April r, 1922] 



NA TURE 



425 



University Education in the United States of America. 



n^HE advance sheets of the biennial survey of educa- 

 A tion in the United States for 1916-18, which 

 constitute Bulletin, 1920, No. 34/ contain, in addition 

 '() the statistics for the period, an illuminative 

 omparison with figures taken from the reports 

 ^)f earlier surveys wliich leaves no doubt as to the 

 growth in popularity of higher and university educa- 

 tion in America. Exhaustive information is given 

 in the numerous tables, and a number of charts have 

 also been constructed which naturally make a 

 stronger appeal to the eye and emphasise the striking 

 results disclosed by the statistics. 



For the year ending June 1918, the Bureau of 

 Rducation received reports from 672 universities, 

 olleges, and professional schools, the latter term 

 • omprising schools of theology, law, medicine, 

 veterinary medicine, dentistry, and pharmacy. Of 

 this total, more than half did not enrol more than 

 300 students, while of the bigger institutions, only 

 37 Enrolled more than 2000. Thirteen of the latter 

 had from 2001 to 3000 students ; nine, from 3001 to 

 4000; seven, from 4001 to 5000, and eight had more 

 than 5000. Obviously there are many very small 

 colleges and universities and few large institutions. 

 In fact. 10 per cent, of the colleges enrolled 50 per 

 cent, of the students in America and a half of the 

 total number of schools took 87 per cent, of the 

 indent populace. 

 That the tendencies indicated by these figures 

 are not transitory is borne out by Bulletin, 192 1, No. 

 21, on higher education in 1918-20.* There it is 

 stated that of 250 institutions supplying returns for 

 the periods 1916-17 and 1919-20, the smallest 

 institutions are showing the biggest percentage in- 

 creases in enrolment; those enrolling less than 250 

 in 1910 increased 38 per cent., those with an enrol- 

 ment of 250-499, 202 per cent., those with 500 to 

 099, 14-5 per cent., those with 1000 to 1999, 225 

 }ier cent., and those with 2000 and over, 29-4 per cent. 

 The teaching staff employed in 191 7-1 8 consisted 

 of 29,509 men and 7013 women; i.e. an aggregate of 

 36,522, of which nearly 81 per cent, are men. These 

 rtgures, when compared with those for the public 

 liigh schools, in which men constitute 35 per cent, of 

 the teachers, and for the elementary schools, where 

 they form 13-4 per cent, of the staff, show clearly that 

 the tendency is for women to monopolise the element- 

 ary and secondary school work while men control 

 the higher institutions. The argument is strengthened 

 by the facts given in Bulletin, 1920, No. 48, ^ on the 

 statistics of State universities and colleges for the year 

 1919-20, from which it appears that of a total of 13,951 

 professors and lecturers, 1 1,659 or 83 -6 per cent, are men. 

 The salaries received by professors and others 

 (luring the period 1918-20 is discussed in Bulletin, 

 1 92 1, No. 21, where it is stated that, in privately 

 upported institutions, professors received on an 

 iverage about 460/. per annum and lecturers 240- 

 360/., while in State colleges the salaries averaged 

 625/. and 280-420/. respectively. Caustic comment 

 is made on the fact that structural-iron workers and 

 railway employees were receiving more than many 

 assistant professors in private institutions and almost 

 as much as those in State colleges. 



'Bulletin, 1920, No. 34. Statistics of Universities, Collesies, and Pro- 

 • <isional Schools, 1917-18. Prepared by the .Statistical Division of the 

 liiireau of Education under the supervision of H. R. Bonner. Government 

 Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 1921. accents. 



'J Bulletin, 1921, No. 21. Higher Education, i9i8-:o. F5yG. F. Zook. 

 I Advance sheets from the Biennial Survey of Education in the United 

 >tates, 1918-20.) 1921. scents. 



* Bulletin, 1920, No. 48. Statistics of State Universities and Slate 

 ',)1 leges for the year ended June 30, 1920. ^5 cents. 



NO. 2735, ^'OL. 109] 



The numbers attending universities and colleges 

 have grown from 156,449 in 1890 to 375,359 in 1918, 

 an increase of more than 139 per cent. Enrolment 

 has outstript the growth of population, which has 

 increased from nearly 63 to more than 105 millions, 

 or 68 per cent, increase, but high-school enrolment 

 has increased at an even greater rate. Colleges and 

 universities have not succeeded in attracting, in 

 recent years, so high a percentage of high-school 

 students as formerly. It is thought that the voca- 

 tional courses now offered by many of the larger 

 high-schools may account for the decrease in the 

 proportion of high-school students who enter the 

 universities. According to Bulletin, 1921, No. 21, 

 an attempt is to be made by the American Council of 

 Education, and a council for education in manage- 

 ment composed of representatives of industry, to 

 develop a form of vocational education in the higher 

 institutions which will familiarise men with the 

 technical side of industrial work and also prepare them 

 for managerial positions in industry. 



The position of higher education, however, is 

 indicated more clearly by an examination of the 

 enrolment figures in comparison with the proportion 

 of the population which was of college age. From 

 this it appears that in 1898, 33 per cent, of the popula- 

 tion of age 19-23 years attended college, while for 

 1916, 48 per cent, is recorded. Thereafter is a drop 

 in the percentage, due to the war, but the curve 

 illustrating the figures for the various two-year 

 periods from 1890 onwards shows an unmistakable 

 upward trend. The curve showing the proportion 

 of the population of 23 years of age on which bacca- 

 laureate or first degrees were conferred shows a 

 similar steady rise. In 1890, less than 1-3 per cent, 

 graduated ; in 1 916, almost 2-2 per cent, of this group 

 of the population received first degrees ; in twenty-six 

 years, therefore, the proportion of graduates was 

 almost doubled. Moreover, the proportion of the 

 total number of students in the universities and 

 colleges that were graduates increased from i-5 per 

 cent, in 1890 to 4-3 per cent, in 1916, showing that an 

 increasing amount of time was being spent on what 

 may be termed post-graduate work. 



The personnel of the student body has also changed 

 considerably during the past thirty years. In col- 

 legiate and graduate departments, the number of 

 men increased from 44,926 in 1890 to 164,075 in 

 1916, an increase of 265 per cent., and the number 

 of women from 20,874 to 95,436, an increa.se of 357 

 per cent. If all the students in all departments are 

 included, these increases are reduced to 143 per cent, 

 and 156 per cent, respectively ; in any case, however, 

 it is noteworthy that the number of women students 

 has increased more rapidly than the number of men. 



A striking increase has also occurred in the number 

 of first degrees conferred yearly during the twenty- 

 six years ending 1916. For non-professional depart- 

 ments alone, the figures are 7319 for 1890 and 31,826 

 for 1916, an increase of 335 per cent., while the total 

 population of the United States was increasing by 

 63 per cent. A graph constructed to compare the 

 rates of increase in the total population and in the 

 number of students receiving baccalaureate degrees 

 from 1870 onwards makes this point very clear. If 

 the number of students receiving first degrees is 

 taken as a criterion of national education, the United 

 States as a nation is undoubtedly becoming better 

 educated year by year. In 1918, there were 28,052 

 baccalaureate, 3480 graduate, and 736 honorary 

 degrees conferred, while 499 men and 63 women 



