DEPARTMENT REPORTS. 187 



REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND ECONOMICS. 



To the President: 



The following is the report of the Department of History and Econ- 

 omics for the year 1915-16. 



Total number of enrollments in the department for the year equalled 

 1671, distributed as follows: 



By terms: Fall, 738; Winter, 430; Spring, 432; Summer, 71. 



By classes: Graduate, 25; Seniors, 380; Juniors, 422; Sophomores, 

 398; Freshmen, 355. 



By subjects: History, 352; Economics, 1130; Political Science, 189. 



Total number of hours taught during tlie year by members of the de- 

 partment are 2262, divided among the three terms as follows: Fall, 

 978; Winter, 480; Spring, 564; Summer, 240. 



By subjects the number of recitation hours during the year equalled — 

 in Economics, 1212; in History, 900; in Political Science, 240. 



HANDLING OF CLASSES. 



The department has experienced a repetition during the past year of 

 the swollen classes upon which comment was made in our last report. 

 While but two new and additional subjects were presented during the 

 past year, an examination of the enrollments for the year just past 

 shows an excess of 188 students over any previous registration of the de- 

 partment. 



The purpose of introducing this comparison last year was to show 

 the abnormal size to which many of our classes had grown, and to 

 point the need of additional teachers if the subjects concerned were to 

 be taught as efficiently as students at this College should be taught. The 

 need along this line, which was pressing last year, has this year become 

 imperative. Some classes numbered 90 and 100 enrollments. It is plain 

 that classes of this size are unAvieldy for teaching purposes. 



NEW SUBJECTS. 



During the past year the department has been intrusted by the faculty 

 with the future teaching of two new and additional subjects of study- 

 General Accounting and Farm Marketing. The former is in response to 

 a wide spread demand for further training in the scientific analyzing of 

 undertakings attempted for profit. The latter subject endeavors to pre- 

 sent information with regard to the deservedly significant problem — the 

 distribution of farm products. There seems to be a rapidly growing be- 

 lief among the well informed that the distribution of farm products 

 means fully as much to the farmer as their production. It would seem 

 to be a foregone conclusion that investigation and experimentation there- 

 fore in this marketing realm would prove equally as useful to the farmer 

 as investigation and experimentation has proven in the field of produc- 

 tion. 



