New-York tribune., 1902-06-22
THE PERIL OF THE COLLEGE,"

The peril of the college, or at any rate the
serious disadvantage at which it is placed by
the competition of the undergraduate depart
ment Of the university, is a topic which mas
already been much discussed and Whlcn Is
steadily growing in Importance Briefly stated.
the case is this: The college maintains the
traditional four years course for the baccalau-
reate degree and the college student must pur-
sue that full course TO get that degree. whether
he proposes to 90 on with a postgraduate or
professional course in university or not The
university. the other hand. practically
shortens the course to three years for students
who going on to postgraduate or protes-
sional courses That is 10 say. it lets the first
year Of the professional course count as the
fourth year of the undergraduate course, so that
instead Of spending four years in the university
college and three more in the. professional
school, or seven in all the student spends only
three in the college and three in the professional
school, or six in all. He thus gains whole
year in time and years expenses IN money by
pursuing his entire academic career IN the uni
versity, instead of going to a separate college
for his undergraduate course and thence to the
university for his professional course Natu-
rally students who intend to pursue professional
courses are deserting the colleges for the col
lege departments Of the universities and they
are doing so more and more as the professional
schools more and more require a baccalaureate
degree as prerequisite to matriculation. as, OF
course it is invariably required by the true
postgraduate seminaries.
In a particularly thoughtful and comprehen-
sive discussion OF this topic in the Boston jour
nal Education DR.. Herring, Of New-YOrk Uni
versity, suggests what seems to him a simple
solution of the problem, which he believes
would avert the deplorable menace 70 the col
lege and perpetuate that institution in its use
| fulness and at the same time would not hurt
but rather actually benefit the university His
proposal is that the universities shall do openly
| and avowedv what they now do practically.
| but more or less evasveIy, namely, declare that
| the college student at the end Of his third or
Junior year is worthy to receive the baccalau-
! reate degree and to enter the postgraduate or
| professional school, and do this in the case Of
| men in independent colleges as well as of those
in the college departments of universities. He
| would accordingly have the colleges and college
| departments of universities rename the classes,
calling the present junior class the senior, the
| sophomore class the junior and the freshman
| the sophomore, and then add at the foot new
! freshman class which students could enter if
| they wished instead of pursuing the present last
| year Of the high school course. This arrange
| ment would give the colleges a chance to live,
| and DR.. Herring believes it would benefit the
| universities by swelling the ranks Of their pro
| fessioDal schools with increased numbers of
recruits from the colleges.
| The one possible objection to this which will
! be obvious to all is that 1t would mean lower
! ing Of the college standard of scholarship by
one year. DR., Herring contends that it would
not quite do that. 1t would graduate the stu
dents as high as many now go. That, he thinks,
! &c oh mic he ad tbat iS
actually good deal higher than the whole four
| years course carried men at time within the
! memory of many now living. But even If it
| did mean lowering Of the baccalaureate stand
ard, it is difficult TO see how the colleges are TO
! help themselves. The standard is really set by
| the universities. If they confer the baccalau-
| reate degree for three years work, as some are
! now doing, the colleges in carrying students Oh
| through fourth year will practically be doing
/ one year Of postgraduate work, but without
| giving getting credit for it. In at least one
| State the rule has been officially established
| that diploma may be registered as of cole
! giate rank if the holder has spent six years in
| high school and college, whether it be two in
the school and four In college, or three in school
and three in college, or four In school and two in
| college The same rule applied to college and
| university work would give the student his pro-
| fessional diploma for six years work whether
| he spent four in college and two in the profes-
sional school, or three in each Of them; only, in
justice TO the college, the rule should hold good
| whether both courses be pursued in the same
| institution or in separate ones. It would
| scarcely be practicable, perhaps. for single
| university to adopt that rule But if con-
| siderable number of them did so Jointly the
| new order would work smoothly, and that in
valuable element in our higher educational sys-
| TEN, the small college" would be saved from
| the peril of destruction which now menaces it.
|
| Now. wasn't IL just perfectly lovely day for
a Saturdays outing? Especially for water