The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1915-02-11
SOME MISLEADING
STATEMENTS MADE
ABERDEEN DAILY PAPER DIS
TORTs COMPARATIVE COL
LEGE FIGURES
GIVES WRONG IMPRESSION OF Sd. SC.
Manifestly illogical to Compare State
College With a Normal School, as
The Two Do Different Work

An artlCle recently appearing in an
Aberdeen daily paper, making compar-
isons between the South Dakota State
College and other state institutions,
gives a misleading impression relative
to the number of students per teacher
and the average cost of educating a
student in State College. This article
stated that there were only 81 stu.
dents per teacher in the State College,
and that the Institutional cost per stu
dent is something like s2O1.O 90. (This
estimate being based on the December
/ attendance, 637 students and IA in
s%tructors.) 1t also attempts to show
a difference of nearly $6O0.0 90 per year
in salary in favor OF the State College
instructor.
These comparisons are misleading,
according to State College authorities,
because:
1. Many OF the State College faculty
are employed for twelve months in.
stead of nine or ten months as in the
other institutions mentioned.
2. A number Of the State College
faculty do not teach at all, much OF
their time being given to extension or
experiment station work.
3. A large number of the State Col
lege faculty teach only a part Of the
time during the regular school year
and none of the time during the other
working months of the year, much of
their time being devoted to work in
extension or the experiment station.
4. II 1t is fair to consider in this com
parison the total number of instructors
with their yearly salaries. then the
toal number of students during the
year in the State College must be
counted, instead Of selecting the arbi-
trary date Of December /, as was done
by the Aberdeen writer. Counting the
short course students, the enrolment
at State College for the year to date
is more than 1850 students. AS a mat
ter of fact many State College profess
sors are handling very large classes
ranging from 70 to 40 students. The
small class is an exception at State
College.
S. However,-any comparisons can
not with p%ropriety) be made with ref
erence to advanced collegiate institu-
tons and schools devoted to normal
instruction. Scientific instruction in
agriculture, mechanic arts, and allied
subjects naturally require more ex-
p~ensive equipment, laboratories, sup.
plies, etc.
Furthermore, the author Of the article
in question made an error in comput-
ing salaries, crediting State College
professors with the munificent income
of S 1902. whereas by his W figuring
the amount should be $1,308. The esti-
mate that it costs an average of $201
per student for instruction at State
College is entirely incorrect. This is
charging up against the student all ex-
penses, including the total salaries of
all employees. Many of these en-
ployees are doing work in connection
with the United States experiment sta
ton, helping take care Of livestock,
working on the farm, or in the horticul-
tural gardens. Making the correction
for this would again change the result
in the average cost per student. Even
then this estimate would not be of any
value because the average cost per
student involves several important
items that have not been taken into
consideration, such as the deteriOra-
ton of buildings, money invested in
the plant and other running expenses.
The short courses add another Difficult.
ty in the way of computing the num-
Der of students to the teacher and the
cost per student at State College. At
various times after Christmas holidays
there is a considerable influx of stu
dents in the various short courses and
these students have to be taken care
of by the regular teaching staff.
1T is manifestly illogical to compare
the State College with the normal
schools of the state" says DR.. g. L.
Brown, Dean of the State College, be
cause of the differences in the char
acter Of the institutions. In order to
have any value at all such compari-
sons as have been attempted should he
comparisons OF institutions OF the
fContinnAA an Para Nd~Ay.