Εικόνες σελίδας
PDF
Ηλεκτρ. έκδοση
[merged small][ocr errors][graphic][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]
[graphic]

Created as a Department March 2, 1867

Made an office of the Interior Department, July 1, 1869

COMMISSIONERS

HENRY BARNARD, LL. D.,
March 14, 1867, to March 15, 1870
JOHN EATON, PH. D., LL. D.,
March 16, 1870, to August 5, 1886
NATHANIEL H. R. DAWSON, L. H. D.,
August 6, 1886, to September 3, 1889
WILLIAM T. HARRIS, PH. D., LL. D.,
September 12, 1889, to June 30, 1906
ELMER ELLSWORTH BROWN, PH. D., LL. D.,
July 1, 1906, to June 30, 1911

PHILANDER PRIESTLEY CLAXTON, LITT. D., LL. D.,
July 8, 1911, to June 1, 1921

JOHN JAMES TIGERT, M. A. (OXON), ED. D., LL. D., June 2, 1921, to date

II

CHAPTER I

HIGHER EDUCATION

By ARTHUR J. KLEIN

Chief, Division of Higher Education, Bureau of Education

CONTENTS.-Cost of higher education-Selective processes: Increase of fees; entrance examinations; standards of admission and of institutional accrediting; grade limitations; character scoring; psychological tests-Freshman problems-Sectioning classes-Orientation courses-Curriculum revision-Teaching methods-Special honors and distinctions-Honors courses-Graduate work-Social and college lifeOutside contacts-Junior colleges.

COST OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Central in the influences which have directed development during the two years is the rising cost of higher education. As one element in the educational costs of the Nation, higher education has been subjected to the restraining influences of compulsory economy. But because such a small proportion of the taxpayers participate directly in higher educational activities, the colleges and universities have been subjected to more criticism, perhaps, than other elements of the educational system of the United States.

The whole series of facts with reference to the cost of higher education had, at the opening of the period which this discussion covers, been presented to the public and to educators with decided emphasis. The income of higher institutions in 1912, excluding additions for endowment, was $89,835,787; by 1922 this had increased to $272,815,703. This threefold increase in money costs during the 10-year period, an increase much greater than the increase in population or in the income of the country, caused great concern.

The most important element in accounting for the increase is the growth in teachers' salaries. This increase during the years of the World War and immediately thereafter has been one of the most remarkable phenomena in higher education in the United States. In small colleges salaries rose from an average of about $1,400 to an average of $2,000, in medium-sized institutions from $2,500 to $4,000, and in the large institutions from $5,000 to $8,000 or $10,000. During the same period the number of students more than doubled. In 1912 there were 255,673 students enrolled in the colleges and universities; by 1922 the number had become 550,906. Obviously, however, doubling the number of students does not fully account for the

« ΠροηγούμενηΣυνέχεια »