The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1916-06-01
Statement of Plan
Being Proposed by
Board of Regents
Several Features Are Being Worked Out-Explanation
of Certain Steps in Contemplation Issued at
Bismarck-Reveals Additional Changes.

: general rather than technical CONNER
| cial courses will also be featured at
| Wahpeton.
| 1t has for years been evident that
there is little or no field for q state
| school of forestry, as such, in North
| Dakota. For this reason the regents
will undoubtedly recommend rather
radical changes at Bottineau and 1t is
| thought will endeavor to convert the
school there into one of the great agri-
cultural schools of the northwest,
| training boys for agriculture and girls
' in home economics and giving instruc-
ton in the rudimentary commercial
| courses.
The work Of forestry may properly
be transferred eventually to the agri-
cultural college, where, with the ad-
dition of one professor, this work can
be handled better than at present.
The tree nurseries will no doubt be
| retained at Bottineau and others may
be established at the different sub-sta-
tions at widely scattered points. This
will greatly facilitate the distribution
of trees.
Wipe Out Glasses.
One thing for which the regents are
to be commended is their evident de-
termination to wipe out classes in
which only two or three students are
taking the courses. Some boards of
other states will not permit a class
in which there are less than five stu
dents and the North Dakota regents
appear to hold the same view and to
believe it would be a wasteful and
| extravagant policy to continue classes
with less than that number.
While the board appears anxious to
encourage everything that will be of
q no nf &C. n
Of bunch of hard headed business
men who will not tolerate useless fads
and frills. The members of the board
appear to hold to the view that the
| taxpayers of the state should receive
as nearly as possible 100 cents on
every dollar spent for educational
| work.
Rural School Problem.
Seemingly they realize that North
| Dakotas greatest problem is the i'm
| provement Of the rural schools and
| they are carefully formulating plans
| that will begin at the basic founda-
| tion from the one room school and
| build up a solid structure to the high
er educational institutions Of the
state.
It is understood to be the plan of
the board to promote the work of the
| SUBJ stations along research and eX-
| perimentation lines, to encourage the
| coal experiments in the western part
| of the state and also to recommend to
the next Legislature the unification of
all public health work, which is at
! present divided under three heads
without any coordination or systema-
tized work being accomplished. Be-
cause of the prominence Of the pure
! food work at the agricultural college,
! that seems to be the proper place for
| the location of the central authority
and direction of the public health
| work.
1t is understood that the board of re-
gents will strongly recommend a con-
| solidation Of the two departments of
| professional engineering at the state
| university under one head, as was re-
| Gently done in the language courses.
The board has many other plans for
| the consolidation of departments at the
university, the agricultural college and
! Valley City. This, 1t is thought, will
| insure more efficiency and get better
results. 1t will also be along the gem
eral policy of the board to introduce
system and uniformity wherever pos
| sible.
Survey Commission.
| The report of the survey commission
| which has been engaged since Nov.
in a study of North Dakota's educa-
and will be published by the govern
ment. 1t will go into the details of the
proposed system and will contain the
| data and the facts upon which the con-
cluSionS are based.
While the board has been busy in the
| development of it's general educational
policy, 1t has not neglected the other
phases of it's work. A uniform system
of reporting the business of each insti-
tuition has been worked out and is now
proving most satisfactory. 1t has been
developed with a view to simplicity
and the elimination of all possible red
tape. The Offices of the board in Bis
marck are the central agency for all
the institutions and the medium
through which all reports reach the
proper state officials. The expenditures
are all checked at each institution, alb
stracted to this office with the original
and duplicate invoices and sub-vouch-
ers and again rechecked, approved and
the payment authorized. Before ex-
penses can be incurred in any institu-
| tion acquisitions must be made to the
| secretaries and orders Issued by them.
The board has established a budget
system in each institution and each de-
partment must adhere closely thereto.
Another interesting phase of the
boards work is that the supplies of the
| educational institutions are being pur-
| chased through contracts let by the
board. By Jumping all the business the
| total is of sufficient volume to attract
| the interests of dealers, and they will
| submit competitive bids that will not
| only mean cheaper prices but higher