Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-12-29
SCHOOL S
COLLEGE AUTHORITIES TO CON-
FER WITH STATE suPERlN-
TENDENT j. F. RIGGS.
Plan is to Prepare List of Accredited
Institutions Whose Graduates May
Enter Colleges Without an Examina-
ton.

Enter Colleges Without an Examina-
| ton.
Graduates of high schools
and other institutions in the
state may enter the state university
and colleges of Iowa without taking an
examination if the plan now being con,
sidered by the college authorities is
adopted. At recent meeting of the
college authorities held in Iowa City
a committee was appointed to confer
with Superintendent of Public Instruc.
ton j. F. Riggs, of Des Moines, with a
view to having the high schools of the
state for the purpose of preparing lists
OF accredited institutions whose gradu.
ates will be eligible for admission to
the colleges without examinations.
Graduates of the local high school
can now enter the state university and
the Chicago university without an ex.
animation. The Ottumwa high school
is classed as an Accredited High
School,"
1t was stated at the conference that
the superintendent of public instrue
ton is charged with the general super.
vision of ali of the common schools
which includes the high schools of the
state, and that he has power to collect
publish and distribute statistical and
other Information relative to public
SCHOOLS and education in general; to
make tours of inspection among com
mon schools and other institutions of
learning; to prepare. publish and dis
tribute blank forms for all returns he
may deem necessary or that may be re
CURED by law, of the teachers, or
school officers, and to prepare, publish
and distribute courses Of study for use
in the rural and high schools of the
state. 1t was also said that all courses
OF study used in the high schools OF
the. state are subject to the approval
OF the superintendent of public instruc
ton.
1t is also urged that since the SUPER
intendent of public instruction was by
the laws of the state authorized and
empowered to do the work above out
lined, that it would be the most fitting
that the work should be undertaken
from central office, especially since
the officer was charged. with the gen
eral supervision of all educational in
terests.
Riggs Can Do It.
The suggestion to have the work of
inspection of Iowa high schools con-
Quoted from the office of the superin-
tendent of public instruction. thus
making it more truly the work of the
entire state. is in accordance with
plan now in usa in the state of Mime
sofa and elsewhere.
There is disposition on the part
OF the committee to have the very best
possible plan for doing the work. The
members are reported to be of the
opinion that since the law places the
and high schools of the state
under the supervision of the superin-
tendent of public instruction and re-
quires his approval of all courses of
study used in the high schools. that
the work can be done more satisfac-
torily through his office than to have
1t scattered and undertaken by repre-
sentatives of a dozen or more higher
institutions of learning.
1t is believed by some of the best in
formed on the subject and who have
no interest other than the promotion
of the general cause of education
that the plan to have the work con-
Quoted by the superintendent of public
instruction in the very best possible.
University Inspection.
The university has, by direction Of
the board of regents. been for some
years attempting to inspect high
schools, with view to having the
same placed on the accredited list of
schools. for itself alone. The advan-
tage of being on the accredited list is
that it enables graduates from such
schools to gain admission to the uni
versity without examination. It is gen
orally agreed that the work that has
been done by the university has been
for the best interests of education
and has greatly stimulated work in
Iowa high schools and promoted their
interests. AS rule the lists are
adopted by the other colleges, also.
The institutions represented in the
college section of the Iowa Teachers
association have, by the courtesy of
the university. been given access to
all of the records and reports of the
insofar as they have re-
lated to the inspection of schools. For
a number of years the institutions
represented by the college section
have worked in perfect harmony
through committee of one from each
of the institutions. This committee
has from time to time issued various
reports and bulletins of information
for the benefit of the high schools and
the people in general In 1903 the
committee became convinced that the
work of inspecting high schools should
be pushed more energaticalIv than