The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-03-25

IcOl689 pIoRlEulHn dtuQR& thSiA =
the definition of college. the enforce
ment OF admission requirements. the
Importance of unity of effort. the place
/ of the normal school In the system.
intercollegiate athletics and ethical
| standards among students. While all
| of these problems are important and
plead for consideration and while there
will be q difference of opinion as 10
their relative importance [ shall con-
fine my remarks to three of them,
namely, the definition of a college. the
enforcement of admission requirements,
and the importance OF unity of effort.
In the conclusion I shall, with your
permission ofrer for consideration a
series of resolutions bearing upon
these three subjects.
Definition of d College
"Unti1 recently, and even now, SO
far rs 1t is regulated by law, any
Institution in Alabama can name and
advertise itself as a college. 1t has
been the practice of the legislature
to grant charters to all Institutions
that sought them. The result is that
Alabama has a large number of insti-
tutions authorized to confer degrees.
In the granting of such charters the
important matters of entrance require
ments, course of study, teaching force,
income, and material equipment have
been entirely disregarded.
Il recall one such institution which
was incorporated in the name of one
person and he was empowered to confer
all collegiate degrees and honors. The
entire equipment of that Institution,
including grounds, buildings arAk Ii
brary and laboratory furnishings. to-
gether with the charter and gooG Will
sold at one time for the mun1acent
sum of 5000. The entire teaching force
including the music, elocution and art
faculty Zone person. numbered three.
The course OF study began with the
| first grade of the elementary school.
I leave you to guess the graduation re-
qiIirements.
Colleges and universities have risen,
| flourished and fallen as IL by magic.
On one occasion an Alabama educaTJf
was introduced to public audience
as the man who had built more col
leges than any other and, by way of
further eulogy, 1t was stated that he
was then having pine logs felled and
skinned, preparatory to the building of
another college. All of them were
duly chartered by the legislature or
by the probate court.
THE case with which so-called col
leges have been chartered Is a mat
ter of common knowledge. low grace
high schools have been given high
sounding names and charters have been
obtained for the sole purpose of az
vertising them. The people have been
deceived and students nave come away
from such institutions with meaningless
degrees. believing that they were wen
educated The result has been that
those who were deceived have been
failures in life, real colleges have suf-
fered and our educational standard has
been kept low.
This pernicious practice should be
stopped-stopped now and f6fever. A
competent board should be created by
law for the purpose of ascertaining
and publishing what institutiots are
prepared to do the work upon which
degrees can safely be granted and no
Institution whatever IT'S name should
be permitted to confer degrees unless
it measures up to- the standard thus
esta blishe ed
"In the absence of such legally
constituted board Il becomes the
bounded duty OF this association volun-
tarily to proceed with the work of rails
ing collegiate standards. rrrther de-
lay will be to persist in a gross ana
inexcusable disregard of a plain OBJ
legation. The first step in the per-
Torrance of tits long neglected duty
will be to agree upon what shall. con-
stitute a college.
Admission and Graduation REQUIRE
ments
1.-THE grade and character of an insti-
tuition OF learning are measured by its
admission and graduation requirements.
and each of these essentials is fixed by
the extent and thoroughness of the other.
High graduation exactions cannN exist
where admission requirements are low.
Low graduation requirements may exist
where entrance requirements are high, but
such is not the rule.
so long as the colleges admit appli-
cants who have not completed the high
school course. It will be impossible for the
high school to hold students in the upper
classes. If 1t is a mistake to require
greater preparation than the high school
offers, it is equally as great a mistake
to require less than the high school gives.
for there can be no real system without
an articulation of parts.
"In estimating the work and worth of
a college many things must be taken
into consideration, but I am persuaded
that the chief thing Is the grade of stu
dents admitted. 1t matters not what may
be the income and equipment. instruc-
ton of college grade cannot be impaired
to a student-body made up of immature
youths who have not taken a course
through a reputable high school. Stu
dents capable of receiving college instruc-
ton are as necessary as qualified pro-
fessors ami adequate endowments, build
ing. libraries and laboratories.
Heretofore there has been no cooper
ative effort among our colleges looking
toward the adoption and enforcement of
higher entrance requirements II condi-
tons have been such as to discourage
such effort. they no longer exist. The
state is taxing itself for the establishment
and maintenance of county high schools
Excellent public high schools exist in
many of the cities and towns. A num-
Der of private preparatory schools are
being conducted. Combining them, we
now have 100 high schools. whose enroll
ment for the current year approximates
5000, and whose courses of study cover
from three to four years. large ma
jority of them offer four-year courses.
There are not more than six with two
year courses, and the tendency is to
lengthen courses as rapidly as possible.
"If the colleges will move up and out
of the high school domain, each of these
schools will soon have a largely increased
enrolment and a full four-year course
of study. The high schools cannot hope
to maintain third and fourth-year classes
if the colleges remain In competition with
them for that grade of instruction. Ger
tainly no state-supported institution has
| the right, in view OF the fact that so
many high schools are maintained at pub