The Spectator., 1916-06-02
LACK OF FUNDS
 HAND|CAPS J. 0F A.
PRESIDENT FUTRAll GIVES DE- TAILS OF WORK DURING LAST
 COLLEGE YEAR.
B14 STUDENTS ENROLLED
Claims Small Appropriation Provided Has Been Great Hinderance In Work Determined, However, Expsndl-
 lures Should Exceed Amount.
Fayetteville.--

Fayetteville
 The report of John c. Futrall. president of the University ot Arkan- sas, for the college year of 1915-16 has just been submitted to the Board of Trustees of the University. The re- port treats in detail of such matters as registration for the year, changes fin the course of study, conditions among the student body, scholarship, financial affairs, etc.
 Educational Policies.
 Under the head of Educational Policies" the report says:
 "The new entrance requirements do not vary greatly from the old except in that they are little more flexible. They are so arranged that the com bined high school and college course will form an educational unit. In the course of study leading to the degree, important changes have been made. The only study absolutely required for the Bachelor of Arts degree will in future be one year of English. The equivalent of ten college hours in so-1e one foreign language will also be required. Only three hours of this. however, must of necessity be done Ill the University. The balance may be satisfied by offering a foreign lan- guage as an entrance requirement.
 "The various studies taught in the College of Arts and Sciences are di- vided into groups ana there are re- quirements that student must offer a certain minimum number of hours from each group and that he is not al lowed to offer more than certain number from each group.
 "The central idea of the new course is to allow the student as great liber- ty of selection as possible; to require him to select major subject upon which he will concentrate; and to re- quire such a distribution of his sub jects as will give him general view of the educational field"
 Grading.
 The report gives an account of the new system of grading recently adopt. ed by the University Senate. Under the new rule, there will be six grades, A, B, c, D, E and F, the last two of which represent failure. A student who receives an E may remove the failure by a re-examination, but 8 student making a grade of F must re- peat the course in class in order to receive credit.
 It is tEe understanding that, in the long run, grade marks shall be dis tributed about as follows: Ten per cent or less of the students shall re- ceive the A grade. approximately 20 per cent the B grade, 40 to 50 per cent the c grade, approximately 20 per cent the D grade, and 10 per cent or less the E and F grades combined. It is understood that this scale cannot be applied to small classes.
 The principal upon which the new system rests is that the mental char acteristics of human beings vary about as physical characteristics, and hereafter be done on a scientific basis rather than in accordance with the whim of the individual instructor.
 Scholarship.
 The following statement is made with regard to scholarship:
 "The University is gradually raising the standard of its scholarship re- quirements. There has for some years been a rule that Tn order to be allowed to remain in the University, a student must pass on at least nine hours of work per week. The normal number of hours taken by the average student is sixteen. In years past, the rule has been enforced with consider able laxity. This year the Deans and Scholarship Committees have made very great efforts to keep in close touch with all students in their col leges and to find out beforehand what students were likely to fail and to give them warning. In the case of those students who fell a little below the nine-hour requirement, tendency has been exercised, and only those who failed to pass on as much as six hours were actually sent home. In most cases the students who went home for failure In scholarship passed on noth- ing. The total number who have been dropped in the course of the year for failure in scholarship is 19. Seven of these afterwards entered the Univer- sity High School in order to prepare themselves to enter the freshmen class next year.