DEPARTMENT REPORTS 67 



EEPOKT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND CIVIL 



ENGINEERING. 



To the President: 



Sir — Basino; my estimate of efficiency upon the results apparent and 

 upon comparison with those of other years, I must rate the year past as 

 an average one in the liistory of this department. The separate terms 

 have not been finished with the same degree of satisfaction. The spring 

 term, particularly, seemed too short for the work it was necessary to 

 crowd into it, the instructors had not time for all the duties required 

 of them, and the percentage of student failure in class work was large. 

 We w^ere well prepared for the fall term class work, thanks to the 

 appointment of two new instructors. In the winter term too, we were 

 jiot much overcrowded although one instructor withdrew. It seems, 

 however, a mistake to call satisfactory an arrangement wjiich compels 

 the head of the department to give all his time to teaching, and leaves 

 no opportunity to properly superintend and direct the other work 

 naturally falling to the position, 



INSTRUCTION. 



Reviewing the data ui)on which to base judgment, it appears that 

 efficiency in any particular class which has been taught in the depart- 

 ment is inversely proportional to the size of the sections into which the 

 class is divided, after the number in the sections passes a certain 

 mark. This limit is not a fixed one, nor is it the same for all kinds of 

 work. My judgment would suggest twenty as about the maximum 

 number that can be dealt with in a single section, in studies taught by 

 us, if the best results are to be attained. It must be understood in 

 this connection that w'e are trying to teach young men and women to 

 do things, to give them practical knowledge of the subjects studied; 

 and this requires attention to the individual. More than half of the 

 fifty-nine sections taught this year by us have contained over twenty 

 members each. 



Tlie personnel of the department has changed considerably since las^ 

 year. At the ojjening of th<» fall term two new instructors were ap- 

 pointed, Mr. L. L. Locke and Mr. A. H. I'arrott. These young meik 

 have done very good work during the year in their various assignments. 

 Mr. W. O. Beal remained with us as instructor during the fall term., 

 at the end of which he resigned to take u]) studies in another institution.. 

 Thus it will be seen that there were five tea<h(ns in the department m 

 the fall term and only four in the winter and spring terms. Assistant 

 Professor Babcock continued with us and has answered all calls upon 

 his abilities in a mannei- no less satisfactory than in the jiast. I would 

 recomu'end him and Instructors Locke aud Parrot t to your kindly con- 

 sideration as worthy of receiving material appreciation of their fidelity 

 and earnest labors for the college. 



The following text-books have been used in our classes during the 

 vear: Beman iV SmitlTs Higher Arilhmeiic bv the class in nieiisnra- 

 tion; Wells' Essentials of Algebra by the women and agricultural 

 students; Hall c's: Knight's Colleire Algebra (Sevenoak's revision) by 



