CHAPTER XII.

ADMISSION TO COLLEGE ON CERTIFICATE OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS.

CONTENTS: General statement-New England College Entrance Certificate Board-Accrediting systems of different State universities -List of institutions admitting students on certificate-Address by Prof. A. S. Whitney on methods of accrediting schools.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

The acceptance of certificates from principals of certain high schools and other secondary schools in lieu of examinations for admission to the freshman classes of universities, colleges, and schools of technology is becoming very general throughout the country. The most complete system of accredited schools is found in the Western States, where the State universities are in very close relations with the numerous public high schools.

The methods adopted for the accrediting of schools vary in the several States. The initiative is made by the secondary schools, and upon the receipt by a university or college of an application from such a school to be accredited, the work of such school is examined and passed upon by a committee of the faculty or by a special high-school examiner or visitor after a personal inspection of such school. In other cases blank forms of application are furnished to the principals of schools, which applications are then examined and passed upon by the faculty of the institution to which they wish to be accredited.

NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE ENTRANCE CERTIFICATE Board.

The New England College Entrance Certificate Board was organized at Boston on May 16, 1502. The institutions holding membership in the board are Amherst College, Boston University, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Tufts College, Wellesley College, and Wesleyan University. After January 1, 1904, no certificate will be accepted by the above-mentioned institutions from any school in New England which has not been approved by the above-mentioned board. The by-laws and rules governing the board are as follows:

BY-LAWS.

I. The name of this board shall be the New England College Entrance Certificate Board. This board is established for the purpose of receiving, examining, and acting upon all applications of schools that ask for the privilege of certification. II. Each college belonging to the board shall be entitled to one delegate, whose term of service shall be three years.

III. The officers of the board shall be a president and a secretary, who shall also be treasurer. They shall be elected annually at the regular meeting in May, and shall enter upon the duties of their respective offices at the close of that meeting. Their duties shall be those usually attaching to such positions.

IV. These officers, together with another member annually elected by the board, shall constitute an executive committee, whose duties shall be:

1. To consider such measures as may be suggested for furthering the objects for which the board is established, and to obtain for the use of the board all necessary information relating to such of these measures as the committee may deem important.

2. To apportion the expenses of the board among the several colleges in accordance with Section IX of the general provisions under which the board was organized, and to direct the collections and disbursements of the board.

3. To make an annual report to the board at the regular meeting in May. The time and place of the annual meeting in May shall be fixed by the executive committee.

Special meetings of the board may be called by the executive committee.

Not less than one week's notice shall be given of all meetings of the board, regular and special.

V. In the absence of the regular delegate from any college a substitute authorized by that college shall be understood to have the full powers of delegate.

VI. The amount due from each college as its share of the expenses of the board shall be payable on the first day of January in each year.

VII. The board shall make an annual report to the several colleges represented in it. This report shall include the annual report of the treasurer.

VIII. A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but no school shall be approved except by the affirmative vote of two-thirds, and no school shall be dropped except by the affirmative vote of a majority of the board.

IX. Any college in New England that admits students by certificate shall be eligible to membership in the board on accepting in full the rules of the board, and may be admitted by a majority vote of the faculties therein represented.

X. These by-laws may be altered or amended by a vote of two-thirds of the members present at any meeting of the board, regular or special.

RULES.

I. The executive committee shall receive and examine all applications of schools to be put on the approved list, and shall present them to the board for action. II. Applications for approval must be made to the secretary upon blanks furnished by the board and covering full statements concerning courses of study, teachers, and equipment.

III. Applications for approval shall be acted upon as soon as practicable after they are received, but they must be received before May 1 in order to be approved for the next college year.

IV. No school shall be placed upon the approved list unless it can prepare for college according to some one of the recognized plans of entering the colleges represented on this board.

V. No school will be approved unless it has shown by the record of its students already admitted to college its ability to give thorough preparation for college, or unless it can satisfactorily meet such tests as the board may establish to determine its efficiency.

VI. The board shall have the power of withdrawing approval from a school, and from such a school certificates shall not afterwards be accepted until it shall have again been approved by the board.

VII. Certificates coming from any school approved by the board, and covering all the requirements for admission made by any college represented in the board, shall be valid at such college, and certificates that do not so cover the entire requirements shall be treated by each college according to the rules which that college establishes for such certificates. No certificate from a school not approved by this board shall be valid for admission at any cooperating college unless the school lies outside of the jurisdiction of the board.

VIII. A general report of the work of pupils from approved schools for at least one-third of their first year in college shall be made to the board and such other reports as the board may require, and all complaints of insufficient preparations shall be made to the board with specifications as to subjects and individuals, but such complaints shall not interfere with reports to the schools about students entering from them.

IX. The list of approved schools shall be revised every three years, and approval shall be withdrawn from schools that within that time have sent no student to any of the colleges represented in the board.

X. The list of schools approved by the board shall be published in the catalogues of the colleges, or in such other way as the colleges shall deem best.

The secretary of the board is Nathaniel F. Davis, LL. D., 159 Brown street, Providence, R. I.

ACCREDITING SYSTEMS OF DIFFERENT STATE UNIVERSITIES.

The University of Alabama accredits any school of a certain standard in the State of Alabama upon the written application of the principal, submitting its curriculum. There are 23 accredited or auxiliary schools. The form of certificate required is as follows:

M

of

for

- county, a young years of age and of good moral character, having been a student of and in a satisfactory manner having pursued the following studies: which are substantially in accordance with the requirements for admission into the freshman class of the course of the University of Alabama, is recommended for admission into that class. The University of Arkansas, on the application from the principal of any high school, academy, or other institution, sends an officer of the university to visit and examine the organization and work of such school. Upon a favorable report, submitted in writing by the visiting officer, the school is declared by vote of the faculty duly accredited to the freshman class. There are 26 accredited schools. Schools desiring to be accredited to the University of California are visited and examined by a committee of the academic senate, upon whose report the faculty acts. In 1901 there were 116 California schools on the accredited list. Certificates from a high school or other secondary school in another State or country may be accepted in favor of a recommended graduate thereof, provided said school has been examined and accredited by some college or university at which the entrance requirements are equivalent to those of the University of California.

The University of Colorado furnishes blank forms of application to those high schools desiring to be placed on the accredited list. The applications are considered in full meeting of the faculty. There are 31 accredited schools.

The University of Idaho sends a representative to visit and examine secondary schools.

The University of Illinois employs a high-school visitor, whose duty is to inspect the high schools of the State. The visitor is not sent to any school not already accredited unless a request is made for such visit. After inspecting a school the visitor reports upon it to the council of administration of the university, and upon approval the school is added to the list of accredited schools. There are 206 schools on the accredited list.

The high schools of the State of Indiana are examined from time to time by the State board of education, and to those that reach the required standard a commission is granted which recognizes them as preparatory schools to Indiana University. There are 176 commissioned high schools.

The schools accredited to the University of Iowa are subject to inspection by the university, which employs permanently an inspector of high schools. The accredited list contains 124 high schools and 19 other secondary schools. There are also 63 other high schools and 4 additional secondary schools whose certificates are accepted in so far as their work covers the requirements of the university.a The University of Kansas has on its accredited list 113 high schools and 5 academies. In addition there are 30 high schools in the State which fall short of preparing for the freshman class by not more than the amount of two terms' work. The University of Michigan, on request of the proper authorities, designates a committee to visit a school and report on its condition. If the report of the committee is satisfactory the school is placed on the list of approved schools for a period not exceeding three years, reserving, however, the right to require another inspection, if circumstances seem to make an examination necessary. Graduates

a Calendar of the University of Iowa for 1901-1902, p. 175

b Calendar of the University of Michigan for 1901-1902, p. 55.

ED 1902-34

of approved schools are admitted on the recommendation of the principal, made on a blank form furnished by the university.

Graduates of any Minnesota State high school that has been approved by the State high-school board after examination by the State high-school inspector appointed by the board will be admitted to the University of Minnesota without examination, provided (1) that the school maintain a full four-year course of high-school work; (2) that the applicant present the principal's certificate, showing the satisfactory completion of all the studies required for admission to the desired university course. Graduates who are deficient in not more than three half-year subjects may be excused from examinations in such subjects as the enrollment committee may decide. Any Minnesota high school or academy not under supervision of the State high-school board, but requiring for graduation a four-year course, exclusive of the common school branches, conforming essentially in distribution of time to the entrance requirements of at least one of the university courses, will, upon application, be inspected by a committee, and after favorable recommendation may be accredited, provided (1) that the school be open to inspection at any time by the university, and (2) that it take such supplementary examinations as may be prescribed from time to time. Graduates from schools in other States, whose diplomas admit to reputable colleges in the State in which the school is located, will be received subject to the regulations that apply to graduates of Minnesota State high schools.

On application to the University of Mississippi a committee of the faculty visits schools desiring to be affiliated. If the work of the school is approved by the faculty, after a favorable report by the committee, the name of the school is placed on the list of affiliated schools and its graduates admitted on the certificate of the principal. There are 68 schools on the approved list.

The University of Missouri employs an "Examiner of Schools" to facilitate the work of bringing the secondary schools into close connection with the university. The list of approved schools contains 107 names.

The inspection of high schools for the University of Nebraska is performed by an inspector of accredited schools appointed by the board of regents. The report of the inspector, together with the official reports of the schools, forms the data on which the university bases its action.

The Ohio State University inspects high schools through a committee of the faculty appointed by the president. Approved high schools must be reexamined at intervals not exceeding three years.

All approved State secondary schools in Tennessee are accredited schools of the University of Tennessee. The branches required to be taught in such schools are orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography, history of Tennessee, history of the United States, Constitution of the United States, elementary geology in Tennessee, elementary principles of agriculture, elements of algebra, elements of plane geometry, elements of natural philosophy, bookkeeping, elementary physiology and hygiene, elements of civil government and rhetoric, or higher English. Practice shall be given in elocution or the art of speaking. Any other high school, academy, or institution whose course of study covers the branches required for admission to the university, may be put on the accredited list after application, examination by some officer of the university, and approval by the faculty. Such schools may offer Latin, Greek, or other good equivalents in lieu of the sciences provided in the secondary school course. The list of schools accredited to the University of Tennessee includes 39 schools in Tennessee and 18 schools in other States.

No school will be affiliated by the University of Texas before the president or some person designated by him shall have visited it and shall have rendered a

report concerning its equipment and its work. Graduates of approved schools are admitted on presentation of diplomas. There are 93 affiliated schools.

The University of Washington inspects the work of high schools through a committee of the faculty which visits schools desiring to be accredited. Graduates of accredited schools are admitted on certificate. The list of accredited schools includes 18 high schools and 5 academies.

The University of Wisconsin requires an inspection of accredited schools by a committee of the faculty." The accredited list contains the names of 226 schools. When a school approved by the academic council of Johns Hopkins University shall certify that a candidate has satisfactorily completed all the studies requisite for matriculation such candidate will be exempted from examination except in the following subjects: Trigonometry, analytic geometry, Cicero or Virgil (as the candidate may prefer), Latin prose composition, Homer or Herodotus (as the candidate may prefer), Greek prose composition, the minor courses in French and German, English, and science.

In nearly all cases where students are admitted from accredited, affiliated, or approved schools, the diplomas of such schools are not accepted as evidence of a candidate's fitness, but must be accompanied by the certificate of the principal, showing that the candidate has satisfactorily completed the studies required for admission.

LIST OF INSTITUTIONS ADMITTING STUDENTS ON CERTIFICATE.

The catalogues of the following-named institutions show that students are admitted to the freshman class on certificate. In some of the institutions included in this list an examination is required in some particular subject or subjects, as, for instance, in Cornell University an examination is required in English. Alabama.-Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Howard College, Southern University, Lafayette College, University of Alabama.

Arizona.-University of Arizona.

Arkansas.-Ouachita College. Arkansas Cumberland College, Hendrix College, University of Arkansas.

California.—University of California, Pomona College, Occidental College, University of Southern California, Mills College, California College, Throop Polytechnic Institute, University of the Pacific, Pacific Methodist College, Leland Stanford Junior University.

Colorado.-University of Colorado, Colorado College, Colorado Agricultural College, State School of Mines, University of Denver.

Connecticut.-Trinity College, Wesleyan University, Connecticut Agricultural

College.

Delaware.-Delaware College.

District of Columbia.-Columbian University, Georgetown University, Howard University.

Florida.-John B. Stetson University, Florida Agricultural College, Florida State College, Rollins College.

Georgia.-University of Georgia, Atlanta University, Emory College, Clark

University.

Idaho.-University of Idaho.

Illinois.-Hedding College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Blackburn University, Carthage College, Armour Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Eureka College, Northwestern University, Ewing College, Knox College, Lombard College, Greenville College, Illinois College, Lake Forest University, McKendree

a Catalogue of the University of Wisconsin for 1901-1902, p. 75.