COLLEGE STANDARDIZATION 535 



result is loss of confidence, on the part of these schools, in the disposi- 

 tion of college authorities to deal justly or consistently with them. 

 Rapid growth is indeed desirable, but growth of the faculty is quite 

 as important as growth of the student body. If faculty growth is im- 

 possible then the standard of admission should be raised, and the 

 severity of examinations increased, until the student body is cut down 

 to such dimensions that an equitable teaching ratio is recovered. This 

 necessity is fundamental. A reputation for thoroughness, for strict 

 accordance between profession and practise, is better than large num- 

 bers. The faculty should be limited to trained specialists, and the 

 students naturally expect instruction from teachers of more maturity 

 than can be expected from those who are members of the student body. 

 There can be no reasonable objection to the employment of student- 

 assistants if their responsibility is limited enough and no use of their 

 names is made by including these in the published list of apparently 

 responsible instructors. To quote from the second annual report of 

 the Carnegie Foundation (p. 18) : 



The instructing staff includes every person giving regular instruction in 

 the institution except undergraduate assistants. These latter manifestly should 

 not be counted in the teaching force even when they give some teaching. They 

 are primarily college students. 



For colleges whose feeding schools are largely compelled to limit 

 themselves to three years of high-school work an abrupt change to the 

 standard of the New York law is very difficult, if not impossible. If 

 honestly carried out, the change necessitates great loss in numbers. 

 The natural resource for aid is to secure a rise of standard in the local 

 high school, which is in no way subordinate to the college and has 

 no representation in its catalogue. A student coming with defective 

 preparation may resort to this school until the full entrance require- 

 ments are fulfilled. Many applicants would undoubtedly be lost to the 

 college on account of unwillingness to continue in the high school, but 

 this is the price that has to be paid for standardization. Within a 

 few years there will be improvement for the college, in both numbers 

 and quality, due to the advance of standard. In Virginia the im- 

 provement in high schools during the last ten years has been very 

 marked, and their reactive effect on the colleges is distinctly recog- 

 nizable. 



Among the most insidious of the evils in colleges that strive for 

 numbers is the indiscriminate admission of special students, and of 

 students on certificate from so-called accredited high schools which are 

 not subjected to inspection. The theory of accrediting is that the 

 school gives its certificate of graduation only to students who have 

 successfully completed the full period of four years, with final examina- 

 tions quite equal to the entrance examinations of the best colleges. The 

 student takes examination on all his subjects immediately after study- 



