Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-07-05
70 RA}f|CE' 'lADARDJ
IOWA COLI . OF UNI HAVE TO
~ .EME cou1
OR La-, LEeEs.
NEW ORDER of,.e1SAMINERs
TO CAUSE SOME HUsTLING
Some May Lose Place on Accredited
Lists - Qualifications For Three
Ranks Explained in Circular Issued
Aim to Raise Standards of Smaller
Educational Institutions.

Special to Times-Republican.
Des Meines, July 5.-After July 1,
1911, Iowa colleges will have to come
up notch or two in standards or
some Of them will be asked to get off
the'accredited list" The board of ed
ucational examiners has determined
upon raising the standards and at re-
cent meeting determined upon notify
ing the college heads Of the fact.
Briefly the college classifications will
be based on the. following:
First rank-E'acurty qualified for
doctors degree; department heads not
over Is hours a week class work; Ii
brary Of $4,000 volumes; laboratory
$4,000. for chemistry, physics, botany
and zoology; endowment of 100000
or fixed income $4,000; ten separate
chairs or departments; graduates have
four year college course and four year
secondary course and work such as tc
admit. to the graduate Of the state uni
versity.
Second rank-Faculty qualified for
masters degree: class hours for heads
twenty a week; library $500 volumes
laboratory $500; endowment 100000
or income Of $4,000; seven separate
departm ems; preparation for state
university as in the first rank.
Third rank-Faculty qualified for
masters degree, class hours twenty a
week; library 5000 volumes; labora-
tory $1,000: endowment 100000 or
$4,000 income; seven departments
and admission to state university as
before.
There was added to the list of ac-
credited colleges for the state at the
June Ymeeting the name of st. Am
brose College at Davenport.
Iba. board will issue a list Of accred-
ited6elleges. on the basis roughly out
lined above, but the statement is made
that the certificates issued to grad
yates of accredited colleges are all of
one form and are Of equal value in
Iowa, the board realizing that the
training given in the small colleges
may be Of the first quality.
1t is expected that the new orders
will cause quite a lot Of hustlins
among the colleges in the next year in
order to secure a permanent place in as
high a class as possible. The accredit-
ing Of Iowa colleges, or classification
by an official board, is said to have
been Of great benefit to many Of them
and. they will all come up to higher
standards by reason of the action
taken.
Riggs Explains.
State Superintendent j. F. Riggs. as
head Of the educational board, has ad-
dressed letter to the heads Of the
{,, ,r,ti ho iC
planned as follows:
u am instructed by the state educa-
tional board Of examiners to write you
concerning certain matters growing out
of your relations to the board. When
college accrediting was begun under
the statute of 1907, great leniency was
shown by the board in it's treatment Of
the smaller colleges. We believed, and
still believe, this course was strictly in
keeping with the intent Of the legis-
1ature in enacting this law; that is to
say, that all of the Iowa colleges gen.
orally recognized at that time as stand
ard liberal arts colleges were expected
by the legislature to qualify under the
law. The board, however, found that
were reasonably rigid requirement
at once great hardship
would result to some. The classifica-
ton established was, therefore, pur-
posely so made that deserving institu-
tons might not suffer while adjusting
their work to more exacting require
ments. In other words, the classical
ton established was not designed by
the board to be permanent, but was,
instead, in the nature of a provisional
}Iot oh nh f1ir
until the whole question could be stud
led In the light Of experience In the
meantime the smaller colleges were
given encouragement to strengthen
their equipment, their Institutional
force and their endowment, and most
Of them have responded admirably.
sit is the opinion Of the board of
examiners that the provi-
sional period should be brought to an
early close and a more permanent and
more exacting basis Of ranking col
leges be substituted. This course is
made all the more necessary since
some Of the colleges have used the
TACT Of their acceptance by the board
rs basis for advertising and have as
sumed to claim on the authority OF
the board, equality with some and SUI
periority over other institutions. The
board has not authorized, either d.
rectly or indirectly, any such claim on
the part Of any college. The board does
does not pass on the equality
II colleges. All the board does
S to set up certain minimum require
nents. When the minimum for any
given class Is reached by college 1t
xvn tn t1nof
~ that fact become the equal Of every
,ther college in its class. It may or 1t
nay not be the equal, but
o claim equality on the authority Of
he board Is wholly unauthorized.
eft is desirable as 1t appears to the
,oard to group the accredited colleges
n general classes that shall fairly tn
[icate their rank. For this purpose
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