1. It will avoid a certain amount of duplication which now exists
between the beginning courses in the four departments. This common ma-
terial, along with other basic biological knowledge, will be placed in.
the general biology course, which would be a course in the fundamental
principles of biology.

2. It would do away with the student's present confusion in select-
ing a begimming course in the biological sciences. After this first
course, the student would have some definite basis on which to select the
second.,.

3. It would make certain that every student has some knowledge of
the fundamental principles governing living things, including himself.

4. The second required course would include field or laboratory

work for the purpose of giving each student a personal interest in at
least some group of living things. Such an interest would be a source of
constant enjoyment.

Your Committee recommends that the courses proposed by the biologi-
cal science departments be adopted as a requirement for graduation for
all students entering the College in the fall of 1945 and thereafter.
Normally these courses should be taken during the freshman or sophomore
year. We also —— that the courses immediately following the course

in General Biology be reduced from five-hour to three-hour courses.

 

Your Committee does not feel that it should recommend a required
course in a physical science or in general physical science. The latter
does not seem to be practically possible, nor does it seem to be so es-—

sential for all students as does the course in general biology.

V. Western Civilization

The following report of a special committee, selected by the Conmit-
tee on Curriculum, contains a proposal concerning which your Committee
wishes to submit a recommendation:

1. ALL students in the College shall. be required to have ob-
tained already or to obtain in the freshman and sophomore years a
knowledge of modern civilization in the West such as would be of
college standard.

The requirement shall be broad enough to insure that anyone
passing it successfully will have demonstrated understanding of at
least the basic characteristics of the present society of which he
is a part and of the cultural heritage of that society. It will
emphasize not only the growth and nature of Western institutions as
such, but also, as of equal importance, the rise and content of the
Christian and the Democratic idea that has emerged in the West.

The historical scope to be included will be limited in time,
say, from the later Middle Ages to the present. "This span of his-
tory has", as the University of Iowa Committee say of their proposed
requirement in the same direction, "a large measure of continuity
and unity. Ib is an era of civilization particularly pertinent to
the present. It should be comprehensive in the sense that it brings
into focus the interrelations between the Old Europe and the New
America which is the outgrowth of the oe Christian civiliza-
tion across the world. n

It is not proposed that the study of our American institutions
should become a mere appendage of the concern with Europe. Obvious-
ly the part of the United States in modern civilization has become
preeminent and is today increasing. American students ought to be
familiar first of all with their own institutions; but these will
need to be comprehended in the larger context of which they are part.

The requirement will stress not merely a reasonable knowledge
of historical fact, but also an understanding of the significant
ideas involved, and some ability, therefore, of the self-reliant
student to read and to reflect on what has been read, as becomes the
maturing citizens of a democracy.

2. On the area indicated the student will be tested through a
comprehensive examination to be administered not later than the end
of his sophomore year nor earlier than the end of his freshman year.
Satisfactory passing of this examination will be the basis of eight
credit hours allowed toward graduation, and the grade attained in
the case of all students will depend exclusively upon the examina-
tion.

3. Integral part of the plan is that a list of books and docu-
ments shall be published and otherwise furnished to the student,
such as will supply the essential basis of content for the examina-
tion. The Iist shall be not so long as to constitute an unreason-
able burden upon the student, with due consideration for the amount
of credit that is to be allowed; also it shall not be so brief but
that it will include a fair sampling of the outstanding classics in
our political, economic and philosophical tradition together with
the best of recent conmentaries to make that tradition clear.

4. Administration of the requirement will be entrusted to a
committee to be appointed by the Dean of the College, whose function
it will be to prepare and to supervise the examinations and to pro-
vide for whatever advice or assistance to students may be deemed
necessary. In this connection no special courses are to be organ-
ized for which credit will be given. It is suggested, however, that
the administering committee may find it advisable to plan a course
of lectures, of perhaps one per week, to be contributed by the vari-
ous departments concerned, and to constitute in a general way an in-
formative introduction to the required reading list. Students would
be advised, though not required, to attend the weekly lecture for
one semester.

The purpose being, in this limited area of the College curricu-
lum, to put the student so far as possible upon his own, he may pur-
sue his own method and his own pace of preparation. Since there
would be no regular course enrollment such as to involve the matter
of maximum credit-hour load to be carried at one time, superior
students and those who may have been exceptionally prepared in their
high school education may well find here a limited opportunity to
get on to the upper levels of instruction a little more rapidly than
heretofore. However, because the requirement is to represent clear-
ly a college standard, and because it is desirable that something of
the University atmosphere should have been imbibed, the examination
may not be taken until the student has completed approximately a
year of college standing.

What offices or other facilities shall be available to the stu-

dent seeking assistance in the way of preparing for the examination
will be determined by the committee appointed to administer the re-

quirement.

5. Credit for the history—philosophy-social science examination
will count toward the distribution requirement for Division III, and
will count as having satisfied the field requirement in either his-
tory or social science as the student may choose.

J. W. Ashton

W. W. Davis

Hilden Gibson

R. M. Howey

C. P. Osborne

W. E. Sandelius, Chairman

This proposal assumes that two things are desirable in all our
graduates, namely,

l. That every graduate should have a fair knowledge of the main
paths travelled by mankind which have brought it to the present stage in
our Western civilization.

2. That every graduate should understand and appreciate American
institutions and the American way of life.

Your Committee agrees that these two should be considered an essen-
tial part of the equipment of all our students.

The method proposed is unique. It is not copied from other state
universities, some of which are doing all the other things recommended in
this report. The members of the special committee deliberately offered
this plan after many months of study. They climbed numerous hills only

to climb down again. They considered requiring two or three of our
students and those who may have been exceptionally prepared in their
high school education may well find here a limited opportunity to
get on to the upper levels of instruction a little more rapidly than
heretofore. However, because the requirement is to represent clear-
ly a college standard, and because it is desirable that something of
the University atmosphere should have been imbibed, the examination
may not be taken until the student has completed approximately a
year of college standing.

What offices or other ‘Pacilities shall be available to the stu-
dent seeking assistance in the way of preparing for the examination

will be determined by the committee appointed to administer the re-
quirement. :

5. Credit for the history—philosophy-social science examination
will count toward the distribution requirement for Division III, and
will count as having satisfied the field requirement in either his-
tory or social science as the student may choose.

J. W. Ashton
W. W. Davis
. Hilden Gibson
R. M. Howey
C. P. Osborne
W. E. Sandelius, Chairman

This proposal assumes that two things are desirable in all our
graduates, namely,

1. That every graduate should have a fair knowledge of the main
paths travelled by mankind which have brought it to the present stage in
our Western civilization.

2. That every graduate should understand and appreciate American
institutions and the American way of life.

Your Conmittee agrees that these two should be considered an essen-
tial part of the equipment of all our students.

The method proposed is unique. It is not copied from other state
universities, some of which are doing all the other things recommended in
this report. The members of the special ‘committee deliberately teres
this plan after many months of study. They climbed numerous hills only

to climb down again. They considered requiring two or three of our
~16

present courses, but rejected the idea because it would not accomplish
the desired eeciees and would also drive students out of the other
courses in Division III during the freshman and sophomore years. They
considered organizing a special eight- or ten-hour course, running through
a year, but rejected the plan because it would impose a very large addi-
tional burden of teaching which might be difficult to manage. Then they
considered whether it was unreasonable to expect students to do more
thinking for themselves, or if they had to be everlastingly spoon-fed via
courses and day-by-day instruction.

The final plan came out of the Special Committee's faith in the
ability of the vast majority of our students to help themselves and to
participate more actively in their own education. With this faith your
Committee agrees, feeling that perhaps the greatest sin we commit against
young people is in underrating them, in wnderestimating both their abili-
ties and their willingness to work.

Your Committee feels that it is time for a real experiment of our
own. If it works, we shall have a real achievement to our credit. If it
does not work, it can be changed or dropped.

We recommend, therefore, that the Special Committee's proposal be
that the amount of credit be six hours, and that the passing of the ex-
amination be a requirement for all students entering the College in the
fall of 1945 and thereafter. It is expected that students would take

this examination in the sophomore year. The committee recommends, how-

 

ever, that students who pass the examination in the junior and senior
years may elect to receive either six hours of freshman-sophomore credit
or four hours of junior-senior credit, provided that to receive junior-

senior credit a grade of C or higher is required.
The Committee is recommending a trial period of five years because
the plan es somewhat new to us, and there exists some doubt about its
feasibility. The Dean of the College will be in a position to know how
the plan works. If it should contain flaws or prove undesirable, if it
should thwart too many students and raise difficulties which would injure
‘the College or the University, he would be the first one to hear about it
from both parents and students.

We further reconmend, therefore, that the Dean of the College be
charged with the responsibility of keeping in the closest possible touch
with the experiment, of making annual reports thereon to the Faculty, and
of recommending the eas alteration or abolishment of the plan should
it prove unfeasible or unwise.

The Committee in charge is urged to furnish students all the direc-
tion possible short of taking away from them the personal responsibility
and initiative which the plan proposes. In addition to the semester's
lectures it is suggested that provision be made for discussion groups to
meet immediately following the lectures or at other times. We also sug-
gest that, along with the reading lists, it might be well to furnish each
student with a list of the chief topics he should cover in his reading,

accompanied by a specific list of questions covering each topic.

VI. New Majors

In addition to the six curricula leading to the Bachelor of ce
degree in particular fields and the three group majors for teachers, the
College, at the present time, offers thirty departmental majors. The
‘following facts seem to indicate a need for providing additional major

‘opportunities which are not of the standard type:
-18

1. Because of the increasing complexity of modern civilization,
new types of occupations and new combinations of occupations are being
developed.

2. Both the vocational and sccttieeiees. desires of some students cut
across departmental lines and frequently across school lines. In such
cases the student should have a major suited to his ow needs, provided
he has a clearly satisfactory objective. For example, "Social Recon-
struction" and "The Development of American Culture" might be considered
types of satisfactory objectives not served by standard majors. —

3. The war has given many students an awareness of opportunities
for life and work in other world areas, and some of them will wish a
college major which will prepare them for living and working abroad in
the postwar period. |

Your Conmittee feels that a student whose best interests cannot be
served by one of the standard majors should have an opportunity to apply
for a special major.

Your Committee recommends, chewerue, that a student be permitted,
during his sophomore year, to apply to the Dean of the College for a
special major. It is further recommended that, if the Dean thinks the
student has a well thought out plan and if the student's interests can
be best served by a special major, the Dean be authorized to appoint a
committee of three Faculty members who shall constitute that student's
major committee. It is further recommended that this committee shall
work out the details of the student's major program, which shall then be
submitted for the approval of the Administrative Committee.
| Such major programs shall not be subject to the following require-

ments: (1) the rule requiring a major of from twenty to forty hours, of
which at least twelve must be junior-senior hours in a given department;
(2) the rule limiting a student to twenty-five hours of credit in a non-
major department; and (3) the rule restricting a student to twenty hours
of professional credit. In addition, the student's major committee shall
be free to include in the student's program any course taught in the
University.
Respectfully submitted,

Viola Anderson

John W. Ashton

Ray Q. Brewster

Beulah Morrison

Walter E. Sandelius.

Gilbert Ulmer :

Paul B. Lawson, Chairman