The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-09
THE STATE NORMAL.
President Parsons Writes Again Com
corning Per Capita Cost of Students.

To the Editor of the Indianapolis Journal:
dislike a newspaper controversy as much
as any person could but, as the president of
one of Indiana S state educational institu-
tons 1 am unwilling to allow to go unchal-
lenged and uncorrected as gross a set of
Misrepresentation concerning that institu-
ton as appeared in your issue OF the 9TH
inst, over the signature of John W. Ray.
In my reply to the circular, published in the
Journal of the 4th inst, l showed that, in
comparing the attendance of the different
institutions, Mr.. Ray used the average term
attendance in the case of the State Normal
School, but gave the total attendance of
different students throughout the year in
the case of the UNCONVENTIONAL colleges.
The gross unfairness of such comparison
must be apparent to all. If the total at
tendance of different students for the year
at the eight UNCONVENTIONAL colleges is
adopted as the basis for determining the per
capita cost at those institutions, would not
simple justice require the use of the same
basis in computing the per capita cost at
the State Normal School? If Mr. Ray
chooses to employ the average attendance
for estimating per capita cost, would not
common fairness require that he use this
for all institutions alike? Would any fair
minded man, seeking to present to the pub
lie the facts in an important case, resort
to the method used by Mr.. Ray?
1 will give some facts in regard to at
tendance at the eight UNCONVENTIONAL col
leges, taken from the latest catalogues of
these institutions, which Mr.. Ray, in MAX
ing his comparisons, is careful 10 ignore.
The catalogues of these Institutions show
that their combined attendance for the
year ending June, 1885, was 2163 different
students. This number is probably eXces-
sive, as it gives Union Christian College 232
students, taking no account OF persons
counted more than once. But let it stand
at 2,l63. OF this number only POI were do
ing college work proper, the remaining 962
being distributed among variety OF schools
connected with these colleges. EVERY one
of these colleges maintains a preparatory
school; three of them have schools of
theology; five have schools of music, the
aggregate attendance being 261; three have
schools of art; two had summer schools
numbering 10 students; two had normal
departments, and one a commercial depart
ment. Now, to swell the attendance and
make the per capita cost as low as possible,
Mr.. Ray counts them all The boy or girl
who takes a few weeks of penmanship
and bookkeeping, the ITO persons who are
enrolled for five or six weeks in the sum
mer term, the IS in the schools of art the
261 in the five schools Of music the Is theo-
logical students and the "A persons who
perhaps spent a few weeks In the normal
departments,
just as if they were all regular collegiate
students throughout the year BY this
means he makes the per capita cost in the
denomnational schools $7097. But when he
sees that the same method of counting
gives the State Normal School S44 different
students and per capita cost OF less than
$36 per year, he changes his tactics and en-
ploys the average attendance.
What is the summer term! says Mr.;
Bay It side snIw OF thu the HoEa
of the educational taxi" Let me answer
Mr.. Rays questions. The state Normal
School unlike any and every other school
in Indiana, conducts q summer term on
exactly the same conditions and under the
same rules that obtain at all other times
in the year, No tuition Is ch88rged' IL rs is
summer of 1897 two of the denomlnatlonal
colleges of Indiana. in whose behalf Mr..
Ray is writing, conducted summer scnoois.
According to the catalogues of these insti-
tutions, one OF them enrolled seventy stu
dents the other forty The Normal Schooi
in the last summer school enrolled 6lS teach
ers-nearly six times as many as both
these UNCONVENTIONAL colleges. The attend
ance at the summer term of the state Nor
NAL School was greater than the complheu
numbers in college work proper IN the larg-
est two UNCONVENTIONAL colleges in the State
during the whole of the last college year
and ii was greater than the aggregate at
tendance on college courses of the other
six denominational colleges. But Mr. Ray
thinks 1t is side show.
summer attendance of 6lS is subtraeted
from the total attendance OF l944, II gives
/ 606 as the total number of different stu
dents | have already shown that Mr.. Ray
cannot discriminate between the average
attendance and number OF different stu
dents, when it serves his purpose to con
fuse them In the summer term referred 10
the Normal School had 6lS students 2sV Of
these were counted in the attendance of
other terms 83S were present in the sum
mer term only Therefore, this number Is
deducted from the total 1874 u show the en-
tire number OF different students, exclusive
Of tho summer term, In the year ending Oct.
81. 1898 1t might generally be expected
that Mr.. Rays long official connection with
one of the UNCONVENTIONAL schools would
have familiarized him with the correct
method OF ascertaining the total number Of