Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-10-28
MISAPPREHENSiO AS TO OBJ.
JEcTs OF FEDERAL lNvEsTI-
CATION OF IOWA COLLEGES.
EFFICIENCY AND METHODS
eA,ly will RE STUDIED
Federal Commission Refuses Invitation
70 Go Into Question Of Efficiency OF
Teaching Staff of Each Institution
State Board Issues Statement 6x-
planning Objects Sought.
Special to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican
Des Moines, oct. 2s.-Misapprehen-
sions as TO the purpose Of the survey
of Iowa's educatio.la! Institutions OF
the part of a commission appointed oE
the United States commissioner OF ID
ucatiou has called forth pu2.Ic
statement from the state board OF e.
ucation on this question The state
merat was given out by the board to-
DAY and includes letter forwarded to
President d. D. Murphy from Hon T.
p. Claxton, United states commls-
sioner OF education, on this s05ject. III
his letter to President Murphy COM
missioner Claxton says:
THE information has come TO me
that some OF the people OF Iowa are
under the grave misrepresentation as
to the purposes of the survey OF the
higher institutions of the state when
is being undertaken by ii commission
assembled by the commissioner OF ed
ucatiou. in accordance with the request
OF the board | therefore take the
liberty of writing you this brief state
ment and requesting YOU to give II all
reasonable publicity
Come by invitation.
TIE commissioner OF education was
invited by the state board. in March,
1915 to make a survey of the higher
institutions of Iowa, with view 10 de-
termining the efficiency OF their or
sanization and administration, the
economy with which their funds have
been spent, and the efficiency OF the
teaching staff of each. He refused 10
consider the last mentioned subject put
agreed to bring together body OF e&-
perts who would undertake the study
and report to the board Of education
The survey conmi ssion has been or
ganized and consists of Dean James r.
Angel, University of Chicago; Dean
Kendric c. Babcock, University Of
Illinois; Dr. Liberty II. Bailey. former
Nv director of the New York State
College Of Agriculture; Mrs. Henrietta
w. Calvin, specialist in home econ
onics in the bureau of education; DR..
Samuel F. Capin. specialist in higher
education in the bureau of education;
President Hollis Godfrey, Drexel In
stitute, consulting member. and Presi-
dent r. NJ. Hughes. Miami University
The commission has received only
the most general instructions from the
observation-disclosures implied II the
boards invitation to the commissioner
of education. 1t has been given an alb
soIutely free hand and the board has
acceded cordially to all its proposals
as to the extent and methods of in
yestigation. 1t comes to Iowa with an
open mind. No member of it is COM
mitted to any position in advance. Its
purpose is neither to justify the ex-
listing inter-institutional arrangements
nor to condemn them, but to study
questions involved impartially and with
the utmost care and 10 report with
out fear or favor its findings. Its
earnest hope is to help the state Of
Iowa in the solution Of it's perplexing
problems Without such motive, men
and women of this stamp could not be
induced to absent themselves for sew
eral eeks from their regular duties
and to undergo the peculiarly ex-
hausting labor which an educational
survey entails"
Board Explains Position.
The state board then explains its
position ard purpose in arranging the
survey as follows.
The board can not understand how
any one can have any misapprehen-
sions or misgivings regarding the sur
vey Of the institutions OF higher learn
ing in this state, which has been un-