SCIENCE.-SUPPLEMENT. 



FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1887. 



THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION MOVEMENT 



AT CAMBRIDGE. 



The uaiversity extension movement was begun 

 at Cambridge about fifteen years ago. It occurred 

 to some energetic men, especially to Professors 

 Stuart and Sidgwick, that the university should 

 attempt to influence the education of the country 

 not only by examinations, but by direct teaching. 

 It was thought that young men were sent out 

 every year by alma mater for whom there was no 

 place in the teaching system of the university it- 

 self, but who might find a field of activity in the 

 great towns of England. The system has grown 

 up from very small beginnings. At first a private 

 enterprise, it shortly became part of the univer- 

 sity organization, and it is now a recognized de- 

 partment of university work. During the last 

 six years the growth has been very marked. In 

 1880 there were thirteen centres, in 1885 there 

 were thirty-six. In 1880 thirty-seven courses of 

 lectures vsrere delivered : in 1885, eighty courses. 

 The attendance at lectures, which in 1880 was 

 4,300, rose in 1885 to 8,500. The movement has 

 spread all over England. The miners of North- 

 umberland form a numerous and intelligent audi- 

 ence. There is a centre at Torquay and a centre 

 at Portsmouth, but, as might be expected in Eng- 

 land, the northern centres far outnumber the 

 southern. London is the seat of a separate 

 management under the joint government of the 

 two universities, which extends its ramifications 

 into the suburbs. Hitherto the teaching has been 

 scattered over the country without any definite 

 order or arrangement. Each centre has chosen 

 that subject which seemed to suit it best. There 

 have been examinations with classes and marks of 

 distinction, and a certificate has been given by 

 the vice-chancellor of the university, but there 

 has been no systematic and continuous arrange- 

 ment of teaching analogous to that which exists 

 in the university itself. This want will now be 

 supplied. The university has determined that at- 

 tendance at certain courses of lectures, tested by 

 examinations and marked by a certificate, shall 

 take the place of a certain amount of residence 

 at the university. When this scheme is put into 

 working order, we shall have a system of academ- 

 ical teaching extending over the whole country, 



and directly connected with university degrees. 

 No more efficient means can be found of connect- 

 ing the old English universities, which have too 

 often been considered as hot-beds of clericalism 

 and toryism, with the growing life of the nation, 

 especially in the most democratic districts. 



Let us now see how the system practically 

 works. A town wishes to establish a course of 

 extension lectures. The first business is to elect a 

 committee, and to raise the necessary funds. The 

 session extends from September to April, and oc- 

 cupies two courses of three months each, either 

 of which may be taken separately. The lecturer 

 is paid forty -five pounds for twelve weeks, the 

 last week in each term being devoted to examina- 

 tions. When it is found that funds can be pro- 

 vided either by subscriptions or by the sale of 

 tickets, communications are opened with Cam- 

 bridge. If the town is situated in the neighbor- 

 hood of other towns which have previously 

 established courses, matters can be arranged on a 

 more economical basis. The university informs 

 the town what lecturers it has at its disposal, and 

 what courses they are able to give : the town 

 determines what kind of lectures it desires to re- 

 ceive. The subjects vary very much. The 

 northern miners are keen for instruction in 

 science : suburban ladies prefer the literature and 

 art of mediaeval Italy or Germany. The lecturer 

 belongs to one of two classes : he is either a man 

 who has taken up this occupation as a profession, 

 whose reputation is well known, and who occu- 

 pies a position not inferior to that of a recognized 

 university teacher, or he may be a young man 

 who has just taken his degree, a senior wrangler, 

 a senior classic, or a senior historian, who looks 

 upon the occupation of university extension lec- 

 turing as one of the best openings available for 

 an ambitious and successful career. 



The first duty of a lecturer is to prepare his 

 syllabus. It was laid down at the commencement 

 of the scheme that every lecturer must, before he 

 begins his work, write an elaborate syllabus, 

 partly as a guaranty that his lectures are really 

 good and thorough, but chiefly as an aid to his 

 class in threading a difficult and unfamiliar sub- 

 ject. Two of these syllabuses lie before me, both 

 by lecturers beginning their work. The first 

 course, by a senior wrangler, is on work and 

 energy : it consists of twelve lectures. The first, 

 being introductory, is on the study of natural 

 science, on its results, its methods, and the various 



