Evening star., 1937-03-20
SCHOOLS TRAIN u. S. EMPLOYEES
Uncle Sam Cap and Gown Offers Variety of Courses Pre-
pare Federal Workers for Dutes-Populaty of Government
"Unversites" Shown by Increasing Enrollments.

whatever of the technique of getting
out crop report. So the school grew.
Since 1925 it has been headed by DR..
A. F. Woods, with the title of director.
Originally specialist in plant dis
eases, he was drafted to take charge
of the school just as it was beginning
to expand, and as he says, he has been
holding the baby" ever since
1t is healthy, growing baby" with
an enrolment of about 1900 Around
1000 of these come from the Depart
ment of Agriculture itself; the others
are from almost every other branch
of the Federal establishment, from
semi-oftlcial bodies like the Pan-Amer-
lean Union, from foreign embassies
and from private employment. Over
so courses are offered. Most of the
instructors are drawn from the various
bureaus of the department, but there
are some from other Government
agencies and from local universities,
with special lecturers from the leading
colleges of the country.
THERE are series Of courses in
botany and agricultural chem
istry: others, with hundreds of stu
dents, in statistics. Courses in eco
nomicS and accounting, many of them
specialized studies adapted to depart
mental needs, are very popular, as are
the language courses. A very unusual
course is being given at present on
cli1natology, with instructors from the
staff of the Weather Bureau, and spe-
cial attention to the problems of long
range weather forecasting. There
are courses in landscape design, in
Federal jurisdiction and procedure, in
blueprint reading, and in the NOR
phology and classification of soils.
The expenses of the school are paid
entirely from tuition fees, the func-
ton of the department going no fur
ther than detailing staff for super
vision and instruction, and permitting
the use of it's rooms and laboratories
Tuition fees are $l2 a semester for
two-hour a week studies. Glasses are
held from 4:45 to 5:45 pm. Students
dIC given SlStlO 1Ol oAlSAA WIN, hAAN
these credits have been accepted by
the graduate schools of universities
throughout the country In some
cases, promising students who are in
agriculture itself are given furloughS
so that they can finish their work and
receive a degree at some university.
Attendance at the school is entirely
voluntary for employees of the Depart
ment of Agriculture, and none of the
courses are prerequisites for any po-
sition, but it undoubtedly helps en-
ployes in doing better work and getting
promotions.
The exact opposite of all this is the
concentrated" training program con-
Quoted by various agencies as part of
their official set-up. There is no ques-
ton with them of tuition, voluntary
attendance. or the acceptance of stu
dents from outside the organization.
Employees are required to take the
courses as part of their work, usually
at the beginning of their employment
as preparation for their jobs.
A good example of this type of
instruction is the Foreign Service
Officers Training School of the State
Department. Newly appointed foreign
service officers come to the school,
usually in patches of about 35 year,
after six months probationary work
in a consular office, for three months
of intensive study. During their field
experience the men have become sufh-
GENTLY familiar with the problems of
the foreign service to be looking for