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This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM TRENDS IN SIXTEEN PRIVATE
LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES OVER A PERIOD OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
1953 - 1978

presented bx l
Harold A. Acosta

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

 

Ph.D. Ldegreein Education

#36252 i

Major professor
Louis C. Stamatakos

Date July 25, 1980

0-7639

 

 

OVERDUE FINES:
25¢ per day per it.
RETURNING LIBRARY MTERIALS:

Place in book return to move
charge from circulation records

 

 

 

 

UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM TRENDS IN SIXTEEN PRIVATE
LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES OVER A PERIOD OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS:
1953-1978

By

Harold A. Acosta

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Administration and Higher Education

1980

ABSTRACT
UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM TRENDS IN SIXTEEN PRIVATE

LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES OVER A PERIOD OF TWENTY-FIVE YEARS:
1953-1978

By

Harold A. Acosta

Contemporary literature on undergraduate curriculum trends based
on the contents of published collge catalogs over a specific length of
time is infrequent. In liberal arts colleges,’such as those included
in this study, there are certain features of progress that take years
if not decades to evolve, and can, over 25 years, become lost, confused,
or forgotten, simply because of the unavailability of catalog research.

The purpose of the study, therefore, was to determine if the under—
graduate curriculum requirements for the baccalaureate degree changed A
in sixteen private liberal arts colleges had changed over a period of
25 years: 1953-1978, based on the contents of their published catalogs.
An additional purpose was to determine if these colleges offered remedial
courses, published non-discrimination policy statements, and offered
minority courses.

Fourteen research questions served as a means in determining
undergraduate curriculum changes. However, the following provided major
findings:

1. How bad the number of hours required for the baccalaureate degree
changed over a period of 25 years?

2. How had the requirements for the baccalaureate degree in
general education, the major, and electives changed over a period of

25 years?

Harold A. Acosta

3. How had the number of courses and majors offered for the bacca-
laureate changed over a period of 25 years?

4. How bad the requirements for English composition, foreign
language, physical education, and religion changed over a period of 25
years?

5. Was there a shift away from or toward comprehensive examinations
as part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

6. Were remedial courses offered during the span of 25 years. 'Was
credit awarded. Were credits applicable toward the baccalaureate degree?

7. Did institutions publish a Non-Discrimination Policy Statement
over a period of 25 years?

8. Were minority courses offered over a period of 25 years?

Methodologonf the Study

The sample was a select group of sixteen private liberal arts colleges
and their catalogs spanning a period of 25 years. The sample does not
represent any particular size, control, or geographic location.

College catalog representation for each year was not available,
rather the catalogs ranged from 1953 through 1978. Because of the
representation, colleges and their catalogs were organized into five,
five-year Block Intervals. For each Block Interval, one catalog of each
college was selected to represent a five-year interval. The Block
Intervals were: Block I: 1953-1958, Block II: 1958-1963, Block III:
1963-1968, Block IV: 1968-1973, and Block V: 1973-1978. Total number
of catalogs available was 76 out of 80, five catalogs per college per

Block Interval (except in Block I were n = 13 and Block II where n-= 15).

Harold A. Acosta

Two methodological approaches were followed: Longitudinal: For
each college in each interval, catalog documentation was recorded across
each college for each five-year interval. Cross-sectional: For each
college in each interval, catalog documentation was recorded between each
college for each five-year interval.

The data were tabulated by means of table formats and graphs (in
percentages). Narrative statements were also provided to describe other
trends.

Summary of Major Findings

 

1. There was an increase in the number of hours required for
graduation.

2. General education diminished considerably, while the major
remained relatively stable; the net effect was an increase
in the electives.

3. There was an increase in the number of courses and majors offered.

4. Fewer colleges required English composition, foreign language,
physical education, and religion.

5. There was a shift toward comprehensive examinations.

6. Remedial courses were offered for no credit, and were not
applicable toward the degree.

7. Three-fourths of the colleges published non-discrimination policy
statements during the last 10 years of the 25 year period.

8. More minority courses were offered in the last 10 years of
the 25 year period.

Conclusions, implications and recommendations for further research

were provided.

DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to my late father, Don Pedro, and
my late brother, Isidro. It was unfortunate they passed away before
I was able to complete my dissertation. This dissertation is also

dedicated to my mother, Doha Carmelita, and all my brothers and

sisters.

11

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Acknowledging all the persons, places, things, fantasies, dreams,
good times, and tribulations that somehow have shaped this study is
difficult. But as Yogi Berra once said, "You can see a whole lot
just by looking."

I am deeply grateful to Lou Stamatakos, chairperson of my guidance
committee. He supported an idea, helped give it shape, and let me do my
thing with a great deal of insight, wisdom, and guidance. At times his
grasp of the task was significantly more together than mine and aided in
its clarification. I am also grateful to Dr. Stamatakos for being avail-
able when I needed his assistance--a luxury not always available to
doctoral students. Finally, his role as a guidance person was superb,
but more importantly he is one of a kind--a true scholar and a friend.
Max Raines, Richard Featherstone, and John Useem also deserve a great
deal of thanks, they were supportive all the way and understood my
desire to finish.

I owe special tribute to L. Eurdora Pettigrew, chairperson of
Department of Urban &'Metropolitan Studies who provided me the financial
assistance necessary to complete my degree, but more importantly who
gave me the opportunity to express myself; the freedom and space to
do my writing; and her belief in me. She will be missed deeply. I also
want to thank Robert L. Green, Dean of the College of Urban Development

and his staff who supported my desire to finish.

iii

I owe special tribute to the following that kept my compassion,
sanity, sense of humor, solitude, creativity, and understanding in some
sort of perspective:

The FLIP side of P10 DeCano; carnal Acosta y familia; Mela, Becky
and David; 108 Chicanos de Universidad de Washington State; hermanos J.
Gomez, S. Gonzalez, N. Rodriquez, J. L. Azziza, D. Stebbens, and many
more; Give-me-Eat; Lansing and E. Lansing communities; the Green Door;
Linda L.; Pat. H.; Karen F., and many many more; Officer Krupke; Douglas H.;
the fine people on the bottom floor of the West Wing of Owen Hall; the
summer of '78 with Kathy A; my Mexican trip of 78; all the mdlk runs;
people who helped analyze DATA; 820 Eureka St.; and W—26, Owen Hall.

Finally, I thank my folks, Pedro y Carmelita. Both of them had a
dream and imparted their individual perceptions of that dream to me.
Carmelita has given the sense of patience, creativity, and harmony all
of which elude me on occasion. Pedro in his wisdom, gruffness, and pain
has provided me with a better understanding of what things are about.

Sometimes misunderstood, their collective love has added immeasurably

in the completion of this undertaking.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES O O O I O O I O O O O O O O O I O O O O O O 0

LIST OF FIGURES O O O O O O O O O O O I O O O O I O O O 0

LIST OF GRAPHS O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0

CHAPTER

I.

II.

RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Prefatory Remark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Need for the Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . . . . .
Procedures Followed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Research Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Limitations of the Study w . . . . . . . . . . .
Definitions of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview of Dissertation . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Historical Overview of Early American Curricular
Developments: 1636-1869 . . . . . . . . . . . .
“*Historical Overview of Contemporary American
Curricular Developments: 1919-1973 . . . . . . . .
-—Overview of Methodologies and Curricular Trends:
Early and Contemporary Catalogs Studies: 1886-1976
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contemporary Overview of the Three Traditional
Components of the Undergraduate Curriculum:
Breadth, Depth, and Electives . . . . . . . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Comments on Remedial Courses, Non-Discrimination

Policy Statements (as published in College Catalogs),

and Minority Courses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page
. vii

O 0 ix

x

1
1
3
. 6
O O 7
O 8
O 8
. 10
. 11
. . l4
0 14
. . 15
15
. . 15
O O 32
O 47
72
O 84
94
. . 96

CHAPTER

III.

IV.

GLOSSARY

APPENDIC

DESIGN OF THE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Treatment of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Restrictions of Catalog Research . . . . . . . . . . .
Organization of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Research Questions . . . . .
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA . . . . . . . .

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Research Questions and Interpretation of the Findings .
smry O I O O O O O I O O I O O I O O O O O O O O O 0

THE PROBLEM, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Methodology of the Study . . . . . . . . ... . . .
Summary of Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Implications . . . . . . u . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recommendations for Further Research . . . . . . .

ES 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0

APPENDIX

A.

B.

BIBLImRAPHY O O O O O O O O O O O O O l O ' O I I O O O O O O O 0

Colleges Participating in the Study by Carnegie Type .

Selected College Catalogs by Block Intervals . . . . .

vi

Page

. 106

106
106
107
108
108
109
112
113

. 114

114
114
147

159
159
162
164
174
177
179
181

190

190

191

. 192

Table

2:1

2:2

2:3

2:4

2:5

2:6

2:7

2:8

2:9

2:10

2:11

4:12

4:13

LIST OF TABLES

Page
Ten Nineteenth-Century Liberal Arts Colleges:
Enrollment, Faculty, and Departments of Instruction . . 52
Selected Roman Catholic Colleges: Departments and
Semester Courses, 1905-1956 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Selected Northwest Colleges: Departments and Semester
Courses, 1905-1956 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Selected Midwest Colleges: Departments and Semester
courses, 1905-1956 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 55
Selected Colleges of the South: Departments and
Semester Courses, 1905-1956 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Selected Colleges of the Far West: Deaprtments and
Semester Courses, 1905-1956 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Current (1967) Curricular Profiles for the Bachelor
of Arts Degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 & 79

Proportion of Undergraduate Education Spent in General
Education, The Major, and Electives . . . .'. . . . . . 69 & 82

Percentage Point Changes in the Proportion of Under-

graduate Education Spent in Satisfying General

Education Requirements, 1967 to 1974, Student Course-

Taking Behavior Versus Catalog Statements . . . . . . . 70

Percentage Point Change in the Proportion of Undergraduate
Education Spent in General Education, The Major, and

Electives ’ 1967-1974 C O O O O O O O O O I O O O O O O 71
Percentage of Bachelor's Degree Programs in Eight Different
Subject Areas Requiring Varying Amounts (in deciles) of

the Undergraduate Curriculum to be Spent on The Major . 90
Average Number of Semester Hours Required for Graduation 116

Number of Semester Hours Required for Graduation Across
and Between Colleges: 1953-1978 . . . . . . . . . . . 117

vii

 

Table

4:14

Page

Proportions of Undergraduate Education Spent in General
Education, The Major, and Electives (in percentages)

Between Block Interval I: 1953-1958 and Block V:

1973-1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 & 150

Proportions of Undergraduate Education Spent in General
Education, The Major, and Electives (in percentages)

Across All Colleges Over a Period of Twenty-five Years:

1953-1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Number of Courses and Majors Offered Between Block
Interval I: 1953-1958 and Block Interval II; 1973-1978 120

Total Number of Courses and Majors Offered Across and
Between Colleges for Each Block Interval Over a Period
Of Twel‘ty-Five Years: 1953-1978 c o‘ o o o c o o o o o 121

Trends in the Number of Colleges Requiring English
Comp081tion I O O C I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O I O O 123

Trends in the Number of Colleges Requiring Foreign

Language 0 O O O I O O O O O O O O O O I O O O O O O 123
Trends in the Number of Colleges Requiring Physical

Education 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O I O O 124
Trends in the Number of Colleges Requiring Religion . . 124
Trends in Curricular Structural Arrangements Between and

Across Colleges Over a Period of Twenty-Five Years . . 127
Trends in Quantitative Measures Between and Across

Colleges Over a Period of Twenty-Five Years . . . . . . 131
Trends in the Academic Calendar: 1953-1978

(in percentageS) o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 133
Comprehensive Examinations and Other Types of Requirements
Associated with the Baccalaureate Degree . . . . . . . 137

viii

 

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

2:1 Percentage of Undergraduate Enrollments and Teaching
Faculty in Subject Fields, 1969 and 1975-1976 . . . . . . . 86

2:2 Percentage of Curriculum Devoted to Major Requirement,
General Education Requirements, and Free Electives in
Four-Year Institutiohs of Higher Education, 1967 and 1974 . 93

ix

4:10

4:11

LIST OF GRAPHS

Page
Trends in English Proficiency Testing . . . . . . . 122

Composite of Trends in English Composition, Foreign
Language, Physical Education, and Religion . . . . . . 125 & 150

Trends in Curricular Structural Arrangements:

1953-1978 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 129
Trends in Quantitative Measures: 1953-1978 . . . . . 132
Trends in Academic Calendars: 1953-1978 . . . . . . . 134

Comparison of Quantitative Measures and Academic
Calendar Trends: 1953-1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 & 154

Trends in Comprehensive Examinations: 1953-1978 . . . 138
Trends in Remedial Course Offering: 1953-1978 . . . . 143 & 156

Trends in Non-Discrimination Policy Statements:
1953-1978 a o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 144 & 157

Trends in Minority Courses: 1953-1978 . . . . . . . . 146 8 158

Composite of Remedial Courses, Non-Discrimination
Policy Statements, and Minority Courses: 1953-1978 . 146 & 158

 

CHAPTER I

RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY

Prefatory Remark

 

This study was an outgrowth of a research project conducted by
Drs. Paul Dressel and Albert Lynd (Office of Institutional Research,
Michigan State University) on changing curricular practices in nineteen
selected private liberal arts colleges over a period of twenty-five years:
1953-1978, based on college catalog review ranging from 1953 through 1978
in staggered single years, and on occasion, two-year catalogs; on-site
visitations; unpublished documents (e.g. minutes from curriculum committees)
from institutions; and telephone conversations (Dressel, 1978).

Their study described the college's curriculum by noting, primarily,
but not exclusively, general patterns of how many majors and minors
were offered and the number of credits assigned to each; the number
of courses offered by each department; and the curricular structural
arrangements of each college. However, their study is in no way a
survey of the degree to which curriculum practices are practiced across
the country among similar liberal arts colleges. Each institution
was selected because the major author (Dressel) had an interest in
curricular practices, and because each institution agreed to provide
college catalogs for review over this twenty-five year period. The
list of institutions included were not selected, nor was the analysis

intended to be representative of liberal arts colleges across the country.

The Dressel and Lynd study also included detailed case studies
of the evolution of the curriculum and structural arrangements that
have emerged over this twenty-five year period in four of the nineteen
colleges.

The investigator's research selected sixteen within the set of
nineteen institutions in the Dressel and Lynd study (one of these sixteen
institutions was included in the set of four studied by these investigators,
but this investigation did not duplicate specific questions asked by
Dressel and Lynd). Three institutions were eliminated because (a)
two were founded in 1971 and did not fall within the span of twenty-
five years, and (b) one did not provide adequate catalog information.

The investigator's research addressed the colleges' curriculum in general
(similar questions asked in the Dressel and Lynd study), and curricular
changes in particular (but did not address the evolution of the curriculum
and structural arrangements). In addition, the investigator's research
addressed remedial course offerings, non-discrimination policy statements,
and minority course offerings (information that was not addressed in

the Dressel and Lynd study).

The intent of this study was to determine if the undergraduate
requirements for the baccalaureate degree in these sixteen private
liberal arts colleges changed over a period of twenty-five years: 1953-
1978, baSed on the contents of their published catalogs. A secondary
intent of this study was to document the range and frequency of curricular
trends and practices in these same colleges. An additional intent
was to determine if these same colleges offered remedial courses, published
non-discrimination policy statements, and offered minority courses

during this same twenty-five year period: 1953-1978.

Introduction

 

Conferences, journal articles, and books reveal a concern with

undergraduate education. Such reports represent only a fraction

of the changes or innovations taking place in higher education

and, hence, provide no basis for determining prevailing prac-

tices and current trends (Dressel and DeLisle, 1969, p. 8).

Blackburn and associates (1976) acknowledged this same need and
expressed their view by stating:

Before policies regarding undergraduate degree requirements can

be advanced, an accurate reading of recent and current practices

is necessary (p. ii).

Among contemporary educational researchers or, what Butts (1939)
calls "fact finding investigators" (p. 239), Rudy (1960), Dressel and
DeLisle (1969), and Blackburn, et. a1. (1976) are credited with examining
curricular trends and practices of undergraduate education over a specific
length of time, based on the contents of published catalogs (methodologies
used by Dressel and Blackburn are discussed in more detail in Chapter
Two, and therefore are the foci of contemporary undergraduate curriculum
trends and practices in this study). However, there are other contemporary
studies which addressed curriculum trends and practices of undergraduate
education that used the college catalog to determine trends and practices,
but did not focus on a specific length of time.

These contemporary studies, however, do not stand alone in determining
trends and practices of undergraduate education. There is evidence
of early fact finding investigators who were concerned with, not so
much the trends and/or practices of undergraduate education, but with
the "spread" of free electives that invaded the college curriculum

during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (treated in

more detail in Chapter Two).

In brief, early researchers such as Palmer (1886) used a chart
illustrating the increase in elective studies in 15 New England colleges
from 1875 to 1885 when he was explaining and defending the use of the
elective system at Harvard (p. 581). The United States Bureau of Education's
annual reports after the 18808 began to publish detailed subjects offered
by colleges and universities with elective subjects written in italics
(U.S. Bureau of Education, 1888-1889 annual report, pp. 1224-1361).

Brigham (1897) published a report in which he studied the catalogs
of 25 colleges for the period 1895-1896 to determine the extent of
the acceptance of the elective system (PP. 360-369). Phillips (1901)
studied 87 catalogs, and 97 questionnaires completed by college presidents
to determine the spread and extent of the elective system up to that
time (pp. 206-230). Canfield (1905) reported to the forty-fourth annual
meeting of the National Education Association a compilation of replies
received from thirty-five colleges and universities throughout the
country in answer to the question whether or not wide election and
narrow courses tended to weaken the undergraduate course by too much
Specialization (PP. 494-501). Finally, Foster (1911) devoted a part
of his book published in 1911 to the historical development of the
elective system as one of the most important phases in the development
of the American college and the major portion to a critical study of
some of the problems that the elective system had raised for the college
administrator.

Among contemporary educational researchers, Cole and Lewis (1962)
concerned themselves with "flexibility" to refer to those practices
or combinations of practices by which each student is permitted to

progress in his college program at the rate and depth of which he is

capable. Haswell and Lindquist (1965) concerned themselves only with
the broad requirements as percentages of total requirements and not
with details of specific course requirements. Brick and McGrath (1965)
developed a picture novel and creative practices that were introduced
in the liberal colleges during 1961. These investigators did not use
the college catalog over any specific length of time to determine trends
and/or practices.

Dressel and DeLisle (1969) focused on the period 1957-1967, for
which there were detailed analyses of course offerings in a random
sample of 322 institutions, intended to be representative of types,

control, size, and geographic location (according to the Education Direc-

 

-tory, Part 3, Higher Education, as presented in the American Council

 

 

on Education's American Universities and Colleggg, Ninth Edition, 1964).
Blackburn et. a1. (1976) focused on the period 1967-1974 and used the
Carnegie's A Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, 1973,

to represent five major institutional categories: research universities,
other doctoral-granting universities, comprehensive universities and
colleges, liberal arts colleges, and community colleges. (His study

was the first to include two-year colleges). A total of 271 institutions
listed in the Carnegie classification were sampled. His sample met

the requirements of representativeness and geographic distribution.

In spite of these two contemporary studies by Dressel and DeLisle
(1969) and Blackburn et. al. (1976), the literature in this area of
study revealed a paucity of research in published catalog documentation
over a specific length of time despite the fact that the . . . college
catalog is the official record of the college, and a public statement

of the institution's goals and philosophy (Dressel, 1978).

The paucity of contemporary literature suggests a need for curriculum
planners and/or developers to periodically analyze and review their
catalogs through whatever means are available to them, even if one
college or an amalgamation of similar colleges conduct catalog research.
Such efforts will provide a historical description and an illustration
of curriculum changes that have emerged in their undergraduate curricular
requirements for the baccalaureate degree over any specific length
of time, as documented by the content of their published catalogs.

As important, such information could assist in the development of policies

regarding undergraduate degree requirements.

Need for the Study

 

Curriculum planners and/or developers are always in need of historical
information to plan for the future; Rudolph (1977) expresses this
view by stating:

It is impossible to think clearly about the curriculum of the

American college or university without some sense of its past

(p. ix).

Hefferlin (1969) adds, "The curriculum.remains the central means to
an educational institution's end; and if the curriculum is irrelevant,
it must be changed" (p. xix).

In the liberal arts colleges, such as the ones included in this
study, there are certain features of progress that take years if not
decades to evolve, and can, over the span of twenty-five years, be
lost, confused, or forgotten, simply because of the unavailability
of historical catalog research. For example, "How had the requirements

for the baccalaureate degree in general education, the major, and electives

changed over a period of twenty-five years?" "What changes in specific

curriculum requirements for English composition, foreign language,
physical education, and religion were evident over a period of twenty-
five years?" In addition, "Were remedial courses offered over a period
of twenty-five years?", "was a non-discrimination policy statement
published in the catalogs?", and "Were minority courses offered over
a period of twenty-five years?"

Providing historical information in response to these questions
can be of assistance to those persons who are developing an interest
in the curriculum possibly for the first time; the new trustee, the
faculty member's initial appointment to a committee on the curriculum,
the new academic administrator, and the recently elected student leader.
The individual with substantial experience with the curriculum, however,
may also find in this information data that would not otherwise come
to his or her attention (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching, 1977, p. xi).

Rudolph (1977) summarizes such efforts by commenting:

In the final analysis, the curriculum is nothing less than the

statements a college makes about what, out of the totality of

man's constantly growing knowledge and experience, is considered

useful, appropriate, or relevant to the lives of educated man
and women at a certain point of time (p. ix).

Purpose of the Study

 

The purpose of this study was to determine if the undergraduate
curricular requirements for the baccalaureate degree in sixteen private
liberal arts colleges changed over a period of twenty-five years: 1953-
1978, based on the contents of their published catalogs. A secondary
purpose was to document the range and frequency of curricular trends

and practices in these same colleges over this same period. An additional

purpose was to determine if these same colleges offered remedial courses,
published non-discrimination policy statements, and offered minority

courses during this same twenty-five year period: 1953-1978.

Procedures Followed
This study was basically historical, descriptive, and empirical ,/
in content. It's similar to studies by Dressel and DeLisle (1969)
and Blackburn et. a1. (1976).
Two methodological approaches were followed in this study. First,

a longitudinal approach (an approach used by earlier researchers) was

 

used across institutions over a period of twenty-five years. Second,

a cross-sectional approach (an approach not used by earlier researchers)

 

was used between institutions over a period of twenty-five years. These

two procedures are discussed in detail in Chapter 111.

Research Questions
The following eleven research questions were chosen because they
conform primarily, but not exclusively, to questions asked by earlier
researchers concerned with changing practices and contemporary trends
of the undergraduate curriculum (Dressel & DeLisle 1969, and Blackburn
et. a1. 1976) based on the contents of published catalogs:

1. How had the number of hours required for the baccalaureate
degree changed over a period of twenty-five years?

2. How had the requirements for the baccalaureate degree in
general education, the major, and electives changed over a period of v/
twenty-five years?

3. How had the number of courses and majors offered for the

baccalaureate degree changed over a period of twenty-five years?

4. How bad the requirements for English composition, foreign
language, physical education, and religion changed over a period of
twenty-five years?

5. Was there a shift away from or toward English proficiency
testing as part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

6. What changes in curricular structural arrangements were evident
between and across institutions over a period of twenty-five years?

7. What quantitative measures (e.g. credits, semester hours,
quarter-hour, term, unit, course, etc.) were used in specifying degree
requirements within and across institutions?

8. What academic systems (e.g. semesters, quarters, etc.) were
used in specifying degree requirements over a period of twenty-five
years?

9. Was there a shift away from or toward comprehensive examinations
as part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

10. Was there a shift away from or toward specifications of pre-
requisite courses in general education, the major, and electives as
part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

11. Was there a shift away from or toward accepting credits-
by-examination as part of the baccalaureate degree requirements?

The remaining three research questions were included because earlier
researchers concerned with changing practices and contemporary trends
of the undergraduate curriculum did not address them:

12. Were remedial courses offered during the span of twenty-
five years? Was credit awarded? Were credits applicable toward the

baccalaureate degree?

10

13. Did institutions publish a Non-Discrimination Policy Statement
over a period of twenty-five years?
14. Were minority courses offered over a period of twenty-five

years?

Limitations of the Study

This study had the following limitations:

1. College catalogs were determined to serve as the only official
source of information to be examined in this study.

2. The colleges included in this study do not represent any particular
size, control, or geographic location. Therefore the investigator
only reported the occurrence of change among these colleges from their
published catalogs. As a consequence of these limitations, the study's
findings may not be generalized beyond this sample.

3. The research questions asked of these colleges over this period
of twenty-five years do not intend to be exhaustive, nor mutually exclusive.

4. External and internal forces that shaped the curriculum in
these colleges were not addressed. Information and discussions about
such causes and effects do not normally and did not appear in the college
catalogs.

5. The undergraduate curriculum in these colleges do not represent
Egg undergraduate curriculum in America. There are more than 3,000
colleges and universities in this country, and each has a curriculum

that is in some ways unique.

11

Definition of Terms

 

The curricular terms "breadth," "depth," and "electives" are generally

" "the major" (or concentration):

associated with "general education,
and "electives" (free or prescribed), respectively. "These terms are
found in the curricular of the overwhelming majority of colleges in
the United States, but they are not universal" (Carnegie Foundation

1977, p. 123).

General Education (the first statement of requirements for the

 

baccalaureate degree), is the generic term used to describe "breadth"
requirements. Levine (1978) states that, "General education is the
breadth component of the undergraduate curriculum and is usually defined
on an institution-wide or college-wide basis" (p. 3). Dressel & DeLisle
(1969) state that "General education refers to courses that acquaint
students with the content and methodology of the major areas of learning:
social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities (p. 12). Similarly,

". ... generally involves

Levine (1978) express that General education
study in several subject areas and frequently aims to provide a common
undergraduate experience for all students at a particular institution"

(p. 3). The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1977)

 

state

Breadth components of general education introduce students to

the concerns and methods of several broad subject fields--typically
the social sciences, the humanities, the physical sciences, the
biological sciences, and, occasionally, the fine arts. This com-
ponent of general education is often referred to as distribution
(10: p. 122).

The Major, or concentration (the second statement of requirements
for the baccalaureate degree), is the generic term used to describe

"depth" requirements. Levine (1978) states

12

The major, or concentration, which usually consists of a number
of courses in one field or in two or more related fields, is the
depth component of the undergraduate curriculum. It is intended
to provide students with a body of knowledge, methods of study,
and practice appropriate to a subject or subject area (p. 28).

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1977) adds

 

The major (or concentration) is that part of the curriculum in
which a student concentrates on one subject or a group of sub-
jects. Its content is usually defined by one academic depart-
ment, but it can also be defined jointly by two or more depart-
ments and, in special cases (and with faculty advice and
approval) by individual students (p. 122).

Electives (the last statement of requirements for the baccalaureate
degree) are those courses which remain to be taken after a student
satisfies the general education and major requirements. Carnegie (1977)
states

Electives are subjects students study of their own free choice.

The only basic requirement is that students must take enough

elective units, in addition to those earned in the major and

in required general education, to meet the minimum number of

units the college requires each student to take in order to

graduate or earn a degree (p. 122).

Dressel & DeLisle (1969) comments, "Presumably, these provide for individ-
ualizing a program by permitting students to select on the basis of
personal interest or goals, rather than because of faculty-determined
principles" (p. 34).

" that is, students have a

Some electives are considered "free,
choice of what courses to study. Other electives may be "required"
(or prescribed)--students are required to take certain courses that
in some way complement their general education requirements and/or
their major.

The curricular term course . . . a concrete entity, extending

over time with a beginning, and ending . . ." (Veysey, 1973, p. 22)

13

is the generic term used when describing the number of courses to fulfill
the requirements for the baccalaureate degree, rather than the content
of the substance taught within the curriculum.

The curricular term credit ". . . a unit for expressing quantitatively
the time required for satisfactory mastery of a course . . ." (Lewis,
1969, p. 2), is the generic term used when discussing the credit system
across and between colleges included in the study. According to Levine
(1978) ". . . credit is usually defined as 50 minutes of instruction
per week (p. 156). Lewis (1969) adds, ". . . three credits per semester
are typical for most courses. Although, in practice, the quantitative
measure came to be time, rather than content covered or competence
developed (Pp. 2-3). As the academic calendar varied in length (semesters,
quarters, etc.) the quantitative measures assigned to courses also
varied. Semester hours, quarter-hours, terms, units, and courses,
are synonyms for credit.

Finally, the term curriculum is defined ". . . as the body of
courses that present the knowledge, principle, values, and skills that
are intended consequences of the formal education offered by a college .
(Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1977, p. xiv).
Blackburn et. a1. (1976) adds, "Probably the most common meaning given

to curriculum is the functional one, namely, a set of requirements--

 

almost always specified as a collection of courses--that constitute
an academic program. For a college or university degree, for example,
the curriculum is the set of courses or credit hours an institution

requires a student to take in order to graduate" (p. 1).

14

Summagy

This study was an outgrowth of an earlier research project conducted
at the Office of Institutional Research at Michigan State University.
This study was historical, descriptive, and empirical in nature and
was intended to determine if the undergraduate curricular requirements
for the baccalaureate degree in sixteen private liberal arts colleges
changed over a period of twenty-five years: 1953—1978, based on the
contents of published catalogs. A second intent was to document the
range and frequency of curricular trends and practices in these same
colleges. In addition, the study intended to determine if the colleges
offered remedial courses, published a non-discrimination policy statement,
and if they offered minority courses. Fourteen research questions
were used as directives in determining changes in the undergraduate
curriculum. Limitations of the study and definition of terms were
presented. It is expected that the results of this historical, descriptive,
and empirical study will provide historical catalog information for

curricular planners at these colleges.

Overview of Dissertation

 

Chapter II contains a review of the literature pertinent to this
study. The review includes historical overview of early American curricular
developments from 1636 to 1869; historical overview of contemporary
American curricular developments from 1919 to 1973 (these historical
overviews and the programs described are not intended to represent
the full range of institutions and programs that were developed during
the course of American higher education, they only represent a small

sample in the continuing development of curricular programs and innovations

15

in American higher education); overview of methodologies and curricular
trends: early and contemporary catalog studies from 1886 to 1976;

and contemporary overview of the three traditional components of the
undergraduate curriculum: breadth, depth, and electives. In addition,
comments on remedial course offerings, non-discrimination policy statements,
and minority course offerings are reviewed. The design of this study,
which is presented in Chapter III, includes the description of the

sample, methodology and treatment of the data, and research questions.
Chapter IV contains the analysis and interpretations of the data. The
summary of the findings, conclusions, implications and recommendations

are presented in Chapter V.

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Introduction

In this chapter the review of literature pertinent to this study
is presented in the following sequence: (1) historical overview of
early American curricular developments from 1636 to 1869, (2) historical
overview of contemporary American curricular developments from 1919
to 1973 (NOTE: these historical overviews are presented to give the
reader a sense of the development of the American curriculum, however,
these historical overviews and the programs described are not intended
to represent the full range of institutions and programs that were
developed during the course of American higher education. They only
represent a small sample in the continuing development of curricular
programs and innovations in American higher education), (3) overview
of methodologies and curricular trends: early and contemporary catalog
studies from 1886 to 1976, and (4) contemporary overview of the three
' traditional components of the undergraduate curriculum: breadth, depth,
and electives. In addition, comments on remedial course offerings,
non-discrimination policy statements, and minority course offerings
are reviewed. Summaries of the important findings particular to each
section are provided.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF EARLY
AMERICAN CURRICULAR DEVELOPMENTS:
1636-1869

Higher education in America began at Harvard College. Founded

in 1636 by the General Court of Massachusetts at Newtowne (later changed

to Cambridge) Massachusetts, it sought to impart an opportunity for

16

17

a select few of New England's youth to study the humane and liberal
learning, and to be instructed in the Christian religious traditions,
which together shaped the essential character of Western civilization
(McGrath, 1966, p. l).

Butts (1939); Brubacher and Rudy (1958); Mayhew (1975); Mattfeld
(1975); and Rudolph (1962 & 1977), among others, states that Oxford
and Cambridge furnished the original model which the early colonial
colleges sought to copy.

The prototype for the first English-American college was

Emmanuel College, Cambridge University. The earliest Harvard
College statutes were taken directly from the Elizabethan statutes
of the University of Cambridge; that the phrases Egg modo
Academiarum ig_Anglia (according to the manner of universities

in England) is to be found in the first Harvard degree formula;

. . . even the names of the four colleges c1asses--freshman,
sophomore, junior sophister, and senior sophister--were

borrowed directly from England. In other points involving

student discipline, curriculum, administrative regulations, and
degree requirements, Harvard followed English college precedents
as closely and faithfully as she could; and Harvard in turn, became
the great prototype for all the later colleges of English-America
(Brubacher & Rudy, 1958, p. 3).

 

 

By 1642, the Harvard curriculum was firmly established. President
Dunster taught all students all of the subjects. The first year, students
studied logic, Greek, Hebrew, rhetoric, divinity catechetical, history,
and the nature of plants. The second year they studied ethics and
politics, Greek, rhetoric, Aramaic, and divinity catechetical. The
third and final year, they studied arithmetic, astronomy, Greek, rhetoric,
Syriac, and divinity catechetical (Levine, 1978, p. 539). The three
year course of study Dunster presided over was something of an anomaly.
Why he deviated from the four years characteristic of an English college

is not clear (Rudolph, 1977, p. 31).

18

"What is known as the classical curriculum, a melding of medieval
scholastic training and renaissance emphasis on highly literate expression,
was the earliest pattern adopted in America" (Mattfeld, 1975, p. 533).
"Dunster's 1642 curriculum," comment Rudolph (1977), "was the model
after which, with little variation, higher education in the English
colonies was patterned" (p. 32).

The Harvard curriculum of 1723, nearly one hundred years later,
was much the same, except that more Latin was stressed in the freshman
year, metaphysics had been added and botany dropped . . . The other
colonial colleges followed substantially the same kind of curriculum,
stressing, as did Harvard, the traditional language arts and philosophy

(Brubacher & Rudy, 1968, p. 13).

William and Mary--l693

 

America's second college was the College of William and Mary,
founder and first president was James Blair, in 1693 under Anglican
auspices. In greater or lesser degree, the same broad purposes that
founded Harvard, were revealed in its royal charter. It was founded
primarily for religious purposes, namely to train ministers, to educate
youth piously in good letters and manners, and to extend Christianity
to the Indians. From such men it was expected that the colony would
draw its public servants (Brubacher and Rudy, p. 4; Butts, p. 63; Rudolph,
1962, p. 7).

It was influenced by the Scottish conceptions of higher education.
The post-Reformation Scottish universities, unlike Oxford and Cambridge,
were nonresidential, professionally oriented, and under the control,

not of faculty, but of prominent lay representatives of the community.

19

Its curriculum was similar to that of Oxford colleges and did not change
much during its 85 years of existence. Greater emphasis was placed
on mathematics, history, and science than at Harvard. The greatest
change in the curriculum came in 1779 when the efforts of Thomas Jefferson
(alumus of William and Mary) marked the first overt recognition of
the elective principle as a desirable element in college education
to be found in America (Brubacher & Rudy, p. 4; Butts, p. 63; Levine,
p. 500).
"Until that time," reports Butts (1939)
"the curriculum was guided largely by the same interests as at
Harvard, namely, to raise up an educated clergy for leadership
in the church and state and to provide a liberal education for

others who were destined to join in the aristocracy of society"
(p. 64).

Yale and Other Colonial Colleges,
and Other Early Curricular Developments

Yale, America's third colonial college was established in Connecticut
in 1701 largely.as a result of a conservative reaction against the
growing liberal doctrine at Harvard, but its aim remained essentially
the same: wherein youth may be instructed in the arts and sciences,
who through the blessings of Almighty God, may be fitted for public
employment, both in church and civil state (Butts, p. 64). The president
of Yale in 1743, once admonished his students by stating: "The great
End of all your studies is to obtain the Clearest Conceptions of Devine
Things and to lead you to Saving Knowledge of God in his Son Jesus
Christ" (Brook, 1974, p. 70).

During most of the eighteenth century, Yale's curricular development

largely paralleled that of Harvard; the original course was changed

20

gradually in the direction of the new science and philosophy, or "new
learning" which changed man's concept of God as well as his understanding
of himself. Scholasticism and deductive method were seriously challenged
by empirical approaches to knowledge, exemplified by the thought of
Newton, Locke, and in particular of Copernicus (Butts, p. 64; Rudolph,
1977, p. 29; Mattfeld, p. 533).

By 1779, Locke's Essay concerning Human Understanding and books
on algebra, trigonometry, and English grammar had been added to the
usual required texts (Butts, p. 65).

"The curriculum could not exclusively be an instrument in the
service of God or of Church and State, as the founders of
Harvard and Yale had intended. Because they were colleges,
the tools for fulfilling their purposes were the liberal arts
and sciences, that whole, inherited, vital body of learning
that had a life and purpose of its own. Whether they liked
it or not, the colonial colleges were burdened with perpet-
uating 'the learning and culture of Europe'" (Rudolph,

1977, p. 28). '

Several other colleges that sprang up during the colonial period,
followed the traditional attitude of the earliest colleges and were
found largely for religious purposes:

In 1746, the Presbyterians founded Princeton (at first called
the College of New Jersey); in 1764, the Baptists founded
Brown (formerly the College of Rhode Island); and in 1776,
the Dutch Reformed Church founded Rutgers (Queen's College);
and in 1769, the Congregationalists founded Dartmouth. These
denominational colleges gradually opened their doors to stu-
dents of other denominations as the conception of higher
education widened and as economic pressure showed the need of
admitting more students in order to meet expenses. However
that may be, their histories up to the Revolution show little
radically different from that of the earlier religious foun-
dations (Butts, p. 66).

21

University of Virginia--1824

 

As Thomas Jefferson was the guiding light of the reform of William
and Mary, so, was he instrumental in the founding of the University
of Virginia in 1824. Jefferson's vision of universal enfranchisement
depended on an educated populace and freedom of choice; the University
of Virginia reflects this vision: The cornerstone of the University
of Virginia was the principle that the student was to have complete
freedom of choice in the lectures he chose to attend (Butts, p. 91;

. Mattfeld, p. 534; Brubacher and Rudy, p. 81).

The university embraced eight schools (ancient language, modern
languages, mathematics, natural philosophy, natural history, anatomy
and medicine, moral philosophy and law) each entirely independent of
the others, and they covered virtually the same broad fields of study
that Jefferson proposed for William and Mary in 1779.

Each school was an independent operation, beginning with a single
professor but capable of developing a staff and differentiating itself
into departments. Each school was assigned to a particular location
in the architectural scheme which Jefferson provided for the university.
.Each school had the capacity to expand indefinitely, as the growth I
of knowledge in its area of learning demanded and as funds were made
available (Rudolph, 1962, p. 125).

Students at Virginia were free to elect work in any school or
schools they wished. A student was simply a student, he was not a
freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, and he enjoyed free choice
as to the structure, content, and pace of his choice of study. The

university awarded no degrees (general degrees were abolished in favor

 

 

 

 

22

of specialized diplomas) each school gave its own diploma which recognized
completion of a certain body of work. To secure a diploma from a school,
the student had to take all the prescribed subjects in that school

and write a final examination when he was ready (Mattfeld, p. 534;
Rudolph, 1962, p. 126; Butts, p. 93).

Jefferson made the first comprehensive attempt in America at reform
of the classical curriculum and the traditional university. He saw
higher education as an enlightened balance between the theoretical
and the practical, between preservation of the past and preparation
for the future (Mattfeld, p. 534).

"Jefferson constituted a design for a university at a time when

the country had not yet come to grips with what a college was.

His rationale clearly revealed that he understood the difference

between an American college as then constituted and a continental

university; his plans for the University of Virginia were a

curious blending of both, the paternalism of the former combining

with the freedom of the latter . . ." (Rudolph, 1977, p. 81).

Seven years after its inception, the university was unable to
hold to this scheme of things for long. By 1831 it had capitulated
to tradition and was offering a degree for successful completion of
work in the schools of ancient languages, mathematics, natural philosophy,
chemistry, and moral philosophy--the subjects covered what was everywhere
becoming the standard classical course of study. But even in retreating
the university asserted its individuality: It thought well enough
of itself to award the M.A. degree instead of the traditional B.A.
Whether the work at Virginia was actually of MmA. rather than B.A.
quality is doubtful, but the intentions of the university were clearly

honorable, if somewhat ambitious (Rudolph, 1962, p. 126, and 1977,

p. 82).

 

23

The Yale Report of 1828

 

The Yale Report of 1828 was a manifesto which set the pattern
for both the theory and practice of the higher learning in America
for most of the nineteenth century. The first half of the nineteenth
century was a period of considerable debate and discussion concerning
the unique function of the American college and its fitness to serve
American life. The educational fraternity began to divide roughly
into two factions: those conservative who wished to retain the tradi-
tional college virtually as it was handed down from the past; and those
reformers, or progressives, who felt that the American college was
falling too far behind the pace of American life and too much out of
touch with the realities of American society (Rudy, 1960, p. l:
Butts, p. 116).

By September 1827, the tide of academic reform was lapping at
the precincts of Yale College, and by September 1828, the Yale corpor-
ation appointed a committee to inquire into the expediency of so altering
the regular course of instruction in this college, as to leave out
of said course the study of the "dead languages," substituting other
studies therefor: and either requiring a competent knowledge of said
languages, as a condition of admittance into the college, or providing
instruction in the same, for such as shall choose to study them after
admittance (Brubacher & Rudy, p. 102; Rudolph, 1977, p. 66). .

The Yale Report, under the leadership of President Jeremiah Day
and James L. Kinglsey, was published in 1829 in Benjamin Silliman's
American Journal of Science and Arts as "Original Papers in relation

to a Course of Liberal Education," which was widely distributed and

 

24

widely read. The Yale Report, as it came to be known, provided a rationale
and a focus for comprehending a course of study that was wandering
somewhere in the no-man's land between inflexibility and disintergration.
The Yale faculty believed that proper college instruction should emphasize
the "intellectual ability" of students rather than the amount of knowledge
that they acquired, that certain studies were best suited to develop
this intellectual power, and that experience had plainly shown that
these subjects which were necessary for a liberal education would serve
as a preparation for any sort of lifework (Brubacher and Rudy, p. 103;
Butts, 119).

Defenders of such a rationale held that a college student must
pursue a full range of prescribed studies over the entire four-year
undergraduate course. This was necessary so that the mind could be
properly disciplined and thus prepared to face whatever tasks it might
later be required to undertake. The undergraduate obviously could
not select these all important studies for himself; he was too young
and immature to do so. The faculty accordingly, had to make this selection
for him. Fundamental, of course, was knowing what one was up to, and
therefore the professors restated the ancient psychology of learning
which saw the mind as a receptacle and a muscle with various potentialities
waiting to be trained (Rudy, p. 2; Rudolph, 1962, p. 132).

The two great points to be gained in intellectual curture, are

the discipline and the furniture of the mind; expanding its powers,

 

and storing it with knowledge. A commanding object, therefore, in
a collegiate course should be, to call into daily and vigorous exercise

the faculties of the student. Thus, while mental discipline was the

 

25

main concern of the Yale Report, the question of what worthwhile content
was to be learned was a vital one. What was the right furniture with
which to "store" the undergraduate mind? The Yale faculty held that

the classics of Greece and Rome and pure mathematics were facile princeps,

 

equally valuable for content as for discipline, because they provided

a broad theoretical foundation for all later specialization. If the
student did not have a chance to come into contact with these intellec-
tually stimulating fields while in college, at what other time in his
life would he have a chance to do so? This philosophy decreed that
knowledge which could just as easily be gained outside of college should
be excluded from the undergraduate curriculum. This meant that all
specialized studies of a professional nature were relegated to special
schools or were to be learned through actual practice and apprenticeship
(Crane, 1963, p. 85; Rudy, p. 2)..

The influence of Yale, on the course of study of other colleges
was often direct and transparent: Wabash College of Indiana was an
echo of the Yale Report; Western Reserve of Ohio adopted a curriculum
avowedly in order to be "the Yale of the West" (Rudolph, 1977, p. 73).

The ideal of mental discipline was continued at Yale under the
presidency of Theodore D. Woolsey (1846-1871), thus, by virtue of being
the largest college in the country, Yale's leadership in formulating
the ideal of mental discipline as the proper objective of the American
college took on the aura of authority for the conservatives of the
country (Butts, p. 124).

The Yale faculty of 1828, recommended as a model curriculum four

years of what is presently called "general education," but with a much

26

narrower range of studies than is true at present. Not only was the
spectrum of liberal learning severly limited, but all opportunity for
specialization was to be excluded as inappropriate to collegiate learning.
All studies were prescribed for all students because this was presumed

to be valuable for disciplining the mind and for giving the undergraduate
the requisite broad theoretical perspective characteristic of a liberally
educated person. The Yale Report bolstered the spirits of defenders

of the academic status 332 and gave them an explicit philosophy to
uphold. For the next half century this report would articulate for
American educators the dominant conceptions of the role of the liberal
arts college and the types of curriculum appropriate to it (Rudy,

p. 5).

The Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862

 

"The institution that did probably the most to change the outlook
of the American people toward college-going was the land-grant college,
creation of the Morrill-Federal Land Grant Act of 1862" (Rudolph, 1962,
p. 65).

The act itself provided for the support in every state of at least
one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other
scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to
teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the
mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may
respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical
education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions

in life (Crane, p. 190).

27

Because the act provided nothing in the way of supervision and
because the concept of agricultural and mechanical education had not
yet received any precise definition, the founding of the new colleges
revealed an amazing variety of arrangements. For example, Michigan,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Iowa, created A & M colleges (as they came
to be known) out of previously charted agricultural colleges. Wisconsin,
Minnesota, North Carolina, and Missouri turned over to existing state
universities both the land-grant endowment and the responsibility of
discovering how to serve the agricultural and mechanic interests. Four
states--Ohio, California, Arkansas, and West Virginia--founded new
state universities and added A & M components. The colleges, so sired,
emphasized the laboratory method and concentrated on the sciences,
especially the applied sciences, required by agricultural expert, civil
and mechanical engineers, and managers. In time every state would
have its land-grant foundation, and seventeen of them would have two
(Rudolph, 1962, p. 253, and 1977, p. 117; Mayhew, 1975, p. 368).

When a second Morrill Act was passed in 1890 providing for regular
annual appropriations for the land-grant colleges, the act stipulated
that no appropriations would go to states that denied admission to
the colleges on the basis of race unless they also set up separate

but equal facilities.* As a consequence of these conditions, a number

 

*In 1896, "separate but equal facilities" was a supreme court ruling

in the racial segregation case of Plessey v. Furguson, 163, U.S. 537
(1896). Plessey did not involve the schools; the issue arose under

a Louisiana statute requiring segregated railway accommodation for

travel within the State. The U.S. Supreme Court held that the state

law did not violate either the Thirteenth Amendment (prohibiting involun-
tary servitude) or the Fourteenth Amendment. Despite the fact that

the case was confined to intrastate railway accommodations, the decision
was used to support the notion that 'separate but equal' school facilities
for black pupils were consistent with constitutional principles (William R.
Hazard. Education and the Law. 1971, p. 123).

 

28

of Negro land-grant colleges were founded. Seventeen southern states
ultimately established land-grant colleges. Southern legislatures

and state departments of education were not overly friendly to these
land-grant institutions. They insisted on keeping them purely as trade
schools, and opposed any offering of liberal arts program in them.

In one Negro state college, the only way that Latin could be smuggled
into the curriculum was by offering it under the title of 'Agricultural

Latin' (Rudolph, 1962, pp. 253-254; Brubacher and Rudy, 1958, p. 79).

The Creation of Cornell University--1868

 

Through the land-grants of the Morrill Act, Cornell University
at Ithaca, New York in 1868 was founded under the leadership of Ezra
Cornell, and its first president Andrew D. White. It was Cornell Univer-
sity that helped to achieve respectability for the land-grant idea;
in its outlook not only the practical vocationalism of the land-grant
idea but also the science, technology, and spirit of scholarship of
the new university movement (Rudolph, 1962, p. 265-66).

From the day it opened its door, Cornell constituted the very
embodiment of the idea of an 'all purpose curriculum.‘ "1 would found
an institution in which any person can find instruction in any study"
was the catchword.that was placed upon its seal of the university (Butts,
p. 187). It began by laying down two foundation principles: first,
the.new university was to be completely nonsectarian, although not
antireligious; secondly, it was to be in much closer relationship with
.the public-school system than was true elsewhere (Brubacher and Rudy,
1958, p. 162). Furthermore, there should be perfect equality among

the different courses of study with no special privileges for particular

29

subjects and with greater emphasis than previously upon scientific,
political, historical, and modern literary subjects; also an opportunity
for the student to select the courses in which he desired to specialize
(Butts, p. 186).

Cornell wished to find an institution

". . . which will place at the disposal of the industrial and
productive classes of society, the best facilities for the
acquirement of practical knowledge and mental culture, on such
terms as the limited means of the most humble can command.

I hope we have laid the foundation of an institution which
shall combine practical with liberal education, which shall fit
the youth of our country for the professions, the farms, the
mines, the manufactories, for the investigations of science, and
for mastering all the practical questions of life with success
and honor.

I believe we have made the beginning of an institution which
will prove highly beneficial to the poor young men and the poor
young women of our country . . . as will enable any one by honest
efforts and earnest labor, to secure a thorough, practical,
scientific or classical education. The individual is better,
society is better, and the state is better, for the culture of
the citizens; therefore we desire to extend the means for the
culture for all" (Levine, 1978, p. 560).

Coeducation, rather than separation, came to be the pattern at
Cornell; the first in the East, was an immediate success, sending new
waves of uncertainty and nervousness through the old colleges (Brubacher
and Rudy, 1958, p. 69).

The Inauguration of
Charles W. Eliot as President of Harvard: 1869

 

During the forty years of Eliot's administration (1869-1909),
President Eliot supplied a long continuing advocacy of the elective
principle and an energetic administrative leadership which enabled
Harvard eventually to boast of the freest elective system known to

the American college (Butts, p. 175).

30

However, long before Eliot introduced his elective system at Harvard,
prominent Americans had been advocating the granting of a larger element
of choice in college studies. Perhaps the most important of the early
advocates of electives was Thomas Jefferson and the establishment of
the University of Virginia in 1824. "The corner stone of Virginia
plan was the principle that the student was to have complete freedom
of choice in the lectures he chose to attend" (Brubacher and Rudy,

1958, p. 99).

At Harvard, it was Thomas Hill (1862-1869) who advocated the use
of the elective principle. "Consequently, the elective principle received
warm advocacy during the formative years, but the financial resources
of the college were as yet too inadequate and the opposition still
too strong to allow than, a formulation of the doctrine and the beginnings
of the elective system on a scale larger than ever before" (Butts,

p. 173).

To make possible a vital and complete use of the elective system,
it took the energetic and effective administrative leadership of Charles
W. Eliot, a thirty-five-year chemist who was elected President of Harvard
in 1869 (Brubacher and Rudy, 1958, p. 110). Eliot took up the plans
of Hill's administration to make Harvard a 'real' university, and he
carried them forward by means of a most effective administration policy
and by advocating forcefully the new ideal of a university which embodied
a drastic change in the traditional theory of a liberal education
(Butts, p. 175).

In Eliot's inaugural address of 1869, he chose to announce his

firm commitment to the elective system: In American higher education

31

the individual traits of differing minds had not been taken into account
sufficiently. For the individual, the only prudent course was the
highest development of his own peculiar faculty. It was for this reason
that Eliot held to the view that a true university college should give
its students three essentials: First, freedom of choice in studies,
second, opportunity to win distinction in special lines of study; and
finally a system of discipline which imposes on the individual himself
the main responsibility for guiding this conduct (Brubacher and Rudy,
1958, pp. 110-112).

Also, in his inaugural address, Eliot stated emphatically that
the current controversy over whether literature or science was more
important for a general education should have no place at Harvard,
because it was the duty of a university to provide instruction in all
of the main subjects of interest, general and specialized (Butts, p. 176).

"This university recognizes no real antagonism between litera-

ture and science, and consents to no such narrow alternatives

as mathematics or classics, science or metaphysics. We would

have them all, and at their best" (Levine, 1977, p. 562).

Step by step under Eliot's leadership Harvard abandoned prescription
and expanded the domain of election. In 1872 all subject requirements
for seniors were abolished. In 1879 all subject requirements for juniors
were abolished. In 1884 the sophomores were liberated, and in 1885
subject requirements were materially reduced for freshman. By 1894
a Harvard freshman's only required courses were rhetoric and a modern
language. By 1897 the prescribed course of study at Harvard had been
reduced to a year of freshman rhetoric (Rudolph, 1962, p. 294).

The introduction of many types of courses, made necessary by a

system of electives, increased the demand for teachers. At Harvard

32

in 1870-71, there were 643 undergraduate students and 73 courses offered
by 32 professors. In 1910-11, the corresponding figures were 2,217
students, 401 courses, and 169 professors (Ben-David, 1972, p. 57).

Eliot's innovation thrived and for a while seemed to be a happy
answer to the question of a meaningful course of study. However, complete
free choice without careful academic advising could not long survive
student exploitation. When studies of student course choices under
the Eliot system were finally made, it was discovered that over half
of the class of 1898 had taken one course above the introductory level
(Mattfeld, 1975, p. 536).

The Harvard undergraduate had become an intellectual dabbler,
and thus during the presidency of A. Lawrence, who succeeded Eliot,
the distribution-concentration pattern, was introduced in order to
reestablish some control over the curriculum (Mattfeld, 1975, p. 536).

Historical Overview of
Contemporary American Curricular Developments:
1919-1973

In the nineteenth century Eliot's elective principle emphasized
specialization rather than prescription and integration. To restore
some comprehensiveness, Lowell, in the early twentieth century, required
the student to distribute his electives over a wide sampling of subjects
at the same time that he was permitted to retain a generous share of
time for concentration on one of them.

The history of the curriculum, remarked Brubacher and Rudy (1958)
thus had taken the form of a vast Hegelian triad wherein the thesis

in the early nineteenth century had been prescription, the antithesis

33

in the later nineteenth century had been election, and the synthesis
in the twentieth century had been concentration and distribution (p. 276).

By the start of the twentieth century, commented Levine (1977),
the fundamental changes in higher education that had occurred during
the nineteenth century--utilitarianism and populism, to name but a few--
were assimilated and the modern American conception of undergraduate
education had emerged (p. 329).

The period between the turn of the century and the start of World
War I found the free elective curriculum waning in popularity (Butts,
pp. 231-250). By the time of that war, reported Levine (1977) the
undergraduate program was similar to today's blend of free electives,
breadth requirements, and concentration. It was also attacked on the
same ground as today's curriculum--for its lockstep approach, overspecial-
ization, eclecticism, and general lack of integrity (p. 329). The
curriculum was only a cross section of courses from specialized and
usually unrelated departments. The mere addition or juxtaposition
of such courses without any effort at bending them to each other and
toward some broad central aim was mechanical at best. Hence, the kind
of synoptic integration characteristic of liberal education went by
default (Brubacher and Rudy, 1958, p. 276).

Blame for the lack of unity was initially laid at the door of
the colleges and their multiplication of courses in the curriculum.
The critics, remarked Levine (1977) suggested four remedies, all called
"liberal education," they were, more specifically, general education,
collegiate education, experimental or life education, and honors and

independent study (p. 329). As early as 1902, reported Brubacher and

34

Rudy (1958), John Dewey was pointing out that congestion in the curriculum
stemed not from faulty pedagogical organization but from rapidly expanding
knowledge of the arts and sciences (p. 276). Mattfeld (1975) added

that Dewey saw learning essentially as a relative process, with each
student using the rich heritage of the past, embodied in the humanistic
disciplines, and his observations of the world around him, provided

by the physical and social sciences as resources with which to respond

to the specific experiences and problems with which he himself was

faced (p. 537).

Between the end of World War I and the start of World War II,
liberal education remedies were most notably realized in the new programs
and institutions that wanted to break away from the lockstep curriculum
that prevailed prior to World War I. For example, there was Contemporary
Civilization course at Columbia University in 1919, where "war" and
"peace" issues merged to form Contemporary Civilization, or "CC" as
the course became known, where the purpose was to inform the student
of the more outstanding and influential factors of his physical and
social environment (Levine, 1977, p. 331). The course was heavily
oriented toward history, and advanced the proposition that there is
a certain minimum of intellectual and spiritual tradition that a man
must experience and understand if he is to be called educated (Rudolph,
1962, p. 455). There was the Honors Program at Swarthmore College
in 1921 under President Frank Aydelotte, where he introduced the "Honors
Program" where the most brillant students could develop to their fullest
capacity. The Honors Program was intended for those juniors and seniors

most able to profit from intensive independent study who were certified

35

by their lower-division instructors as capable of carrying them (Rudolph,
1962, p. 457). The heart of the Honors Program was the colloquium,
the dialogue between faculty and students (Brubacher and Rudy, 1958,
p. 274).
In 1927 there was Alexander Meiklejohn's experimental college
at the University of Wisconsin. Professor Meiklejohn was particularly
concerned that the experimental college should be a democratic college
representing a cross section of the general run of students and not
,a highly selected few. He felt, among other things, the college must
try to answer the question whether or not young people as a whole could
be liberally educated (Butts, p. 353). His plan called for a two-
year, lower-division experimental college (in the letters and science
division of the university) that would come to grips with the old problem
of student motivation. The curriculum was an integrated program intended
to give students a sense of unit of knowledge and experience. It focused
on problems or themes in the creation and conservation of human values
in two important cultures--ancient Greece and contemporary America.
An emphasis upon writing pervaded the curriculum (Levine, 1977, p. 345).
The Great Books at St. Johns College in Annapolis in 1937, under
the guidance of Stringfellow Barr and Scott Buchanan, introduced a
prescribed, four-year undergraduate curriculum for all students based
entirely upon a little more than a hundred great books covering the
development of civilization from ancient Greece to the present. The
curriculum emphasized the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and logic) and
quadrivium (arthmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy) of classical

antiquity. It was shaped by the conviction that students can acquire

36

a truly liberal education by only reading the works of the greatest
minds of our civilization. The Great Books program did away with the
standard fare of academic departments and student majors. At its heart
was the seminar (Levine, p. 357).

During and after World War II, curriculum changed focused more
specifically upon general education. General education, remarked Brubacher
and Rudy (1958) however, was not so much a synonym for liberal education
as it was a way of organizing it. As a facet of liberal education,
general education developed two dimensions. On the one side it faced
the great proliferation of subjects and tried to determine what everyone
ought to know regardless of departmental organization. 0n the other,
it tried to interrelate subjects into something meaningful (p. 276).
Though many colleges wrote reports and adopted new curricula, the most
influential and best known curriculum was that adapted at Harvard as
a result of a volume entitled General Education in a Free Society.

Of the many efforts of colleges to reassess their undergraduate
programs, Harvard in 1945, under the presidency of James B. Conant,
appointed a faculty committee on "The Objectives of a General Education

in a Free Society.‘ The committee spent $60,000 and two years in
deliberation, travel, and hearings. Its final report, entitled General
Education in a Free Society and informally called the "Redbook" (Levine,
p. 359).

Once the Harvard committee issued its report, it represented an
effort on the part of the nation's greatest university to confront

the social and political forces of mid century America and to write

a prescription for sustaining the liberal tradition with a curriculum

37

that recognized the legitimacy of individual interests and talents while
it at the same time established a common bond of general learning (Rudolph,
1962, p. 258).

According to the "Redbook," general education was distinct from
education for specialization. It embraced the humanities, natural
sciences, and social sciences:

General education . . . is used to indicate that part of a

student's whole education which looks first of all to his

life as a responsible human being and citizen; while the term

special education indicates that part which looks to the

student's competence in some occupation (Levine, 1977, p. 603;
Rudolph, 1962, p. 258).

 

The committee of the "Redbook" recommended that 6 out of the 16
year-long courses that the college required for graduation be reserved
for general education. It recommended further that courses in the
humanities and social sciences entitled respectively "Great Texts in
Literature" and "Western Thought and Literature," be required of all
students. The sciences, students would be given an option between
two introductory courses in the physical sciences or biological sciences.
The remaining three general education courses would be taken, one each,
in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, where advanced survey
and interdisciplinary courses such as the heritage of philosophy, music,
human relations and the history of science would be offered. No general
education courses were to be permitted to satisfy major or concentration
requirements. The committee further recommended changing Harvard's
English composition course so that the first term would be a compensatory
course and a second term, which was to be tied to the general education

courses, would be required of all students (Levine, 1977, p. 360).

38

Another landmark in the development of higher education after
World War II was President Truman's Commission on Higher Education
in 1947, under the chairmanship of George F. Zook, President of the
American Council on Education, to re-examine our system of higher
education in terms of its objectives, methods, and facilities, and
in light of the social role it had to play.

The committee, reported Brubacher and Rudy (1958) was formed partly
to the powerful bodies of opinion calling for a program of much more
extensive and direct federal financial aid to colleges and universities.
In part, this discontentment was due to the leaping costs of higher
education, especially in the 19405. In part, it was motivated by the
necessity for tremendous expansion of physical facilities in order
to meet huge increases in enrollment which followed the First and Second
World Wars. An underlying factor, too, was the fundamental American
commitment to the maintenance of equality of educational opportunity
as an underpinning of political and economic democracy. As American
society reached new levels of complexity, many felt that the democratic
opportunities for an education, which had been well-nigh universal
on the elementary and secondary levels, should now include post-secondary
training (p. 239).

This post-secondary training was the general belief in the values
of studying the liberal arts and sciences, particularly as reinterpreted
in programs of general education. It was generally assumed that there
was a body of information, skills, values, and insights that all educated
people should possess. Although the literature of the period revealed

considerable difficulty in reaching agreement as to a specific definition

39

of general education, examination of many different programs indicated

a firm underlying consensus. General education should be required

of most if not all students. It should expose students to the natural
sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the several modes of communica-
tions. It should give the student the values, attitudes, knowledge,

and skills that would equip him or her to live rightly and well in

a free society. It was specifically designed to provide students insight
into the cultural heritage, so that each individual could base his

or her own life on that cultural substructure (Mayhew, 1977, p. 9).

The main proposal of the commission, reported Brubacher and Rudy
(1958) was that all barriers to educational opportunity be abolished
immediately. Every American should be 'enabled and encouraged to carry
his education, formal and informal, as far as his native capacities
permit. In order to attain this objective the commission proposed
that the nation plan to double its enrolbment in colleges and universities
within a decade. By 1960, it conceived of a potential enrollment of
4,600,000 in institutions of higher education (p. 239). The reason
for this projection, commented Cross (1971) was the commission's esti-
mate that 'at least 49 percent of our population has the mental ability
to complete 14 years of schooling,‘ and 'at least 32 percent of our
population has the mental ability to complete an advanced liberal or
specialized professional education (p. 3). The commission assumed
that the great majority of individuals with these potentials would
ordinarily wish to pursue advanced study, but that many are prevented
from doing so by economic handicaps, or by racial, religious, and

geographical barriers (Brubacher and Rudy, 1958, p. 240).

40

To overcome this handicap, remarked Brubacher and Rudy (1958)
the commision proposed, first of all, that the American system of free
public education be extended upward to include two more years of study
beyond the higher school. Every state should establish 'community
colleges' as part of its public-school system to provide easily accessible
free education through the sophomore year. These local institutions
would emphasize terminal programs in their course of study, but they
would also prepare some students to go on to higher levels (p. 240).

Curriculum change acquired another theme in 1957 with the launching
of Russia's Sputnik. Levine (1977) reported, many viewed this space
breakthrough as a Russian triumph over the intellectual and educational
capacity of America. Curriculum reform in succeeding years emphasized
intellectual excellence and acceleration of study. Oakland University
in Machigan (1959), for example, was founded in the spirit (p. 330).
With Russia's successful launching of Sputnik, it also led to the
National Defense Education Act of 1958. The essential purpose of the
National Defense Education Act, remarked Mayhew (1977) was to produce
an educational program from which could come the scientific, technolog-
ical, and scholarly leadership needed to catch up with the advances
in Russian science (p. 273).

During the expansionist period of the 19608, reported Mayhew (1977),
a variety of curricular and instructural innovations were attempted . . .
(p. 120). Suczek (1972) and Lichtman (1973) adds, residential colleges,
cluster colleges, colleges without walls, contract programs . . . were
being developed in increasing numbers (pp. vi-vii; p. 8). Tussman's

Experimental College Program at the University of California at

41

Berkeley in 1965 was an example of the expansionist period. Tussman,
then Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at Berkeley, reported
Levine (1977) and Riesman et. al. (1970), was disgusted with what he
perceived to be the incoherence and lack of educational integrity of
lower-division study there, sought to reintroduce the experimental
college that Alexander Meiklejohn had tried at the UniverSity of Wisconsin
more than 30 years before (p. 373; p. 277). Tussman's Experimental
College Program remarked Suzcek (1972), was more than another curricular
innovation. It was a statement of the need to revitalize the lower
division of the university, and as such it was a reassertion of a basic
but neglected function of liberal education (p. 17).

Education in the 19608 was also big business. Litchman (1973)
reported:

By the end of the decade, 62 million Americans were engaged in

a $70 billion enterprise. Colleges and universities had one-

eighth of the total number of students and spent one-third of

the total education budget. The annual expenditures of

colleges and universities rose four and a half times in ten

years.

In a time when the expenditures quadrupled, student enrollments

doubled. In 1960, 3.6 million people enrolled in 2,000

colleges; by 1970, 7.3 million attended 2,525 institutions of

higher learning. The size of public colleges especially got

larger. Community colleges were opening at the rate of about

one a week. By the end of the sixties, almost half of the

college students attended only 200 institutions, each having

more than 10,000 students. (p. 7)

Whereas the predominant mood of the 19508 were concordant and
the 19608 was a period of growth and wealth, the 19608 was also a time
of change and disillusionment. Student activism, beginning with the
1964 Free Speech Movement at the University of California at Berkeley,

began to make inroads to change, what Suzcek (1972) described as:

42

. . . the machine like aspect of undergraduate education,
especially in the lower division, which purportedly ground
up succeeding generations of freshman into unthinking but
well-trained cogs to fit the needs of our contemporary
technological society. Other qualities under attack were
irrelevance of course study material in the face of contem-
porary social problems and the lack of opportunity for the
student to pursue his own academic interests. These factors
were believed compounded by the impersonality of large
classes and a general lack of professional interest; in
students as students, in students as individuals, and in
the teaching process itself (p. 3).

Student activists, remarked Lon Hefferlin (1969), believed that institu-
tions of higher education as a whole were not sufficiently in touch
with the conditions of life in the circumambient society (p. xi). As

at Berkeley, added Levine (1977), the causes of campus unrest were
frequently noncurricular, but the resulting soul searching brought

to light student dissatisfaction with the post-Sputnik mentality and
curriculum that emphasized the needs of society but failed to consider
the needs of the individual student (p. 371).

This perception, reported Suczek (1972), was vocally and stridently
stated by activists, and if it was not shared, at least it was given
official recognition by many students and by many members of the
faculty. It was epitomized in a speech by Mario Savio (1964) to a
Free Speech Movement rally:

"There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so

odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part,

you can't even tacitly take part, and you've got to put your
bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers,

upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And

you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people

who own it, that unless you're free, the machines will be
.prevented from working at all" (quoted from Suczek, 1973, p. 3).

Savio's speech was echoed five years later by Jerry Farber, a

faculty member in the English Department at L08 Angeles State College

43

when he decided that there were limits to how well you could teach
in an authoritarian and dehumanized school system:

"School is where you let the dying society put its grip on you.
Our schools may seem useful: to make children into doctors,
sociologists, engineer8--to discover things. But they're
poisonous as well. They exploit and enslave students; they
petrify society; they make democracy unlikely. And it's not
what you're taught that does the harm but hgg you're taught.
Our schools teach you by pushing you around, by stealing your
will and your sense of power, by making timid square apathetic
slaves out of you--authority addicts.

Students can change things if they want to because they have

the power to say 'no.' When you go to school, you're doing
society a favor. And when you say 'no,' you withhold much

more than your attendance. You deny continuity to the dying
society; you put the future on strike. Students can have the
kind of school they want--or even something else entirely if they
want--becau8e there isn't going to be any school at all without
them" (The Student a8 Nigger. 1969, p. 17).

 

The student protests of the late 19608 and early 19708 also contrib-
uted to curricular changes. Those protests, commented Mayhew (1977),
did at least by implication, call for greater curricular relevance;
lessened impersonality of faculty, administration, and institutional
behavior toward students; greater curricular flexibility; greater freedom
of individual student choice, greater student voice in planning their
own education; greater curricular and instructional concern with social,
economic, moral, and ethical values (pp. 124-125).

The late 19608 and early 19708 was also a time when attempts to
use the curriculum to meet the needs of specialized groups of people.
Institutions of higher education gradually accepted more Chicano and
black students, and some predominantly white institutions actively
recruited these students. However, little was attempted to provide
special curricular or instructural services for these students. It

was typically assumed that Chicano and black students would become

 

44

assimilated into the predominantly white student bodies and that the
responsibility for coping with the educational programs rested with
these students. As the number of Chicano and black students increased
on campuses, the stage was set for criticism of curricular and social
divisions and for demands that substantial modifications be made. The
creation of Chicano and black student unions stemmed directly from

the increase in their numbers on campus, and their increase in produced
pressures for Chicano and black studies, increase in Chicano and black
faculty members, and increased financial aids for Chicano and black
students. The model established by Chicano and black students eventually
came to be adopted by Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ultimately,
in a paradoxical sort of way, for women (Mayhew, 1977, pp. 126-127).

The nationwide student strike in reaction to the U.S. invasion
of Cambodia and the shootings at Kent State and Jackson State universities
in spring 1970, remarked Levine (1977), closed the 19608 era of campus
unrest. Since that time, campus protests have continued, but their
causes have more often been bread-and-butter issues such as rising
tuition, faculty layoffs, and program cutbacks. The 19708 marked the
end to visions of limitless growth for American colleges and universities
now faced with the day-to-day realities of tight budgets and a ceiling
or decline in student enrollments (p. 372).

The impetus for change in the 19708 (Levine, 1977), has come from
administrators at institutions suffering from financial or enrollment
declines, from public systems responding to perceived new needs, and
from organizations not traditionally associated with higher education,

such as brokerage organizations and proprietary schools. Some

45

curriculum changes have been primarily procedural, concentrating on
more efficient delivery systems and the measurement of educational
outputs (p. 372). Others, reported Hall (1974) have tried to attract
or respond to a new variety of students--minoritie8, blue-collar youth,
and women (p. xiii).

Hall (1974) reported that sixteen new colleges emerged during
the late 19608 and early 19708 for students, who, then had been largely
excluded. Some of these new colleges included: Flathead Valley Community
College in Montana (1967), Nairobi College in California (1968), La Guardia
Community College in New York (1970), Westbrook College in Maine (1970),
and Universidad Deganawidah-Quetzalcoatl in California (1971). Hall
(1974) commented: ". . . these colleges can be seen as not only important
in their own right but as laboratories for the discovery and examination
of the needs of new students and as testing grounds for examination
for long-standing assumptions about education" (p. xiv).

Still others, remarked Levine (1977), have involved the development
of vocational curricula and community-based educational assistance
centers. Some of the outstanding developments of the decade have involved
the award of degrees by proprietary schools such as the Technical Career
Institutes in New York (1970), the creation of such nontraditional
adult colleges as Metropolitan State University in Minnesota (1972),
the development of competency-based curricular at Sterling College
in Kansas (1971), and the rise of brokerage organizations like the

Capitol Higher Education Service in Connecticut (1973), (p. 327).

46

A number of curriculum changes have traversed the moods of both
the 19608 and 19708. The range of results from these curriculum changes
has been wide. Some institutions and programs are flourishing; others

are no longer in existence.

47

OVERVIEW OF METHODOLOGIES AND CURRICULAR
TRENDS: EARLY AND CONTEMPORARY CATALOG STUDIES, 1886-1976

It was the controversy of the elective principle in undergraduate
education during the years from approximately 1870 to 1910 that gave rise

". . . 'fact finding' investigations concerned

to catalog studies, or
with the actual spread of the elective system as a part of the accepted
procedure in building and administering the collegiate course of study
in the United States" (Butts, 1939, p. 239).

Among some of the early fact finding investigators who were concerned
with the actual spread of the elective system, Palmer (1886) used a
chart showing the increase in elective studies in 15 New England colleges
from 1875 to 1885 when he was explaining and defending the use of the
elective system at Harvard. He concluded: (I) A rapid and fateful
revolution is going on in the higher education of New England. (2) The
spread of it is in tolerable proportion to the wealth of the college
concerned. The new modes are expensive. (3) The colleges which long
ago foresaw their coming necessities have been able to proceed more
cautiously than those which acknowledged them late. (4) The movement
is one of steady advance. There is no going back (p. 581).

The U.S. Bureau of Education's annual reports after the 18808
began to publish detailed subjects offered by colleges and universities.
The 1888-1889 annual report listed the subjects taught in 101 colleges
and universities, with the elective subjects written in italics
(pp. 1224-1361).

Brigham (1897) published a report in which he studied the catalogs

of 25 colleges for 1895-1896 to determine the extent of the acceptance

of the elective system: "The noteworthy fact to-day is the immense

48

diversity, amounting almost to chaos, seen in the application of the
elective system by American colleges. This diversity does not mean
that the plan is not good, but rather that it is alive" (p. 360). Brigham
found the 25 institutions to be divided roughly into three groups:
Those requiring the greatest number of subjects, especially in the
freshman and sophomore years, were Columbia, Yale, Williams, Hamilton,
Colgate, Rochester, Rutgers, and Union; those allowing a considerable
amount of election were New York University, Pennsylvania, California,
Northwestern, Michigan, and Chicago; and those allowing the greatest
amount of election were Harvard, Cornell, and Stanford (PP. 364-366).

Another study of the elective system was undertaken by Professor
Phillips of the University of Denver in 1901, which Butts (1939) comments,
. . . was the most exhaustive investigation of the spread and extention
of the elective system up to that time (p. 240). Phillips based his
conclusions on the inspection of eighty-seven college catalogs, on
97 questionnaires filled out by college presidents, and on considerable
direct correspondence with colleges throughout the country. "An estimate
of ninety-seven replies gave an average of about sixty-four per cent
of all work as elective, while a wholly independent examination of
eighty-seven catalogues gave an average of about sixty-two percent"
(Phillips, p. 212). He found such a great variety of arrangements
among the different institutions, he remarked, "We should no longer
speak of the Elective System, but of Elective Systems: (p. 211).

The main body of Phillips' study dealt with the summaries of answers
made by the 97 college presidents in reply to his questionnaire in

which he had asked a series of questions (13 in all) concerning the

49

present extent of the use of the elective system, how long it had been
in use, and whether or not it was workable and advisable as part of
the college education (p. 207). He found that:

"Thirty-four institutions have 70% or more of their work

elective; twelve have at least 50% and less than 70%; fifty-

one have less than 50%. Princeton and Brown universities

are the most striking examples of the better class that

have remained largely conservative, and only about 50%

of their courses being elective. . . . the lowest ebb of

the elective system is now found in the South" (p. 212).

All in all, the study prompted Phillips to conclude:

"The elective system is a fixture so far as our colleges are

concerned. The tendency is more and more toward free election.

There is no indication as to whether colleges will ever settle

upon a small but central core of subjects for all students.

Certainly there must be a 'golden mean' somewhere between the

prescribed four years of classics and mathematics and four

years elective laboratory courses, shop work, dentistry,

drawing, music, etc" (p. 218).

Canfield (1905) reported to the forty-fourth annual meeting of
the National Education Association a compilation of replies received
from thirty-five colleges and universities throughout the country in
answer to the question whether or not wide election and narrow courses
tended to weaken the undergraduate course by too much specialization.
He estimated that a few were for wide election, but he found that the
great majority were opposed to excessive free election ". . . you
will find a very general consensus of opinion that a student ought
not to 'scatter,' and that sound and thoro training ought to preceeded
every attempt at specialization" (p. 497).

The most extensive investigation of the elective system, reports
Butts (1939, p. 243) was made by William T. Foster, president of Reed
College, as part of his book published in 1911, on the administration

of the college curriculum. Foster's investigation included

50

twenty-nine state universities, fourteen private colleges including
nine women's colleges, and forty small colleges (pp. 168-173). Foster
comments, "The chief movement in the history of the college curriculum
in America is the breakdown of prescribed programs through the evolution
of the Elective System" (p. v). "All in all," comments Butts, "President
Foster ranged himself with the progressives in the history of the elective
system, and he was convinced in 1911 that the elective principle was
here to stay, provided the students were required to do a considerable
amount of creditable work in whatever field they chose" (p. 243).

Butts (1939) provides this summary on early fact finding investiga-
tions:

"The most obvious conclusions of all the investigations of

prevailing opinion and practice of the elective principle seemed

to be that it had entered in some form the great majority of

American colleges by 1910 and that the form in which it appeared

was exceedingly different from one college to another" (p. 239).

Among some of early contemporary fact finding investigators, Rudy
(1960) sought to depict trends in the development of the curriculum
of American liberal arts colleges as reflected in their published catalogs.
His survey included periods between 1825-1875, 1875-1905, 1915-1925,
and 1925-1955. However, it was the period of 1905-1955 that Rudy concen-
trated on . . . in order to carry forward a detailed study of the college
curricula in the twentieth century . . ." (Rudy, p. 39). McGrath (in
Rudy) comments, "The treatment for the period 1905 to 1955 is much
fuller than that for the nineteenth century because curricular changes
since 1900 are much more thoroughgoing and are more significant for

the present-day pattern of the liberal arts college than those of the

preceding era" (p. iv). Dressel and LeLisle (1969) add, ". . . a full

51

century or more elapsed between first attempts to initiate change in
the college and the evidence of any significant impact on prevailing
practices" (p. 1).

According to McGrath (in Rudy), his survey began with the year
1825 because it was about that time that the most influential articulation
of the ideals of the early American college was published, namely,

' remarks

the Yale R2223; of 1828 (p. iii). "For the next half century,‘
Rudy, "this report would articulate for American educators the dominant
conceptions of the role of the liberal arts colleges and the types

of curriculum appropriate to it" (p. 5).

"The period between 1865-1900," comments Rudy, "a number of signifi-
cant agents and eventualities conspired together to produce the fundamental
changes in the college curriculum" (p. 6). Among these "agents and
eventualities" were the Civil War, the passage of the Morrill Act,

German influence that advanced research methods and specialized scholar-
ship, and Eliot's free elective system. It was these significant agents
land eventualities that led Rudy to ask, "What were the actual changes

in curriculum which occurred during the years following the Civil War?"
(p. 9). In order to answer this question, be selected ten representative
institutions (three from the Northeast, three from the South, and four
from the Middle West) to study. The catalogs of these colleges were
sampled at twenty or twenty-five year intervals for the period 1825-

1900 (p. 9). From these catalogs, he collected data on enrollments,
faculty, and departments of instruction. (See Table 2:1 on page 52).

In addition to these findings (Table 2:1), he asked, "Are there

any other more or less common lines of development characteristic of

52

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53

all ten colleges during the period 1825-1900?" He replies:

Decidedly so. For one thing, these schools were all admitting

to their curricula many new fields of knowledge, such as modern
languages and sciences, that had not been give recognition in
earlier days. At the same time, they were permitting their stu-
dents, to a greater or lesser degree, to elect programs of study--
and even individual cour8e8--instead of requiring everyone to
follow the same four-year curriculum. More specifically, there
was an increasing tendency to allow undergraduates to substitute
modern-language studies (especially French and German) for

required Greek; to expand prescribed work in English and history;
to increase significantly the number of specialized offerings

in the natural sciences and to introduce a greater thoroughness

and continuity in the treatment of these studies; to assign special
phases of applied science, such as surveying and navigation (which
had previously been taught in a very summary and superficial manner
as part of the required program), to special professional curricula;
and, finally, as a natural consequence of the foregoing, to evolve
a distinct four-year course in the natural sciences leading to

a Bachelor of Science degree (p. 9).,

In general, continues Rudy:

The radical reconstruction of the college curriculum during the

later years of the nineteenth century must be seen as reflecting

the fundamental changes in American culture of the period. A

relatively simple rural society was being transformed into a

great industrial nation with all the social complexities that

follow in the train of such power. The new times necessitated

new ways of living and thinking. The watchwords of the era were

now progress, competition, and material expansion. Thus, the

revolution in the curriculum was produced by a revolution in

American life (p. 11).

It was the period 1925-1955 that Rudy carried out a detailed study
of college curricula in twenty-eight institutions and their catalogs
into the twentieth century and included the period 1915-1925. Each
college and its catalogs were examined at ten-year intervals, beginning
in 1905 and proceeding through the year 1955. (Six colleges were chosen
to represent each of four major sections of the United States, namely,
the Northwest, the Midwest, the South, and the Far West). The regional

samples, in turn, were subdivided into two groups, comprised of three

independent liberal arts colleges and three institutions affiliated with,

54

or a constituent part of, a large university. In addition, four
Roman Catholic colleges were included, one for each section of the
country, to represent an important group of denominational schools
closely wedded to the liberal arts tradition (p. 39).

Specifically, Rudy investigated the number of separate, functioning
departments of instruction, and the number of semester courses offered.
The data collected revealed notable increases in both categories over
this period. These changes are shown in the tables on page 54, 55,
and 56.

The generalizations drawn from these data ". . . is the vast expan-
sion and diversification of liberal arts college course offering" (p. 39).

(The particular history of twentieth century curricular development

in these twenty-eight institutions may be found in Rudy, pp. 51-125).

TABLE 2:2

Selected Roman Catholic Colleges:
Departments and Semester Courses, 1905-1956

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holly Cross Georgetown Notre Dame Santa Clara
De- Se- De- Se- De- Se- De- Se-
part- mester part- mester part- mester part- mester
Year ments Courses ments Courses ments Courses ments Courses
1905-1906 11 69 5 77 5 190 (l) (1)
1915-1916 12 7O 16 108 7 227 12 101
1925-1926 21 177 15 183 13 244 20 166
1935-1936 17 227 15 176 18 463 20 256
1945-1946 12 332 13 112 19 582 21 278
1955-1956 15 315 17 294 23 633 18 422

 

(1) Not listed as such.

SOURCE: Rudy (1960) pp. 40-42.

55

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57

Contemporary catalog studies concerned with the development of the
liberal arts curriculum after Rudy (1960), lay with Dressel and DeLisle-
1957-1967 (1969) and Blackburn, et. al.-l967-1974 (1976). Whereas early
studies were concerned with the spread of electives, and later with the
growth and development of enrollment, faculty, departments of instruction,
and the number of semester courses offered; these contemporary studies
were more comprehensive and included over 200 institutions each (Blackbrun
also included two-year colleges), but in the main, they primarily concerned
themselves with the three traditional components of the undergraduate
curriculum: breadth, depth, and electives, as reflected in published
college catalog statements.

The Dressel & DeLisle Study (1969) was concerned both with current
practice and with changes or trends over a ten-year period, 1957-1967.

In a similar vein, Blackburn, et. a1. Study (1976) covered a seven-year
period, 1967-1974. Dressel & DeLisle's ten-year interval was selected,

". . . because it covers a period of major

according to these authors,
ferment and of writings and conferences which seem to imply wide spread
curricular modification" (p. 9). Whereas, Blackburn, et. al. seven-
year period was selected because the Dressel & DeLisle study (1957-1967)
found very little when it came to degree requirements. "Hence, if there
had been appreciable change, it must have occurred since 1967, an interval
for which we have no evidence" (Blackburn, et. al., 1976, p. ii).

The focus of the Dressel & DeLisle study was on the period, 1957-
1967, for which there were detailed analyses of course offerings (arts

and sciences) in a random sample of 322 institutions intended to be

representative of types, control, size, geographic locations and

58

regional accreditation for the entire United States (according to

Education Directory: Part 3, Higher Education, as presented in the

 

American Council on Education's American Universities and Colleges,

Ninth Edition, 1964).

Methodology:

Their pattern of analyses was straightforward, each institution
was asked to provide a current catalog (1967) and one of ten years
previous (1957). Three hundred and twenty-two colleges and universities
submitted catalogs yielding a total of 644 for analyses. A coded form
was developed to tabulate the frequency and range of specific requirements
for 1967 and ten-years previou8--l957. ITabulations for quantifiable
items were expressed in total frequencies and in percentages to determine
the extent of agreement or variation in curricular practices. The results
were initially compiled by institutional type sampled, but few variations
of significance were found among the types. Instead, their study concen-
trated on the total sample and emphasized those items reflecting trends

of any significance (p. 11).

Breadth, Depth, and Electives:

 

The breadth component of their study included the humanities, natural
sciences, and the social sciences, and according to Dressel & DeLisle,

". . . serve to acquaint students with the content and

these subjects
methodology of the major areas of learning . . ." (p..12).
Subjects included in their analysis of the humanities were English

composition, literature, speech, foreign language (B.A. and B.S. degrees)

and foreign language proficiency tests, philosophy, and religion. "The

59

humanities," remarked Dressel and DeLisle (p. 13) "have been traditionally
been considered central to the liberal arts curriculum." The biological
and physical sciences and mathematics were the natural sciences segment.
These subjects, commented Dressel & DeLisle, ". . . expose students to
a fundamental mode of thought and inquiry, as well as to significant
bodies of knowledge. A science laboratory experience is usually considered
essential to accomplish these ends" (p. 21). The social sciences (sociol-
ogy, anthropology, political science, psychology, economics, etc.) rounds
out this segment of general education. Most colleges and universities
(over 90 percent) specify an undergraduate requirements in the social
sciences (Dressel & DeLisle, p. 25).

The undergraduate depth component in their study included a wide

variation within majors but the focus was on . . . pursuing a discipline
or program of special interest to insure understanding in depth in at
least one area of man's knowledge. The concentration may be departmental,
interdepartmental, area study, or Special programs" (p. 27). The elective
component (directed or free) was expressed as those subjects ". . . chosen
by students for their inherent interest and values" (p. 13).

"By this required exposure to breadth, depth, coupled with free
choice," remarked Dressel & DeLisle (p. 13), "the student is introduced
to the basic elements of his culture, is provided a basis for a vocation
or graduate study, and is stimulated to acquire an enduring intellectual
appetite. Variations among institutions suggest a diversity of ideas

as to the best means of accomplishing the ends of higher education through

a pattern of curricular requirements."

60

Summary of Findings: General Education (breadth),
Major or concentration (depth), and Electives (directed or free)

General Education (breadth):

1. Formal requirements in English composition, literature, and
speech have decreased.

2. Foreign language requirements have increased, with two years
(or the equivalent) being by far the most common requirement.

3. The use of proficiency tests for meeting requirements in foreign
language has increased.

4. Requirements in philosophy and religion have been reduced with
these subjects more frequently appearing as options in a distribution
requirement.

5. The specification of mathematics as a requirement or as an option
has increased. The percentage of degree requirements in the natural
sciences has increased.

6. The percentage of degree requirements in the social sciences
has increased.

7. There is some tendency to reduce physical education requirements
and to eliminate credits and grades for it.

8. Basic and general requirements remain at approximately 37 percent
of the degree requirements and are divided into 17 percent humanities,
and 10 percent for each of the social and natural sciences.

Types of Majors or concentrations (depth):

1. More than one-half of the institutions specify the departmental
major with a minor or secondary emphasis as the type of concentration
most student are expected to pursue, although there has been a slight
decline (from 62.4 percent to 56.2 percent) in this practice in favor
of a straight departmental major without minors.

2. Almost one-fourth of the institutions specify a departmental
major and say nothing about minors.

Major concentration (arts):
1. About 39 percent of the institutions in 1967 required 24 to

32 credits (8 courses) for a major concentration, as compared with 45
percent ten years previous.

61

2. The number of institutions requiring 28 to 36 credits (9 courses)
for the major increased from about 15 percent (in 1957) to 19 percent
(in 1967).

3. There was a great variation in the major or concentration require-
ments, although the modal practice remained at 24 to 32 credits or 8
courses.

Major concentration (sciences):

1. Almost 34 percent of the institutions in 1967 required 24 to
32 credits for a major concentration, as compared with about 38 percent
ten years previous.

2. The number of institutions requiring 32 to 40 credits (10 courses)
for a major increased about 4 percent from 10.6 percent (in 1957) to
14.6 percent (in 1967).

3. There was a great variation in the major or concentration require-
ments, although the modal practice remained at 24 to 32 credits or 8
courses.

Electives (directed or free):
Directed electives (arts and sciences):

l. The number of institutions recommending and approving electives
in arts program decreased from 38 percent (in 1957) to 7 percent (in
1967).

2. The number of institutions recommending and approving electives

in science programs decreased from 15 percent (in 1957) to 13 percent
(in 1967).

Unrestricted (free) electives (arts and sciences):

1. Almost 95 percent of the institutions in the sample permitted
undesignated electives in their arts program.

2. More than 90 percent of the institutions arranged the programs
in the science areas to permit free electives.

62

TABLE 2:7
Current (1967) Curricular Profiles for the Bachelor of Arts Degree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic Major or Area Concen-
Percentage and tration with Related
of Total General and Directed Electives

Requirements N % N % N %
O 4 l 5 2 3 1

1-10 - - - - 21 7
11-20 2 l 39 13 59 19
21-30 47 15 111 36 86 28
31-40 110 35 126 41 86 28
41-50 103 33 23 7 41 13
51-60 33 ll 6 2 7 2
61-70 8 3 - - 2 1
71-80 3 l - - 2 1
81-90 - - - - 1 (1)
91-100 - - - - 2 1
Totals 310(2) 100 310 101 310 101

Median 39 percent 31 percent 29 percent

 

(1) Less than 1 percent. ‘
(2) Twelve institutions granting only the Bachelor of Science degree are
excluded.

SOURCE: Dressel & DeLisle, 1969, p. 37.

1967 Curricular Profiles for the Bachelor of Arts Degree:

1. For the basic and general education component, slightly more than

two-thirds of the institutions require 31 to 40 percent or 41 to 50 percent
of the total graduation requirements. The median requirement was 39 percent.

2. More than three-fourths of the 310 institutions clustered at 21
to 30 percent and 31 to 40 percent for the major concentration combined
with any related or directed requirements. The median requirement was
30 percent of the total for graduation.

3. Electives spread over the full range of requirements, though
more than one-half of the institutions cluster at 21 to 30 percent and
31 to 40 percent of the total requirements. The median fell at 29 percent.

Medians for the B.A. degree requirements provided this profile:
Basic and general requirements 39 percent

Major or concentration requirements 31 percent
Electives 29 percent

63

The focus of the Blackburn and associates' study (1976) was on the
period, 1967-1974, for which there were detailed analyses of the three
traditional components of the undergraduate curriculum: general educa-
tion (breadth), major (depth), and electives, in a random sample of 271
institutions (210 four-year and 61 two-year) according to Carnegie's

Classification of Higher Education (1974), representing five major

 

institutional categories: research universities, other doctoral-granting
universities, comprehensive universities and colleges, liberal arts colleges,
and community colleges. A total of seventeen institutions by Carnegie

type were included in their study, or 12 percent of the total institutions
listed in the Carnegie classification. (Their study was the first to
include two-year colleges). Their sample met the requirements of

representativeness and geographic distribution.

Methodology:

The methodological procedures by which Blackburn and associates
investigated these 271 institutions were in two phases. In phase 1,
they examined degree requirements from the 1966-1967 and 1973-1974 catalogs
for each institution with regard to "amount"--that is, the specified
minimum number of credit hour8--and the proportion of overall degree
requirements. Phase II of their study employed transcript analysis for
a selected number of institutions. The actual programs of graduates
of six arts and sciences departments at ten colleges and universities
in 1967 and 1974 were examined. The principal goals in Phase II were
to determine the extent to which student course-taking actually agreed

with the requirements stated in the official announcements of colleges

64

and universities, and to ascertain whether there had been a change since
1967 in the extent of student specialization (p. 20).

A data form was developed to list tabulations from the 1966-1967
and 1973-1974 catalogs for each institution. These included (p. 7):

l. The total number of credit hours required for graduation. (The
semester hour served as the most common unit and therefore was adopted
for purposes of comparability).

2. The proportion of degree-credit hours represented by general
education requirements, the content and structure of the general education
requirements, specific general education course requirements, and distinc-
tive patterns of general education requirements.

3. The proportion of degree-credit hours required in each of six
selected majors. (Two-year colleges necessarily were analyzed only for
general education and electives; the A.A. degree does not generally require

a major).

4. The proportion of graduation requirements available as electives.

Total Hours, Breadth, Depth, and Electives:

For each institution, the minimum total number of hours required
for the two-year college's A.A., or the four-year college's B.A. (or
B.S.), was obtained from its catalog. While most institutions used the
semester hour as the basic unit of credit, the semester hour served as
the most common unit and therefore was adopted for purposes of comparability.
When an institution used the quarter hour, the minimum quarter hour require-
ment for graduation was multiplied by two-thirds to obtain a total
comparable to the semester hour totals (p. 7).

Within the general education requirements of each institution, the
credit hours for all courses fulfilling general education requirements
were tabulated according to content (humanities, natural science, social

science, and other) and structure. For the latter, each course was

65

assigned to one of the following categories reflecting the relative freedom
of choice for the student (pp. 7-8).

1. Prescribed courses were defined as those specific courses that
every student must present for graduation, e.g., Western civilization,
philosophy, mathematics, and laboratory science. English composition
and foreign language were tabulated separately, but were also included
in the general requirements.

 

2. Distribution courses were defined as those within a content
division, department, or group where some degree or constraint is exer-
cised over student selection. These courses belonged to a distribution
group from which the student had to choose a certain number.

 

3. Elective (free) courses were defined as those that are taken
to fulfill the general education credit-hour requirements, but that other-
wise place no restriction on a student's selection. These courses could
be chosen freely, either from all the offerings in a content division,
or from all the offering of the institution.

The total minimum.number of general education credit hours required
for the B.AH was derived by adding the general education hours tabulated
according to structural category (prescribed, distribution, and free
election) and content division (humanities, natural science, social
science, and other).

The undergraduate depth component in their study included two majors
selected from each of the three main areas of general education: English
composition and philosophy were chosen from the humanities, biology and
physics from the natural sciences, and political science and psychology
from the social sciences. The total minimum credit-hour requirement
was tabulated for each of the six majors. This figure included a minor
or related work required to complete a major but did not include recom-
mended courses, either within or outside the major department. Thus,
for example, an English department might require 24 credits of English,

16 hours of related work in the humanities, and recommended 12 credit

hours in the social sciences. The total number of credit hours required

66

for a major in English would be 40 semester hours and not 52. The six
majors were chosen because they were offered in most colleges and univer-
sities in their sample and they were offered consistently in the same
division.

The elective component included in their study constituted the portion
of the undergraduate degree work remaining after the general education
and major components were completed. (Since two-year colleges did not
always have requirements for the major, electives were defined as what
remained after general education requirements were tabulated.) The method
by which they computed the electives was rather than computing the average
number of hours required in each of the six selected majors for all insti-
tutions, they selected from each institution the majors with the lowest
and highest number of required hours. These minimum and maximum figures
were then averaged across all the 210 four-year institutions in the sample
and by institutional type. Thus, the average maximum and minimum amounts
of elective time available to the student in both 1967 and 1974 could
be determined. By adding the overall percentage of time required in
general education work to the minimum percentage of time required in
the major and subtracting 100 percent, the maximum percentage of elective
time was computed. Similarly, general education time plus maximum.major
time resulted in a residual that equaled the minimum elective time

available to the student (pp. 9-10).

67

Summary of Findings, Total Hours, General Education (Content and Structure),
The Major, and Electives:

Total Hours:

 

For the 210 four-year institutions included in their study, the
average number of semester hours required for a bachelor's degree in
arts and sciences decreased from 125 to 123 between 1967 and 1974, a
change of minus two hours. For the 61 two-year colleges, the average
number of semester hours required for the associate's degree decreased
from 63 to 62 between 1967 and 1974, a change of minus one hour.
General Education (Content: humanities, natural sciences, and social
sciences):

l. Humanities decreased from 48.2 percent in 1967 to 41.5 percent
in 1974 of required general education hours.

2. Natural sciences decreased from 21.0 percent in 1967 to 18.3
percent in 1974 of required general education hours.

3. Social sciences decreased from 20.1 percent in 1967 to 17.1
percent in 1974 of required general education hours.

4. The figures for two-year colleges were 43.7 to 43.4 percent,
19.9 to 21.6 percent, and 22.9 to 21.9 percent respectively.

Specific requirements: English composition, foreign languages, mathematics,
and physical education:

1. English composition decreased from 90 percent in 1967 to 72
percent in 1974.

2. Foreign language decreased from 72 percent in 1967 to 45 percent
in 1974.

3. Mathematics decreased from 33 percent in 1967 to 20 percent
in 1974.

4. Physical education decreased from 86 percent in 1967 to 55 percent
in 1974.

68

General Education (Structure: prescribed, distribution, and free courses):

 

l. Prescribed courses decreased from 50 percent in 1967 to 28 percent
in 1974.

2. Distribution courses increased from 46 percent in 1967 to 54
percent in 1974.

3. Free courses increased from 4 percent in 1967 to 18 percent
in 1974.

4. The figures for two-year colleges were 49 to 34 percent, 43
to 49 percent, and 8 to 17 percent respectively.
The Major (Six selected majors in agggggated percentage):

1. Humanities: English 30 percent in 1967 and 29 percent in 1974.
Philosophy, 27 percent and 27 percent.

2. Natural sciences: biology. 37 percent in 1967 to 38 percent
in 1974. Physics, 34 and 37 percent.

3. Social sciences: political science, 26 percent in 1967 to 29
percent 1974. Psychology 29 and 28 percent.
Overall Degree Requirements: Breadth, Depth, and Electives:
In most of the institutions included in their study, the typical
course of study had consisted of three broad areas. General education

requirements represented the means of achieving breadth in the curriculum;

 

major requirements were viewed as the medium through which students added

 

depth to their educational experience. The remainder of the student's
curriculum (over which the student has complete control) were the elective
portion of undergraduate study. Two-year colleges have two components;
general education and electives only. Table 2:8 displays the overall
change in degree requirements between 1967 and 1974.

From the table, general education component diminished considerably,
while the major component remained relatively stable; the net effect

was an increase in the elective component. The maximum percentage of

69

elective work at four-year colleges increased from 30.2 percent in 1967
to 41.3 percent in 1974, and the minimum percentage increased from 16.8
to 25.5 percent. For the two-year colleges, the average amount of elective

work available increased from 41.3 to 46.2 percent.

TABLE 2:8

Proportions of Undergraduate Education Spent in
General Education, The Major, and Electives (in percentages)

 

 

1967 1974

Four-year Institutions:

General education require-

ments (mean) 43.1 33.5

Major requirements (range) 26.7-40.1 25.2-41.0

Available electives (range) 16.8-30.2 25.5-41.3
Two-year Institutions:

General education require-

ments (mean) 58.7 43.8

Available electives 41.3 46.2

 

SOURCE: Blackburn and associates, 1976, p. 11.

Phase II of the Blackburn and associates' study employed transcript
analysis of ten institutions to determine the extent to which student
course-taking actually agreed with the requirements stated in the catalog
statements, and to ascertain whether there had been a change since 1967 in
the extent of student specialization (p. 20).

Transcripts of bachelor's degree recipients of 1967 and 1974 were
collected, chosen from six majors: English, philosophy, biology, physics,

psychology, and political science, for both years. A random sample of 30

70

cases per major were requested for each year. The sample was limited to
include only those students who graduated within five years of matriculation.
A total of 360 transcripts were supplied from an institution. The total
number of transcripts included in their study for analyses was 1,794, 800

for 1967 graduates and 944 for 1974 graduates. There were 564 transcripts

for students who had completed a major in the humanities, 452 for those in the

natural sciences, and 778 in the social sciences (PP. 23-24).

TABLE 2:9

Percentage Point Changes in the Proportion of Undergraduate Education

Spent in Satisfying General Education Requirements, 1967 to 1974, Student

Course-Taking Behavior Versus Catalog Statements, Institutions 1 through 10
(+ - Greater Proportion, - = Smaller Proportion)

 

 

 

Student Catalog
Institution Behavior Statements
1 -32.6 -31.0
2 -l9.7 -31.0
3 -12.4 -15 O
4 -23.2 -20.0
5 -12.3 -48.0
6 - 9.0 - 7.0
7 - 5.9 + 2.0
8 - 1.5 - 2.0
9 + 1.1 -23.0
10 + 0.2 - 4.0

 

SOURCE: Blackburn and associates, 1976, p. 27.

With three exceptions (institutions 2, 5 and 9 from Table 2:9), the
percentage of the degree in general education requirements, as stated in
catalogs, and the percentage in actual courses taken to fulfill those
requirements were in general agreement (p. 27).

Changes in the major and electives are shown in Table 2:10. According

to Blackburn and associates, in addition to identifying the degree of

71

change in general education requirements, they also determined the degree
of change in major requirements in order to check practice against prescrip-

tion. Also, to determine the total elective time available to the student.

TABLE 2:10

Percentage Point Changes in the Proportion of Undergraduate
Education Spent in General Education, the Major, and Electives, 1967-1974
(Student Course-Taking;Behavior)

 

 

General Education Major
Requirements Requirements Electives
Institutions with large
elective increases
1 -32.6 -3.2 +35.9
2 -l9.7 +3.9 +15.8
3 -12.4 -l.7 +14.2
4 -23.2 +9.1 +14.l
5 -12.3 -l.0 +13.4
6 - 9.1 +6.6 + 2.5
7 - 5.9 +3.7 + 2.2
8 - 1.5 +1.9 - 0.3
Institutions with small
elective change
9 + 1.1 +4.0 - 4.9
10 + 0.2 -7.3 + 7.1

 

Catalog data are now shown.

SOURCE: Blackburn and associates, 1976, p. 28.

Their conclusions drawn originally from catalog analysis of Phase I
were verified in Phase II, the examination of student course-taking behavior.
Their catalog analyses agreed reasonably well with what students do to
meet requirements. The increase in available electives between 1967
and 1974 were due primarily to reductions in general education, major

requirements did not change in any significant way (p. 28).

72

SUMMARY
It was the controversy of the elective principle in undergraduate
education during the years from approximately 1870 to 1910 that gave
rise to catalog studies, or "fact finding" investigations concerning
the actual spread of the elective system as a part of the accepted pro-
cedure in building and administrating the collegiate course of study
in the United States.
Among some of the early fact finding investigators who were concerned
with the spread of the elective system, Palmer (1886), concluded from
his investigation of 15 New England colleges from 1875 to 1885, that:
(l) A rapid and fateful revolution is going on in the higher education
of New England. (2) The spread of it is in tolerable proportion to the
wealth of the college concerned. The new modes are expensive. (3) The
colleges which long ago foresaw their coming necessities have been able
to proceed more cautiously than those which acknowledged them late. (4)
The movement is one steady advance. There is no going back (p. 581).
Brigham (1897), published a report in which he studied the catalogs
of 25 colleges from 1885-1886 to determine the extent of the acceptance
of the elective system. Brigham found the 25 institutions to be divided
into three categories: those requiring the greatest number of subjects
especially in the freshman and sophomore years; those allowing a consider-
able amount of election; and those allowing the greatest amount of election.
After the 18808, the U.S. Bureau of Education began publishing detailed
subjects by colleges and universities. The 1888-1889 annual report listed
the subjects taught in 101 colleges and universities, with elective subjects

written in italics.

73

Phillips (1901) study of the elective system was based on the inspec-
tion of eighty-seven college catalogs and ninty-seven questionnaires
filled out by college presidents. "An estimate of ninety-seven replies
gave an average about sixty-four percent of all work as electives, while
a wholly independent examination of eighty-seven catalogues gave an
average of about sixty-two percent" (p. 212).

The main body ofPhillips' study dealt with the summaries of answers
made by the 97 college presidents in reply to his questionnaire in which
he had asked a series of questions (13 in all) concerning the present
extent of the use of the elective system, how long it had been in use,
and whether or not it was workable and advisable as part of the college
education. He found that twelve had at least 50 to 70 percent election;
fifty-one had less than 50 percent election, and thirty-four had 70 percent
or more of their work elective. He found such a great variety of arrange-
ments among the different institutions, he remarked, "we should no longer
speak of the Elective System, but of the Elective Systems" (p. 211).

Canfield (1905), reported to the forty-fourth annual meeting of
the National Education Association a compilation of replies received
from thirty-five colleges and universities throughout the country in
answer to the question whether or not wide election and narrow courses
tended to weaken the undergraduate course by too much specialization.

His findings were opposite to those of Phillips (1901), where he found
that the great majority were opposed to excessive free election. He

remarked, "

. . . you will find a very general consensus of opinion that
a student ought not to 'scatter,' and that sound and thorough training

ought to preceed every attempt at specialization" (p. 297).

74

Foster (1911), conducted an extensive catalog investigation of the
elective system in twenty-nine state universities, fourteen private colleges,
including nine women's colleges, and forty small colleges. Foster comments,
"the chief movement in the history of the college curriculum in America
is the breakdown of prescribed programs through the evolution of the
elective system" (p. v). By 1911, Butts (1939, p. 243), remarks that
Foster was convinced that the elective principle was here to stay, provided
the students were required to do a considerable amount of creditable
work in whatever field they chose.

Butts (1939, p. 239) summarizes the early fact finding investiga-
tions by stating:

The most obvious conclusions of all the investigations of

prevailing opinion and practice of the elective principle

seemed to be that it had entered in some form the great

majority of American colleges by 1910 and that the form

in which it appeared was exceedingly different from one

college to another.

Among some of the early contemporary fact findings investigators,

Rudy (1960) sought to depict trends in the development of the curriculum
of American liberal arts colleges as reflected in their published catalogs
from 1825 to 1905 and 1905 to 1955. However, it was the period of 1905-
1955 that Rudy concentrated on in order to carry forward a detailed study
of the college curricula in the twentieth century.

Rudy's 1825-1905 survey began with the year 1825 because it was
about that time that the most influential articulation of the ideals
of the early American college was published, namely, the Yale Report
of 1828. "For the next half century," remarks Rudy, "this report would

articulate for American educators the dominant conceptions of the role

of the liberal arts colleges and the types of curriculum appropriate to

75

it" (p. 5). The period between 1865-1900, a number of significant agents
and eventualities conspired together to produce the fundamental changes
in the college curriculum. Among these agents and eventualities were

the Civil War, the passage of the Morrill Act, German influence that
advanced research methods and specialized scholarship, and Eliot's free
elective system. It was these significant agents and eventualities that
led Rudy to ask, "What were the actual changes in curriculum which occurred
during the years following the Civil War?" (p. 9). In order to answer
this question, he selected ten representative institutions (three from
the Northeast, three from the South, and four from the Middle West) to
study. The catalogs of these colleges were sampled at twenty or twenty-
five year intervals for the period, 1825-1900. From these catalogs,

he collected data on enrollments, faculty, and departments of instruction.
The obvious conclusions from the data collected were that enrollments,
faculty, and departments of instruction increased. Also, he commented

on more or less common lines of development characteristic of these ten
institutions during this period.

It was the period, 1905-1955 that Rudy carried out a detailed study
of college curricula in twenty-eight institutions and their catalogs.
Each college and their catalogs were examined at ten-year intervals,
beginning in 1905 and proceeding through the year 1955. (Six colleges
were chosen to represent each of four major sections of the country,
namely, the Northeast, the Midwest, the South, and the Far West). The
regional samples, in turn, were subdivided into two groups, comprised
of three independent liberal arts colleges and three institutions affili-

ated with, or a constituent part of, a large university. In addition,

76

four Roman Catholic colleges were included, one for each section of the
country, to represent an important group of denominational schools closely
wedded to the liberal arts tradition.'

Specifically, Rudy investigated the number of separate, functioning
departments of instruction, and the number of semester courses offered.
The data collected revealed notable increases in both categories over
this period. The generalizations drawn from these data, remarks Rudy,

". . . is the vast expansion and diversification of liberal arts college
course offering" (p. 39).

Contemporary catalog studies concerned with the development of the
liberal arts curriculum after Rudy (1960), lay with Dressel and DeLisle-
1957-1967 (1969) and Blackburn and associates-l967-l974 (1976). Whereas
early studies were concerned with the spread of electives (Palmer 1886;
Brigham 1897; U.S. Bureau of Education 1888-1889; Phillips 1901; Canfield
1905; and Foster 1911), and later with the growth and development of
enrollment, faculty, departments of instruction, and the number of
semester courses offered (Rudy 1960); these contemporary studies were
more comprehensive and included over 200 institutions each (Blackburn
also included two-year colleges), but in the main, they primarily concerned
themselves with the three traditional components of the undergraduate
curriculum: breadth, depth, and electives, as reflected in published
college catalog statements.

The focus of the Dressel and DeLisle study was on the period
1957-1967, for which there were detailed analyses of course offerings
(arts and sciences) in a random sample of 322 institutions intended to

be representative of types, control, size, geographic locations, and

77

regional accreditation for the entire United States (according to
Education Directory: Part 3, Higher Education, as presented in the

American Council of Education's American Universities and Colleges,

 

Ninth Edition, 1964).

Methodology:

 

Their pattern of analyses was straightforward, each institution
was asked to provide a current catalog (1967) and one of ten year
previous (1957). Three hundred and twenty-two colleges and universities
submitted catalogs yielding a total of 644 for analyses. A coded form
was developed to tabulate the frequency and range of specific requirements
‘for 1967 and ten years previous--l957. 'Tabulations for quantifiable
items were expressed in total frequencies and in percentages to determine

the extent of agreement or variation in curricular practices.

Breadth, Dgpth, and Electives:

 

The breadth component of their study included the humanities, natural
sciences, and the social sciences. Subjects included in their analyses
of the humanities were Englsih composition, literature, speech, foreign
language (B.A. and B.S. degrees) and foreign language proficiency tests,
philosophy, and religion. The biological and physical sciences and mathe-
matics were the natural sciences segment, and the social sciences included
sociology, anthropology, political science, psychology, and economics.

The undergraduate depth component in their study included a wide
variation within majors but the focus was on pursuing a discipline or
program of special interest to insure understanding in depth in at least

once area of man's knowledge. The elective component (directed or free)

78

was expressed as those subjects chosen by students for their inherent
interest and values.

"By this required exposure to breadth, depth, coupled with free choice,"
remarked Dressel & DeLisle (p. 13), "the student is introduced to the basic
elements of his culture, is provided a basis for a vocation or graduate
study, and is stimulated to acquire an enduring intellectual appetite.
Variations among institutions suggest a diversity of ideas as to the best
means of accomplishing the ends of higher education through a pattern of
curricular requirement."

1967 Composite Profile of Breadth, Depth, and Electives for the Bachelor
of Arts Degree (See Table on the following page)

1. For the basic and general education component, slightly more than
two-thirds of the institutions required 31 to 40 percent or 41 to 50 per-
cent of the total graduation requirements. The median was 39 percent.

2. More than three-fourths of the 310 institutions (12 institutions
granting only the Bachelor of Science degree were excluded) clustered at
21 to 30 percent and 31 to 40 percent for the major concentration combined
with any related or directed requirements. The median requirement was
30 percent of the total for graduation.

3. Electives spread over the full range of requirements, though more
than one-half of the institutions clustered at 21 to 30 percent and 31

to 40 percent of the total requirements. The median was 29 percent.

Medians for the B.A. degree requirements provided this profile:

Basic and general education requirements 39 percent
Major or concentration requirements 31 percent
Electives 29 percent

 

The focus of the Blackburn and associates's study (1976) was on the
period 1967-1974, for which there were detailed analyses of the three
traditional components of the undergraduate curriculum: general education
(breadth), the major (depth), and electives, in a random sample of 271

institutions (210 four-year and 61 two-year) according to Carnegie's

79

TABLE 2:7
Current (1967) Curricular Profiles for the Bachelor of Arts Degree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic Major or Area Concen-
Percentage and tration with Related
of Total General and Directed Electives
Requirements N % N % N %
O 4 1 5 2 3 1
1-10 - - _ - - 21 7
11-20 2 l 39 13 59 19
21-30 47 15 111 36 86 28
31-40 110 35 126 41 86 28
41-50 103 33 23 7 41 13
51-60 33 ll 6 2 7 2
61-70 8 3 - - 2 1
71-80 3 l - - 2 1
81-90 - - - - l (1)
91-100 - - - - 2 1
Totals 310(2) 100 310 101 310 101
Median 39 percent 31 percent 29 percent

 

(1) Less than 1 percent.
(2) Twelve institutions granting only the Bachelor of Science degree are
excluded.

SOURCE: Dressel & DeLisle, 1969, p. 37.

Classification of Higher Education (1974), representing five major insti-
tutional categories: research universities, other doctoral-granting uni-
versities, comprehensive universities and colleges, liberal arts colleges,
and community colleges. A total of seventeen institutions by Carnegie
type were included in their study, or 12 percent of the total institutions
listed in the Carnegie classification. Their sample met the requirement

of representativeness and geographic distribution.

Methodology:

The methodological procedures by which Blackburn and associates inves-

tigated these 271 institutions were in two phases. In phase 1, they

80

examined degree requirements from the 1966-1967 and 1973-1974 catalogs
for each institution with regard to "amount"--that is, the specified
minimum number of credit hours--and the proportion of overall degree
reqirements. Phase II of their study employed transcripts analysis for
a selected number of institutions. The actual programs of graduates of
six arts and sciences departments at ten colleges and universities in
1967 and 1974 were examined. The principal goals in Phase II were to
determine the extent to which student course-taking actually agreed with
the requirements stated in the official announcements of colleges and
universities, and to ascertain whether there had been a change since 1967
in the extent of student specialization.

A data form was developed to list tabulations from the 1966-1967
and 1973-1974 catalogs for each institution. These included:

1. The total number of credit hours required for graduation.

2. The proportion of degree-credit hours represented by general
education requirements, the content and structure of the general education
requirements, specific general education course requirements, and
distinctive patterns of general education requirements.

3. The proportion of degree-credit hours required in each of six
selected majors. (Two-year colleges were analyzed for general educaion

and electives only; the A.A. degree does not generally require a major).

4. The proportion of graduation requirements available as electives.

Total Hours, Breadth, Depth, and Electives:

 

For each institution, the minimum total number of hours required
for the four-year college's B.A. (or B.S.), and the two-year college's
A.A. was obtained from its catalog. Within the general education require-

ments of each institution, the credit-hours for all courses fulfilling

81

general education were tabulated according to content (humanities, natural
science, social science, and other) and structure.

The undergraduate depth component in their study included two majors
selected from each of the three main areas of general education: English
composition and philosophy were chosen from the humanities, biology and
physics from the natural sciences, and political science and psychology
from the social sciences. The total minimum credit-hour requirements
was tabulated for each of the six majors. This figure included a minor
or related work required to complete a major but did not include recommended
courses, either within or outside the major department. The six majors
were chosen because they were offered in most colleges and universities
in their sample and they were offered consistently in the same division.

The elective component included in their study constituted the portion
of the undergraduate degree work remaining after the general education
and major components were completed. (Since two-year colleges did not
always have requirements for the major, electives were defined as what

remained after general education requirements were tabulated).

Overall Degree Requirements: Breadth, Depth, and Electives:

In most of the institutions included in their study, the typical
course of study had consisted of three broad areas. General education
requirements represented the means of achieving breadth in the curriculum;
major requirements were viewed as the medium through which students added
depth to their educational experience. The remainder of the student's
curriculum (over which the student has complete control) were the elective

portion of undergraduate study. Two-year colleges have two components:

82

general education and electives only. Table 2:8 displays the overall
change in degree requirements between 1967 and 1974.

From the table it can be noted that the general education component
diminished considerably, while the major component remained relatively
stable; the net effect was an increase in the elective component. The
maximum percentage of elective work at four-year colleges increased from
30.2 percent in 1967 to 41.3 percent in 1974, and the minimum percentage
increased from 16.8 to 25.5 percent. For the two-year colleges, the
average amount of elective work available increased from 41.3 to 46.2
percent.

TABLE 2:8

Proportions of Undergraduate Education Spent in
General Education, The Major, and Electives (in percentages)

 

 

 

1967 1974

Four-year Institutions:

General education require-

ments (mean) 43.1 33.5

Major requirements (range) 26.7-40.1 25.2-41.0

Available electives (range) 16.8-30.2 25.5-41.3
Two-year Institutions:

General education require-

ments (mean) 58.7 53.8

Available electives 41.3 46.2

 

SOURCE: Blackburn and associates, 1976, p. 11.

83

Phase II of the Blackburn and associates' study employed transcript
analysis of ten institutions to determine the extent to which student
course behavior actually agreed with the requirements stated in the
catalog statements, and to ascertain whether there had been a change
since 1967 in the extent of student specialization.

The percentage of the degree in general education requirements,
as stated in catalogs, and the percentage in actual courses taken to
fulfill those requirements were in general agreement.

In addition to identifying the degree of change in general education
requirements, they also determined the degree of change in major require-
ments in order to check practice against prescription. Also, to determine
the total elective time available to the student.

Their conclusions drawn originally from catalog analysis of Phase
I were verified in Phase II, the examination of student course taking
behavior. Their catalog analyses agreed reasonably well with what

students do to meet requirements.

84

CONTEMPORARY OVERVIEW OF THE THREE TRADITIONAL COMPONENTS
OF THE UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM: BREADTH, DEPTH, AND ELECTIVES

The curricular terms "breadth," "depth," and "electives" are

" "the major" (or concentra-

generally associated with "general education,
tion), and "electives" (free or prescribed), respectively. The Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1977) states, "These terms

are found in the curricular of the overwhelming majority of colleges

in the United States, but they are not universal" (p. 123).

General Education

 

General education has been variously described in the past as "the
discipline and the furniture of the mind" (1828 Yale Report, in Crane,
1963, p. 85); "liberal education" (Harvard Committee, 1945, in Levine,
1977, p. 603); "preparation for participation in a democratic society"
(President's Commission on Higher Education, 1947, in Levine 1977, p. 608);
and "the basis for common humanity among people" (Levine and Weingart,
1973, p. 50).

In the contemporary undergraduate curriculum, general education,
has become known as the first statement of requirements for the baccalau-
reate degree and is used to describe "breadth" requirements. General
education, remarks Levine (1977):

"is the breadth component of the undergraduate curriculum and

is usually defined on institution-wide or college-wide basis.

It generally involves study in several subject areas and

frequently aims to provide a common undergraduate experience

for all students at a particular institution" (p. 3).

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1977) adds,

"Breadth components of general education introduce students

to the concerns and methods of several broad subject fields;

typically the social sciences, the humanities, the physical

sciences, the biological sciences, and, occasionally, the

fine arts. This component of general education is often
referred to as 'distribution'" (p. 122).

85

Williams (1968) comments, "The three major fields of human knowledge

are the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. This
practice is followed in American colleges, and is called 'general education'"
(p. x). Similarly, Dressel and DeLisle (1969) commented, "General education
refers to courses that acquaint students with the content and methodology

of the major areas of learning: social sciences, natural sciences, and
humanities" (p. 12).

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1977,

 

pp. 103-110), reports on the Carnegie Surveys of 1969-1970, 1975-1976
on the percentage of undergraduate enrollments and teaching faculty in
subject fields such as the humanities, social sciences, and natural

sciences. According to the Carnegie Foundation, enrollments in humanities

 

majors dropped sharply from 9 to 5 percent of all undergraduates between

1969 and 1976; while the percentage of faculty teaching humanities dropped

from 19 to 18 percent during this same period (Figure 2:1). "Instruction

in the humanities," comments the Carnegie Foundation, "appears to be

expensive for colleges, particularly in comparison to the professions,

which have 58 percent of the majors and 37 percent of the faculty. Instruc-

tion in the humanities has always been 'labor intensive.‘ One reason

is that these disciplines have always been the providers of service courses

for majors in other disciplines and of stable components of general educa-

tion--they provide much of the core of the undergraduate education" (p. 104).
The social science majors enrolled 8 percent of all undergraduates

in 1976 and no longer have the largest share of the enrollment of any

subject field other than the combined professions (Figure 2:1). The

percentage of faculty members teaching in the social sciences was the

same in 1976 as it was in 1969--12 percent (p. 106).

86

 

 

     

 

sl"“$ 58
v'°"
i,
3 s
1 In
: :.
Undergraduate Enrollment-1969 Undergraduate Enrollment-1976
Teaching Faculty-1969 Teaching Faculty-1976

 

 

 

FIGURE 2:1

Percentage of Undergraduate Enrollments and Teaching Faculty
in Subject Fields, 1969 and 1975-1976

*Includes "no major" and such subjects as ethnic studies, women's studies,
and environmental studies, all of which have very low enrollments.

Note: Numbers may not add to 100 owing to rounding.

Source: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaohing (1977).

87

In 1976, 8 percent of the undergraduates were majors in the physical
sciences, a modest percentage-point increase over the enrollment in 1969.
In a similar but even stronger pattern, majors in the biological Sciences
attracted 5 percent of the undergraduates in 1969 and 7 percent in 1976
(Figure 2:1). The net results of these shifts is that if the physical
and biological sciences are combined, the percentage of undergraduates
majoring in these two branches of the sciences (outside the professions)

increased by about 25 percent between 1969 and 1976 (p. 108).

The Major (or concentration)

 

Second in the statements of requirements for the baccalaureate degree
and is used to describe "depth" requirements is "the major" (or concen-
tration). This component of the baccalaureate degree dates back to 1909

when A. Lawrence Lowell of Harvard used the term concentration to identify

 

the depth component of the curriculum in contrast to distribution or

 

the breadth component (Butts 1939, Levine 1977, Mattfeld 1975). However,
Payton (1961) reports that the term majgg appears to have been used for
the first time in The John Hopkins University catalog of 1877-78; along
with the term migo£_denoting an abbreviated major. John Hopkins under-
graduates were required to show "marked proficiency" in two of the univer-
sity's six academic departments. The major involved two years of study
and the minor required one year of study. Specifically, the The John
Hopkins catalog stated that "the major course must be followed in any
subjects which the candidate offers as one of his two chief departments

of work; the minor course must be followed in those subjects taken as

subsidiary" (p. 58).

88

Payton identifies two possible sources for the terms major and minor.
One is the German university, which required students to complete a
hauptfach (major) and nebenfach (minor) for the doctorate (p. 59). "John

' comments Levine (1977) "adopted the same system for its own

Hopkins,’
doctoral programs, so it was quite possible that the terms subsequently
diffused to the undergraduate college" (p. 30). "Through John Hopkins

' comments Payton (1961), the terms "major" and "minor" diffused

graduates,‘
to Michigan, Bryn Mawr, Indiana, and from thence to Stanford University"
(p. 57; Rudolph, 1977, p. 227).

The other possibility is that the terms were introduced by Charles
D'Urban Morris, first collegiate professor of Greek and Latin, and head
of the collegiate division at John Hopkins. Payton suggests that Morris
could have learned the terms from the classical grammar of Priscian,

a writer who published his lectures in the form of eighteen books which

were widely studied in the Middle Ages, became known in the first sixteen

books as Priscianus magus or major and in the last two as Priscianus

 

 

[23323. Priscian's writings were used at both the University of Paris
and at Oxford University, where Morris went to graduate school and later
taught. The terms 9312'. and M were also used to describe portions
of the classical curriculum, such as the major logic and minor logic
or major ethics and minor ethics at Emmanuel College, Cambridge in the
seventeenth century and in American colleges between the late eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries (pp. 59-61).

In the contemporary undergraduate curriculum, the major, states

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teachings (1977):

89

"is that part of the curriculum in which a student concentrates
on one subject or a group of subjects. Its content is usually
defined by one academic department, but it can also be defined
jointly by two or more departments and, in special cases (and
with faculty approval) by individual students" (p. 122).

Similarly, adds Levine (1977):

"The major, or concentration, which usually consists of a number
of courses in one field or in two or more related fields, is

the depth component of the undergraduate curriculum. It is
intended to provide students with a body of knowledge, methods
of study, and practice appropriate to a subject or subject area"
(p. 28).

The Carnegie Council's 1976 Catalog Study of 1975 catalogs from

a representative sample of 270 two and four year colleges and universities,

as reported in Levine's Handbook On Undergraduate Curriculum (1977) and

 

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1977), reports
on the percentage of bachelor's degree programs in eight subject areas
requiring varying amounts of the undergraduate curriculum to be spent
on the major (Table 2:11).

According to Levine, occupational areas (business, education, engi-
neering, health sciences, and trade and technical arts) generally require
more time for the major than the arts and sciences subjects (humanities,
social sciences, and science). Among the arts and sciences courses,
the natural sciences (median 21-40 percent) tend to require the longest
time for major. The social sciences (median, 21-30 percent) require
the least in four-year programs. Among occupational programs, engineering,
health sciences, and trade and technical arts require the greatest amount
of concentration. The median amount of major for each is 61-70 percent
of the undergraduate program. Levine (1977) comments, the variation

within each of the eight subject areas in the amount of time required

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91

for the major is quite large; and at least as great as the variation
between the subject areas (p. 33). Dressel and DeLisle (1969) also noted
wide variations within majors in a 1967 study of arts and sciences

(pp. 28-29).

Electives

The last statement of requirements for the baccalaureate degree
are the elective courses which remain to be taken after a student satisfies
the general education (breadth) and major (depth) requirements.

This component of todays undergraduate curriculum dates back to
1869 when Charles W. Eliot of Harvard University announced his advocacy
of electives ignored in the heavily prescribed programs of early American
colleges (Brubacher & Rudy, 1958 & 1969; Butts 1939; Levine 1977; Mattfeld
1975; Rudolph 1962 & 1977; Phillips 1901). However, long before Eliot
introduced his elective system at Harvard, remarks Brubacher and Rudy
(1958), Thomas Jefferson at the University of Virginia advocated the
granting of a larger element of choice in college studies (p. 99). It
was Jefferson's influence, comments Phillip (1901) that dominated the
organization of the University of Virginia, and in 1825 it opened on
the basis of one degree with an

"elective system of studies, by which each student was per-

mitted to elect freely the one or more departments in which

he would do his work; his free choice made under the advice

of those older and wiser, and from an appreciation of his

own needs" (p. 208).

During the years from approximately 1870 to 1910, reports Butts (1939)

a series of studies were made when the interest in the elective system

was running highest (p. 239). Discussed in the next section.

92

"The credit system," explains Levine (1977) "was introduced in part
of the growing practice of allowing students to include elective courses
in their undergraduate programs. Colleges needed some mechanism for
keeping track of the comparative academic worth of the courses students
took and of student progress toward their degrees" (PP. 158-59).

In the contemporary undergraduate curriculum, electives, according
to The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching are:

"Subjects students study of their own free choice. The only

basic requirement is that students must take enough elective

units, in addition to those earned in the major and in required

general education, to meet the minimum number of units of the

college requires each student to take in order to graduate or

earn a degree" (p. 122).

"Presumably," remarked Dressel and DeLisle (1969), "these provide for
individualizing a program by permitting students to select on the basis
of personal interests or goals, rather than because of faculty-determined
principles" (p. 34).

A8 of 1977, at most colleges and universities, electives now represent
about one-third of the total curriculum, but there was until recently
some pressure for making them the dominant component of undergraduate
education (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1977,

p. 201). In 1969 a majority of American undergraduates (56 percent)
agreed that "undergraduate education would be improved if all courses

were elective" and so did 20 percent of the faculty (Carnegie Surveys,

1969-1970, in Trow, 1975, p. 26).

Components' Share of the Curriculum

 

In a study of the curriculum (between 1967 and 1974) conducted by

Blackburn and his associates (1977) at the University of Michigan, they

93

were concerned with the three major components of the curriculum: general
education, the major, and electives, and their share of the undergraduate
curriculum. The proportions of the curriculum occupied by these three
components in 1967 and 1974 are shown in Figure 2:2. The overall change
involves a substantial reduction in general education and a corresponding
increase in electives, with the result that by 1974 the three major
components came to have essentially equal proportions of the undergraduate

curriculum (Pp. 10-11).

1967

1974

 

 

Major Requirements
33%

Major Requirements
33%

 

 

 

General Education
Requirements
43%

General Education
Requirements
34%

 

 

Electives
24%

 

 

Electives
33%

 

 

SOURCE: Blackburn, et. 81., 1977, pp. lO-ll.

FIGURE 2 :2

Percentage of curriculum devoted to major requirements,

general education requirements, and free electives in four-

year institutions of higher education, 1967 and 1974

 

94

SUMMARY

A contemporary overview of the three traditional components of the
undergraduate curriculum: breadth (general education), depth (the major),
and elective was presented. In this overview, current contemporary defi-
nitions of general education, the major, and electives were given. General
education is the breadth component of the undergraduate curriculum and
is usually defined on institution-wide or college-wide basis. It generally
involves study in several subject areas and frequently aims to provide
a common undergraduate experience for all students at a particular institution.
The major is that of the curriculum in which a student concentrates on
one subject or group of subjects. Its content is usually defined by
one academic department, but it can also be defined jointly by two or
more departments and, in special cases (and with faculty approval) by
individual students. Electives are subjects students study on their
own free choice. The only basic requirement is that students must take
enough elective units, in addition to those earned in the major and in
required general education, to meet the minimum number of units the college
requires each student to take in order to graduate or earn a degree.

In addition to these definitions, analyses of each were also given.
For general education, the percentage of undergraduate enrollments and
teaching faculty in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences
were given, according to the Carnegie Surveys of 1969-1970 and 1975-
1976 (as reported in The Carnggie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching, 1977). Accordingly: humanities majors decreased from 9 to
5 percent of all undergraduates between 1969 and 1976; while the percen-

tage of faculty teaching humanities decreased from 19 to 18 percent during

95

this same period. The social sciences majors decreased from 18 percent
to 8 percent between 1969 and 1976. The percentage of faculty members
teaching in the social sciences was the same in 1976 as it was in 1969--
12 percent. In the natural sciences (physical and biological) there
was an increase of 3 percent from 12 percent in 1969 to 15 percent in
1976.

For the major component, from the Carnegie Council's Catalog Study
(as reported in Levine's Handbook on Undergraduate Curriculum, 1977),
occupational areas (business, education, engineering, health sciences,
and trade and technical arts) generally required more time for the major
than the arts and science subjects (humanities, social sciences, and
natural sciences). Among the arts and sciences, the natural sciences
tend to require the longest time for a major, while the social sciences
required the least time. Among occupational programs, engineering, health
sciences, and trade and technical arts required the greatest amount of
concentration.

Overall degree requirements for the three traditional components
of the undergraduate curriculum: general education, the major, and electives
(as reported in Blackburn and associates' 1976 study of the curriculum
between 1967 and 1974) there was a substantial reduction in general
education from 43 percent in 1967 to 34 percent in 1974; and a corres-
ponding increase in electives from 24 percent in 1967 to 33 percent in
1976. There was no increase in the major component. The net result
over this period was that the three major components of the undergraduate

curriculum came to have essentially equal shares.

96

Comments on Remedial Courses,
Non-Discrimination Policy Statements (as published in college
catalogs), and Minority Courses

Remedial Education-Some Definitions

 

Cross (1976, p. 30) and Levine (1978, p. 55), reported that the terms

remedial and developmental education are frequently used as synonyms for

 

compensatory education, but suggested that there are important differences

 

between the two. "'Remedial' education implies that remediation of student
deficiencies in order that the student may enter a program for which

he was previously ineligible. Its emphasis is upon correcting weaknesses'"
(Levine, p. 55). "Whereas 'developmental' or 'compensatory' education
refers to the development of skills or attitudes and may not have anything
to do with making a student eligible for another program. Under these
latter approaches, curricular materials are frequently modified to begin
credit work where the student is, and the academic calendar modified

so that the student can move at his own pace in acquiring mastery of

a course" (Cross, p. 30).

Roueche (1968, pp. 21-22), provided this definition, "In general
terms remediation means making up--remedying--student deficiencies.
Remediation implies that an institution is attempting to get a student
from where he is to where he wants to be. It conveys the image of providing
students with a second chance."

Cross (p. 31), comments these definitions suggests that the distinction
between remedial and developmental education lies in the pedagogical
sophistication of the approach. In her view, a more useful distinction
is to be found in the purpose or goal of the program. "If the purpose

of the program is to overcome academic deficiencies, I would term the

 

97

program remedial, in the standard dictionary sense in which remediation

is concerned with correcting weaknesses. If, however, the purpose of

the program is to develop the diverse talents of students whether academic
or not, I would term the program developmental." She supports developmental
education where "Its mission is to give attention to the fullest possible
development of talent and to develop strengths as well as to correct
weaknesses. Remediation in academic skills areas is a legitimate part

of developmental education" (p. 31). In a similar vein, Roueche (1968,

p. 22) adds, "Society cannot afford to cast aside individuals who may,
given the opportunity, achieve a higher level of personal, academic,

and occupational competence than they had in late adolescence; rather,
society should encourage all individuals to learn to the limits of

their abilities."

Brief History

Contrary to popular belief remedial education (and subsequently
remedial courses) is not a new phenomenon within higher education brought
into being by the Civil Rights movements and equal educational opportunity.
Cross (1976, p. 24) and Levine (1978, p. 56), reported that the first
course in remediation for academic deficiencies was introduced at Wellesley
College (Massachusetts) in 1884. "The notion that colleges bear some
responsibility for helping students overcome weaknesses in academic back-
grounds and skills has been a part of the American college scene ever
since" (Cross, p. 24).

"In the early years of higher education,‘ remarked Cross (p. 25),

"the perceived cause of poor academic performance was poor study habits.

98

It is easy to imagine that the sons and daughters of 'good' families
were seen not as stupid, or the products of poor elementary training,

but as immature and in need of discipline in planning and organizing
their study." Consequently, the original remedial course was a voluntary
noncredit how-to-study course, developed as a student service by the
dean of students office (Cross, p. 25; Levine, p. 57).

The course sought to promote good study habits through attention

to such things as the proper distribution of time, efficient

procedures in note taking, tests and how to study for them, the

proper study atmosphere, and appropriate health practices

(Cross, p. 25).

"In the late 19308 and early 19408," remarked Levine (p. 57), "remedial
reading instruction.wa8 introduced, often as.supp1ement to the how-to-
study courses." Cross (p. 25) adds, "Thus, the perception of the problems
of low academic achievers was broadened to include inadequate development
of fundamental academic skills in reading speed, comprehension, vocabulary,
and other so-called mechanics of reading." "During this period," remarked
Levine (p. 57) "prior training was thought the primary cause of student
deficiency."

"In the 19508 and early 19608," continued Levine (p. 57), remedial
education focused upon high ability students performing poorly academically.
In the mid-19608, colleges became more interested in low-academic-ability
students:

The remedial efforts of the period included intensive mathematics

and English courses; counseling; and U.S. government-supported

programs such as Upward Bound, created in 1965, and Special Ser-

vices to Disadvantaged Students, established in 1968, which were
designed to provide students with compensatory instruction,
counseling, and support services. The causes for academic

deficiencies were thought to be low academic ability, psychological-
motivational blocks to learning, and sociocultural factors.

99

Cross (p. 34) reported that two important events were taking place in
higher education in the 19608--the drive for civil rights and the rapid
expansion of open-admissions colleges. "However, research clearly

demonstrates, that the overwhelming majority of low achievers who gained

admission to colleges through open-door policies were not ethnic minorities.

They were predominantly the white sons and daughters of blue-collar workers.

Nevertheless, many people, on and off the campuses, had the
inaccurate notion that remedial classes were established fog
ethnic minorities. The perceptual problem was exacerbated when
many of the remedial programs were placed under the auspices of
federally funded programs for the 'disadvantaged'--which usually
meant ethnic minorities. The result was a tremendous pressure
to 'prove' that a little remedial or compensatory education was
all that was needed for ethnic minorities to join the mainstream
of higher education. '

"In the 19708," continued Levine (p. 57) "colleges that cater to
students low in academic skills and information shifted from remedial
to compensatory education. This shift involved the use of tutors and
laboratory technicians in addition to counselors and faculty members."

Non-Discrimination Policy
Statement (As Published In College Catalogs)
Discrimination Prohibited

No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race,

color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in

be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination

under any program or activity receiving Federal financial

assistance, or be so treated on the basis of sex under most
education programs or activities receiving Federal assistance.

It was not until the passage of President Johnson's Executive Order
11246 (Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, "Non-Discrimination
in Federally Assisted Programs) that colleges and universities receiving

federal assistance for research or development were required by federal

law to publish in all correspondence relating to higher education a

100

statement of non-discrimination. However, this law does not only apply
to colleges and universities of higher education, it applies to trade
and technical schools, and other educational institutions receiving
federal assistance.

Prior to the passage of President Johnson's Executive Order 11246,
many colleges and universities over the years received federal assistance
in the millions of dollars to conduct research, particularly in areas
of military defense. Powell (1970, p. 76), remarked, "Millions, I should
say billions of dollars a year are poured into our universities from
the defense department to promote the kinds of research that leads us
into Vietnam, the ABM, nuclear strategies, and all the other things that
many of us find so abhorrent to foreign policy in this country. Without
the universities, our defense department and defense establishment could
not survive a month were it not for the willing and thoughtful cooperation
of them." In a similar vein, Winston (1974, p. 212), remarks, "Universities,
as a vital part of the 'knowledge,"were identified with the political
policies opposed by radical students. This should not have been entirely
a surprise to unviersity administrators, since an increasingly close
involvement with government and industry was the hallmark of the strongest
universities in the United States."

The passage of Johnson's Executive Order was, and is, a political
issue, but the reality that confronts colleges and universities and other
educational institutions is simple: all educational institutions
receiving federal assistance must publish a non-discrimination policy
statement in all correspondence relating to education. To assist

educational institutions receiving federal assistance, The Federal

101

Interagency Committee on Education of the Department of Health, Education,
and Welfare published a guide entitled "Keeping Your School or College
Catalog in Compliance with Federal Laws and Regulations," 1978. This

guide represents a collaborative effort of several education associations
and those federal agencies which administer educational programs to assist
educational institutions in bringing their catalogs and other informational

materials into compliance with Federal laws and regulations.

Minority Studies*

It was the protest demands of Chicano and black students during
the mid 19608 and early 19708 that gave birth to minority studies and
not the institutions of higher education. ‘This is an important landmark
since minorities did not have a precedent to draw from, The colleges
and universities that acknowledged minorities studies did so grudgingly.
The political environment out of which minority studies came set the
stage for the polemic academic debate that was soon to come. Deep-rooted
in this debate was the question of legitimacy. Henderson (1974, p. 72)
Hand Mayhew (1977, p. 127) reported beside minority studies, there were
demands for programs, departments, minority student unions, and increased

financial aids for minority students.

 

*The use of the term "minority" refers to America's traditional minorities--
blacks and Chicanos. However, the term is not meant to be exhaustive,

but it was these groups that institutions of higher education expressed
their concerns. In addition, literature pertinent to minority studies

have generally centered around blacks, but in reference they included

other minorities, i.e., "blacks and other minorities."

102

Minority studies were also viewed as an important aid to develop
a sense of minority identity and pride in students who were encountering
for the first time the full impact of the predominant majority culture
that existed on college and university campuses. Secondly, minority
studies challenged the purposes of higher education; minority students
wanted their educational experiences to be relevant to them as minority
people. Minority students were not satisfied with the quality of the
curriculum of humanities, history, and social sciences suffered severe
criticism on the basis that they failed to depict the true cultural,
intellectual, historical, psychological, and sociological role of minorities
in American society (Mayhew, 1977, pp. 141-142).

Thus, the demands for minority studies and/or programs, and/or depart-
ments centered around the indictment that higher education had failed
in its responsibility to equally educate and illustrate minorities. The
demands were political since minorities questioned traditional educational
values. Any academic request for the implementation of minority study
courses had to be legitimatized before they received any academic consider-
ation from the colleges' central administration and eventually from depart-
ments that were to house them. Hence, the polemic academic debate between
minority staffs and the central administration was a central issue. The
demands were also political because most colleges and universities could
not legitimize their position on how they recruited minority students
and faculty members, in how they related to the minority community, and

in the kinds of courses they offered.

103

The curriculum that developed out of the newly formed programs and/or
departments were for the most part developed out of spontaneity by mis-
guided students or by whimsical ideas without regard to historical or
cultural needs. The faculty members who were recruited to teach the
courses were either unqualified or unsophisticated in their attempts.
Jordon (1975, p. 161) and Mayhew (1977, p. 142) remarked, the availability
"pool" of qualified minority teachers were virtually nil, and those who
were qualified were sought out by colleges and universities who wanted
to "window-dress" their institutions. "College and universities faculties
are over 95 percent white and high-ranking minority administrators are
just as rare as high-ranking corporate officers" (Jordon, p. 160).

The initial courses that were developed and implemented were primarily
but not exclusively centered around minority identity, and those students
who took such classes were mostly minorities. This approach was necessary
since most minorities were not totally aware of their historical, social,
and cultural roots. Another approach was to define minority studies
and how they could relate to the traditional curriculum since available
literature on minorities depicted them as a sub-cultural element in
society--they were supposed to return to their ancestoral lands, or become
an indistinguishable part of the majority culture.

The prevailing attitudes of most colleges and universities viewed
the early minority courses as being revolutionary and as a training ground
to develop radical and militant minorities. In actuality, the initial
thrust of minority studies was an attempt to articulate a new system
of legitimacy. For example, the new courses attempted to explore new

ways to approach societal changes. Political science is an example of

104

how groups of peoples interact with society; economics attempts to weaken

and strengthen the economic system; history legitimizes itself by
circumventing historical truth; sociology attempts to eradicate social
problems by researching the problem, and psychology attempts to mode

cultural differences. The traditional curriculum as perceived by minorities
recognized its blatant weaknesses, vis-a-vis their own lives and experiences--
minorities were demanding an alternative to their education. "White

campuses . . . treated anything pertaining to minorities solely as

subjects for doctoral theses" (Henderson, p. 73).

The polemic debate minority staffs and the central administration
was twofold: On the one hand minorities were asking that a curriculum
be designed by which it could provide a vehicle by which young minorities
could find their historical roots and resurrect their culture, and
serve as a refreshing pedagogical idea for developing and facilitating
the growth of young minorities in education. On the other hand, colleges
and universities were denying expansion because of financial and other
priority reasons.

Since the advent of minorities on campuses and the inclusion of
minority studies in the college curriculum, there are many colleges and
universities that house minority departments and in some places, minority
colleges. Any final appraisal is difficult to assess since minority
studies and their participation in higher education is still a recent
academic phenomenon.

More recently has been the expansion of women's courses in higher
education. One of the major purposes of women's courses was to emphasize

women's contribution to society, both on the contemporary and historic

105

scene. Another purpose was to restore women's self-esteem and to instill

a sense of identity.

CHAPTER III

DESIGN OF THE STUDY

Introduction

 

The design of this study, while not a replication of any previous
research reviewed in the literature, has nevertheless evolved from
research methodology and recommendations of earlier researchers concerned
with changing practices and trends of the undergraduate curriculum as

documented by the college catalog.

The Sample

 

The sample of this study was a select group of sixteen private lib-
eral arts colleges and their catalogs spanning a period of twenty-five
years: 1953-1978. The sample does not represent any particular size,
control, or geographic location. However, the sample is representative
of Liberal Arts Colleges I and II, and Comprehensive Colleges and Univer-
sities, as identified by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education's
A classification of Institutions of Higher Education, (1973). Of the
sixteen colleges, 9, or 6.3 percent are classified as Liberal Arts Colleges
1; 6, or 1.1 percent are classified as Liberal Arts Colleges II, and
l, or 2.1 percent is classified as a Comprehensive Universities and Colleges.
(Appendix A).

College catalog representation for each year during this twenty-
five year period was not available, rather the catalogs ranged from 1953-
1978 in staggered single years, and on occasion, two-year catalogs were
represented. Because of this arrangement, colleges and their catalogs

were organized into five, five-year block intervals. For each block

106

107

interval, one catalog of each college was selected to represent a five-
year block interval. The block interval were: Block I: 1953-1958,
Block II: 1958-1963, Block III: 1963-1968, Block IV: 1968-1973, and
Block V: 1973-1978. The total number of catalogs available for this
study was 76 out of 80, five catalogs per college per block interval
(except Block Interval I (n = 13) and Block Interval II (n = 15).

(Appendix B).

Methodology

Two methodological approaches were followed: First, a longitudinal
approach was used to examine and identify the changes in the undergraduate
curriculum across institutions for each block interval and over the entire
twenty-five year period: 1953-1978. Second, a cross-sectional approach
was used to examine and identify the changes in the undergraduate curriculum
between institutions over this same twenty-five year period.

Longitudinal Approach: For each college and its catalog in each
five-year block interval, tabulations were arranged and recorded to each
research question asked in the study. For example, how many semester
hours were required for the baccalaureate degree? Thus, catalog documenta-
tion was recorded across each college for each five-year block interval
spanning over a period of twenty-five years: 1953-1978. Dressel and
DeLisle (1969) used a similar approach when they recorded undergraduate
trends of 322 institutions between 1957-1967 where each institution was
asked to provide a current catalog (1967) and one of ten years previous
(1957). Blackburn and associates (1976) also used this similar approach

with 271 institutions between 1967-1974.

108

Cross-sectional Approach: For each college and its catalog in each

 

five-year block interval, tabulations were arranged and recorded according
to each research question asked in the study. For example, how do insti-
tutions differ in the number of semester hours required for the baccalau-
reate degree? Thus, catalog documentation was recorded between each
college during each five-year block interval, and subsequently, for the
entire twenty-five year period: 1953-1978. This approach, however,

was not revealed in the literature pertinent to this study.

Treatment of the Data

 

1. Table formats, graphs, and descriptive statistics (percentages)
were used to depict the various curriculum changes and/or trends.
2. Narrative statements were provided to describe other changes

and/or trends in the curriculum.

Restriction of Catalog Research

 

1. Research questions were directed at the academic year only (i.e.,
summer courses were not included in the analysis of the data).

2. Graduate courses were not included in the analysis of the data.

3. Where courses were offered for variable credit (i.e., no fixed
credit was assigned) they were not included in the analysis of the data.

4. Where courses were offered for variable credits (i.e., 2-3 credits),
the highest number was included in the analysis of the data.

5. Announcement of courses offered in alternate years (i.e., they
did not fall within a specified catalog year) were not included in the
analysis of the data.

6. Cross-listed courses were counted once and assigned to one depart-

ment 0

7.

109

Two-year catalogs were treated as a single year catalog (i.e.,

only the first year was included in the analysis of the data.

Organization of Analysis

 

For each college and its catalogs in each five-year block interval,

tabulations included the following:

1.

10.

11.

Number of semester hours required for graduation between
Block Interval I: 1953-1958 and V: 1973-1978.

Number of semester hours required for graduation across and
between all institutions: 1953-1978.

Proportions of undergraduate education spent in general education,
the major, and electives (in percentages) between Block Interval I:
1953-1958 and V: 1973-1978.

Proportions of undergraduate education spent in general education,
the major, and electives (in percentages) across all institutions
over a period of twenty-five years.

Number of courses and majors offered between Block Interval
I: 1953-1958 and V: 1973-1978.

Number of courses and majors offered across and between all
institutions over a period of twenty-five years.

Curricular requirements in English composition, foreign
language, physical education, and religion,over a twenty-five
year period.

Changes in college calendar between and across all institutions
over a period of twenty-five years.

Curriculum structural arrangements between and across institu-
tions over a period of twenty-five years.

Comprehensive examinations and other types of reqirements
associated with the baccalaureate degree.

Percentage of colleges offering remedial courses, percentage
of colleges publishing non-discrimination policy statements,
and percentage of colleges offering minority courses.

In addition to tabulations, narrative statements were made about

a shift away from or toward English proficiency testing, specifications

of prerequisite courses, and permitting credits-by-examination as part

110

of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree. Also, presented were
narrative statements about curricular structural arrangements (e.g.
departments, divisions) and quantitative measures (e.g. semester hours,

credits).

General Education

 

Within the general education requirements of each catalog, the credit
hours for all courses fulfilling general education requirements were
tabulated according to the three major disciplinary groups: humanities,
the social sciences, and natural sciences. The majority of the catalogs
listed courses assigned to each of the three disciplinary groups and
frequently indicated the number of hours required. For catalogs that
simply specified "Required Courses for Graduation" such as English composi-
tion, foreign language, physical education, religion, philosophy, sociology,
and mathematics, each course was assigned to one of the three disciplinary
groups. For catalogs that stated "Distribution Requirements" the courses
were also assigned to one of the three disciplinary groups. Courses
in English composition, foreign language, physical education, and religion
were tabulated separately and are treated in research question number

four.

The Major

The credit-hours for all courses required in the major were tabulated
according to the minimum number of hours specified by the catalog. This
figure included minors or related work required to complete a major but
does not include recommended courses, either within or outside the major
department. For example, a psychology major might require 24 credits

of psychology, 16 hours of related work in the social sciences, and

111

recommended 12 credit hours in the humanities. In this example, the
number of credit hours required for a major in psychology would be 40
semester hours. The major total does not include hours satisfying
general education requirements; had it done so, the elective credits

available to the student would have appeared to be fewer than they were.

Electives
The credit-hours for all courses fulfilling elective requirements
were tabulated subsequent to tabulations of general education and major
requirement. Determining electives was generally a straightforward
process; by adding the overall course credits in general education to
the minimum number of credits required in the major and subtracting these
from the total number of credits required for graduation, the number

of hours left over were tabulated as electives.

Quantitative Measures

 

For each college, the minimum number of credits required for the
baccalaureate degree was obtained from its catalogs. Since the majority
of the colleges used the semester hour as the quantitative measure of
unit, the semester hour was adopted for the purpose of comparability.
Although some colleges stated their quantitative measurements in courses
or units, they provided their equivalent in semester hours. Two colleges
stated their quantitative measurements in year-course and year-hour,
they too provided their equivalent in semester hours. One college used
the quarter-hour as their quantitative measurement. In this case, the

conversion to semester hour was two-thirds of the quarter-hour value.

112

Research Questions

 

The following eleven research questions were chosen because they
conform primarily, but not exclusively, to questions asked by earlier
researchers concerned with changing practices and contemporary trends
of the undergraduate curriculum (Dressel & DeLisle 1969, and Blackburn
et. al. 1976) based on the contents of published catalogs:

1. How had the number of hours required for the baccalaureate degree
changed over a period of twenty-five years?

2. How had the requirements for the baccalaureate degree in general
education, the major, and electives changed over a period of twenty-
five years?

3. How had the number of courses and majors offered for the baccalau-
reate degree changed over a period of twenty-five years?

4. How had the requirements for English composition, foreign language,
physical education, and religion changed over a period of twenty-five
years?

5. Was there a shift away from or toward English proficiency testing
as part of the requireements for the baccalaureate degree?

6. What changes in curricular structural arrangements were evident
within and across institutions over a period of twenty-five years?

7. What quantitative measures (e.g. credits, semester hours, quarter-
hour, term, unit, course, etc.) were used in specifying degree requirements
within and across institutions?

8. What academic systems (e.g. semester, quarter, etc.) were used
in specifying degree requirements over a period of twenty-five years?

9. Was there a shift away from or toward comprehensive examinations

as part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

113

10. Was there a shift away from or toward specifications of pre-
requisite courses in general education, the major, and electives as part
of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

11. Was there a shift away from or toward accepting credits-by-
examination as part of the baccalaureate degree requirements?

The remaining three research questions were included because earlier
researchers concerned with changing practices and contemporary trends
of the undergraduate curriculum did not address them:

12. Were remedial courses offered during the span of twenty-five
years? Was credit awarded. Were credits applicable toward the baccalaureate
degree?

13. Did institutions publish a Non-Discrimination Policy Statement
over a period of twenty-five years?

14. Were minority courses offered during a period of twenty-five

years?

Summagy

In this chapter the design of the study was presented. The study
was historical, descriptive, and empirical in content and included sixteen
private liberal arts colleges representative of Liberal Arts Colleges
I and II, and Comprehensive Universities and Colleges II. Catalogs ranged
from 1953 through 1978 and were organized into five, five-year block
intervals over a period of twenty-five years. The method of research
was longitudinal and cross-sectional. Treatment of the data were reported.
Catalog restrictions were used in the analysis of the data. Organization and
analyses of the data were presented. The research question were presented
and were answered based a longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses of the

contents of published catalogs.

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA

Introduction

 

This chapter reports the data collected from seventy-six catalogs
representing sixteen private liberal arts colleges spanning a period
of twenty-five years: 1953-1978. College catalog representation for
each consecutive year during this twenty-five year period was not available,
rather the catalogs ranged from 1953 through 1978 in staggered single
years, and on occasion, two-year catalogs were represented. Because
of this arrangement, colleges and their catalogs were organized into
five, five-year Block Intervals: Block I: 1953-1958, Block II: 1958-
1963, Block III: 1963-1968, Block IV: 1968-1973, and Block V: 1973-
1978. For each Block Interval, one catalog of each college was selected
to represent a five-year block interval (except in Block Interval I where
n - 13 and Block Interval II where n - 15). Total number of catalogs
included in the study was 76 out of possible 80. The researcher is aware
of the unequal number of catalogs for each block interval, and that the

analysis may mitigate against the findings.

Research Questions and Interpretations of the Findingg

The following eleven research questions were chosen because they
conform, primarily, but not exclusively, to questions asked by earlier
researchers concerned with changing practices and contemporary trends
of the undergraduate curriculum (Dressel and DeLisle 1969, and Blackburn

and associates 1976) based on the contents of published catalogs.

114

115

1. How had the number of hours required for the baccalaureate degree
changed over a period of twenty-five years.

For the sixteen colleges included in the study, the average number
of semester hours required for the baccalaureate degree increased from
120 to 128 between Block Intervals I: 1953-1958 and V: 1973-1978. Table
4:12 displays these changes for each college: one decreased semester
hour requirements, six increased them (the count includes one college
when it was a two-year college during Block Interval I), six kept them
the same, and three were excluded during Block Interval I and were not
included in the change category. The largest increase was Mars Hill
College (when it was a two-year college) from 68 to 140. Next largest
increase was Alma College from 120 to 126.

Table 4:13 reveals the number of semester hours required for

graduation across and between all institutions during each block interval.

2. How had the requirements for the baccalaureate degree in:general
education, the major, and electives changed over a period of twenty-five
years?

For the colleges included in this study, the typical course of study

has consisted of three broad areas. General education requirements represent

 

the means of achieving breadth in the curriculum; the major requirements
are viewed as the medium through which students add depth to their educa—
tional experience. The remainder of the student's curriculum--over which
the students have complete control--has traditionally been referred to
as the elective segment of undergraduate study.

One overall finding of this study is that the relative weight of

each of these areas--general education, the major, and electives--

Average Number of Semester Hours Required for Graduation

116

TABLE 4:12

 

Block Interval

Block Interval

 

 

I: 1953-1958 V: 1973-1978 Change

Albion 124 124 0
Alma 120 136 +16
Amherst NCA 128 -
Birmingham-Srn. 127 128 + l
Carleton NCA 113 -
Colby 120 120 0
Converse 122 122 0
Furman 128 126 - 2
Guilford 128 128 0
Hope 126 126 0
Kalamazoo 120 123 + 3
Kenyon 128 128 0
Mars Hill 68# 140 +72
Reed 120 126 + 6
St. Olaf NCA 140 -
University-Pfc. 124 132 + 8
TOTALS: 1555 2040

Mean: 120 128 + 8

 

NCA - No catalog available.

# - Two-year college during this block interval.

117

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118

had changed over this twenty-five year period. The general education
component diminished considerably, while the major component remained
relatively stable; the net effect was an increase in the elective component
of the student's undergraduate education. The elective component increased
from 26.5 percent in Block Interval I: 1953-1958 to 35 percent in Block
Interval V: 1973-1978. Table 4:14 reveals these changes. This trend
toward fewer general education requirements and an increase in student
freedom through electives was evidenced across all college (Table 4:15,

page 119).

TABLE 4:14

Proportion of Undergraduate Education Spent in General Education,
The Major, and Electives (in percentages) Between Block Interval I:
1953-1958 and Block Interval V: 1973-1978.

 

 

 

Block Interval Block Interval
I: 1953-1958 V: .1973-1978
General education require-
ments (mean) 54.1 42.0
Major requirements (mean) 19.4 23.0
Available electives (mean) 26.5 35.0

 

3. How had the number of courses and majors offered for the
baccalaureate degree changed over a period of twenty-five years?

The average number of courses offered increased from 351 to 574
between Block I: 1953-1958 and Block V: 1973-1978. Table 4:16 displays
these changes for each college: twelve colleges increased the number
of courses offered (the count includes one college when it was a two

year college during Block I), one decreased them and three were excluded

119

TABLE 4:15

Proportions of Undergraduate Education Spent in General Education,
The Major, and Electives (in percentages) Across All Colleges
Over 8 Period of Twenty-Five Years: 1953-1978

I
-

 

Block I Block II Block III Block IV Block V
1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968-1973 1973-1978

 

All colleges

General education re-
quirements (mean) 54.1 51.6 48.3 45.0 42.0

Major requirements
(mean) 19.4 19.2 20.6 21.0 23.0

Available electives
(mean) 26.5 29.2 31.1 34.0 35.0

 

during Block Interval I and were not included in the change category.

For these same colleges, the average number of majors also increased

from 21 to 25 between these same Block Intervals: eight colleges increased
the number of majors offered (this includes the two-year college), three
decreased them, two had no change, and three were excluded in the change
category. Table 4:17 reveals these changes between and across all insti-

tutions included in the study.

4. How had the requirements in Engiish composition, foreign language,
physical education, and religion changed over a period of twenty-five years?

Another overall finding of this study was that four subjects considered
essential to a liberal arts education--English composition, foreign
language, physical education, and religion--had changed over a period of
twenty-five years. Fewer colleges required these subjects in Block Interval

V: 1973-1978 than did in Block Interval I: 1953-1958: 92 percent in

Number of Courses and Majors Offered Between Block Interval I:
1953-1958 and Block Interval V:

120

TABLE 4:16

1973-1978

 

 

 

 

 

Block Interval Block Interval Course Major
1: 1953-1958 V: 1973-1978 Change Change

College Courses Majors Courses Majors

Albion 572 23 628 22 + 56 - 1
Alma 406 21 652 22 +246 + l
Amherst NCA NCA 594 25 - -
Birmingham-Srn. 409 27 526 27 +117 0
Carleton NCA NCA 592 24 - -
Colby 317 21 540 20 +223 - l
Converse 231 16 539 27 +308 +11
Furman 355 24 556 24 +201 0
Guilford 233 16 412 23 +179 + 7
Hope 346 19 654 29 +308 +10
Kalamazoo 312 22 478 26 +166 + 4
Kenyon 338 16 549 22 +211 + 4
Mars Hill 165# 18 623 30 +458 +12
Reed 182 14 311 21 +129 + 7
St. Olaf NCA NCA 836 29 - -
University-Pfc. 698 31 689 27 - 9 - 4
TOTALS 4564 268 9179 399 +4615 +38
Mean 351 21 574 25 -223 + 4

 

NCA = No catalog available.

# = Two year college during this block interval.

121

TABLE 4:17

Total Number of Courses and Majors Offered Across and Between
Colleges for Each Block Interval Over a Period
of Twenty-Five Years: 1953-1978

 

 

Block 1: Block II: Block III: Block IV: Block V:
1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968-1973 1973-1978

 

 

 

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cu 8 IN 0 IH o cu s IH o cu m In o In o IN o ‘H o
OIH OIH O‘H ocu O‘H OIH eta OIH OIH OIH
College ans %3 :83 so: *8 *3 4:8 veg «H‘s =88
Albion 527 23 629 23 658 22 551 22 628 22
Alma 406 21 393 19 442 22 544 22 652 23
Amherst NCA 368 20 405 21 507 24 594 25
Birmingham-Srn. 409 27 398 23 397 26 464 26 526 27
Carleton NCA 466 21 417 22 576 24 592 24
Colby 317 21 NCA 356 22 455 23 540 20
Converse 231 16 261 18 355 19 437‘ 23 539 27
Furman 355 24 331 23 474 25 471 25 556 24
Guilford 233 16 276 16 307 17 424 20 412 23
Hope 346 19 348 20 461 26 566 27 654 29
Kalamazoo 312 22 382 21 339 23 363 26 478 26
Kenyon 338 16 314 17 381 20 535 22 549 22
Mars Hill 165* 18 197* 19 460 22 538 21 623 30
Reed 182 14 186 14 250 21 290 21 311 21
St. Olaf NCA 464 24 513 24 624 27 836 29
University-Pfc. 698 31 748 28 654 24 545 29 689 27
TOTALS 4564 268 5761 306 6869 356 7890 382 9197 399
Mean 351 21 384 20 429 22 493 24 574 25
n s 13 n = 15 n 8 16 n = 16 n - l6

 

NCA - No catalog available.
* - Two year college.

122

in 1953-1958 and 75 percent in 1973-1978 required some form of English
composition, and the percentage of colleges requiring one-year of English
composition also decreased from 77 percent to about 13 percent. One hundred
percent and 50 percent required some form of foreign language, and the
percentage of colleges requiring two years also decreased from about

39 percent to about 13 percent. One hundred percent and 63 percent
required some form of physical education, and the percentage of colleges
requiring 3-6 hours (one year) also decreased from 46 percent to about

19 percent. Sixty-nine percent and to approximately 13 percent required
religion between 1953-1958 and 1973-1978. (See Table 4:18 through 4:21
on pages 123 and 124). Graph 4:2 on page 125 is a composite of these

changes.

5. Was there a shift away from or toward English proficiency testing

 

as part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

Over this twenty-five year period, approximately 81 percent of the
colleges had a shift away from English proficiency testing toward requiring
English composition. Thirteen colleges in Block I: 1953-1958, or 100
percent to three colleges, or 18.7 percent in Block V: 1973-1978 (n 8 l6).
Graph 4:1 reveals this change.

100-

W

40-
30-
20-

10-

 

Percent of Colleges

1 l J L 1

1953-58 58-63 63-68 68-73 73-78
GRAPH 4:1
Trends in English Proficiency Testing

123

TABLE 4:18
Trends in the Number of Colleges Requiring English Composition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Block I Block 11 Block 111 Block IV Block V
T* 1953-58 % 1958-63 % 1963-68 % 1968-73 % 1973-78 %
N N N N N
l. l 7.7 l 6.7 2 12.5 4 25.0 4 25.0
2. - - 2 13.3 1 6.3 l 6.3 l 6.3
3. - - - - 2 12.5 4 25.0 5 31.2
4. 1 7.7 2 13.3 1 6.3 4 25.0 4 25.0
5. 10 77.0 9 60.0 9 56.2 3 18.7 2 12.5
6. l 7.7 1 6.7 1 6.3 - - - -
T 13** 100.1 15** 100.0 16 100.1 16 100.0 16 100.0
*Type of Requirement:
1. None required 4. Pass test or one term course
2. Demonstration of proficiency 5. One year required
3. One term course 6. Pass test or one year required.
**Number of catalogs included in these Block Intervals.
TABLE 4:19
Trends in the Number of Colleges Requiring Foreign Language
Block I Block II Block III Block IV Block V
R* 1943-58 % 1958-63 % 1963—68 % 1968-73 % 1973-78 %
N N N N N
1. - - - - 2 12.5 5 31.2 8 50.0
2. - - 1 6.7 1 6.3 1 6.3 - -
3. 3 23.1 2 13.3 2 12.5 1 6.3 - -
4. 4 30.8 6 40.0 6 37.5 5 31.2 6 37.5
5. 5 38.5 5 33.3 4 25.0 4 25.0 2 12.5
6. l 7.7 l 6.7 l 6.3 - - - -
T 13** 100.1 15** 100.0 16 100.1 16 100.0 16 100.0

 

*Range of Requirements:

1. None required

2. One term (by demonstration of proficiency or completion

of the college credits)

3. One year level required

4. One year level required (by demonstration of proficiency or
completion of the college credits)

Two year level required.
Two year level required (by demonstration of proficiency or
completion of the college credits).
**Number of catalogs included in these Block Intervals.

O‘UI

124

TABLE 4:20
Trends in the Number of Colleges Requiring Physical Education

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Block I Block II Block III Block IV Block V
R* 1953-58 % 1958-63 % 1963-68 % 1968-73 % 1973-78 %
N N N N ‘ N
l. - - l 6.7 l 6.3 2 12.5 6 37.5
2. 3 23.1 4 26.7 4 25.0 2 12.5 1 6.3
3. 1 7.7 - - 2 12.5 2 12.5 5 31.2
4. l 7.7 l 6.7 - - - - - -
5. 6 46.2 6 40.0 4 25.0 7 43.7 3 18.7
6. l 7.7 2 13.3 3 18.7 1 6.3 - -
7. 1 7.7 1 6.7 2 12.5 2 12.5 1 6.3
T 13** 100.0 15** 100.1 16 100.0 16 100.0 16 100.0
*Range of Requirements:
1. None required 5. 3—6 hours required
2. Required, no credits 6. 6-9 hours required
3. 2 hours required 7 9 or more hours required
4. 3 hours required
**Number of catalogs included in these Block Intervals.
TABLE 4:21
Trends in the Number of Colleges Requiring Religion
Block I Block 11 Block III Block IV Block V
R* 1953-58 % 1958-63 % 1963-68 % 1968-73 % 1973-78 %
N N N ‘ N N
1. 4 31.0 5 33.3 7 43.7 10 62.5 14 87.5
2 2 15.3 2 13.3 2 12.5 1 6.3 - -
3 2 15.3 2 13.3 1 6.3 2 12.5 - -
4 3 23.0 3 20.0 3 18.7 2 12.5 1 6.3
5. l 7.7 l 6.7 l 6.3 - - - -
6 l 7.7 l 6.7 l 6.3 - - - -
7o - - 1 6.7 1 6.3 1 603 1 603
T 13** 100.0 15** 100.0 16 100.1 16 100.1 16 100.1
*Range of Requirements:
1. None required 5. 8 hours required
2. 3 hours required 6. 9 hours required
3. 4 hours required 7. 9 hours or more

4. 6 hours required
**Number of catalogs included in these Block Intervals.

Percent of Colleges

125

100-

90- \

- En . 11

- 8h
80" 0111 o 08
41’ P12 8 11:10
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\ gs
60- Ga.
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50- ‘é<Q§6
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e at <P<fhg>
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c (

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20-

10-

l I 1 I J

 

 

1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968-1973 1973-1978

GRAPH 4:2

Composite Trends in English Composition
Foreign Language, Physical Education, and Religion

126

6. What changes in curricular structural arrangements were evident
between and across institutions over a period of twenty-five years?

Among the colleges included in the study, each had its own distinctive
curricular arrangement, e.g., departments, divisions, departments within
divisions, departments within groups, departments within categories,
and a department of instruction. Albeit there were a variety of
arrangements, they usually fell into the rubric of humanities, social
sciences, and the natural sciences (some colleges linked mathematics
with the natural sciences). There were some colleges which classified
humanities as language arts, fine arts, language and literature, and
language, literature and speech, while the social sciences and natural
sciences remained as specific classifications.

When a college adopted a new arrangement in any given block interval,
its catalog did not provide a rationale for the change. Institutional
rationales for adopting new curricular structural arrangements were not
provided in the catalogs.

The analysis of curricular structural arrangements for colleges
included in the study revealed the following characteristics (Table 4:22

and Graph 4:3).

Analysis Between Colleges

 

At the introduction of the twenty-five year period, approximately
30 percent of the colleges specified the department; approximately 30
percent specified the department within a division; another 30 percent
specified the division; and about 8 percent specified the department
of instruction. Whereas no college specified the department within

groups or departments within categories.

127

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moHuowmumo :HnuH3 muaoauuwamn .o

:OHuosuumaH mo unmauuwaon .m

mnaouw :HnuHa unmauumaon .q

GOHmH>Ho .m

aOHmH>Hv aHnuHs unmauummmn .N

unmauummmn .H

”unwamwcmuu<«
o.om m c.00H 0H c.00H 0H o.OOH oH m.mm ««nH m.ma ««mH H
I I m.o H m.o H I I I I I I .o
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o.m~ q o.mN q o.m~ ¢ o.m~ q o.o~ c ~.om q .m
m.o H m.nm o n.5m c m.nm o m.mm m N.om a .N
m.mH m n.wH m N.wH m o.m~ c o.o~ c N.om e .H
z z z z z z
N Hmuoa N manIman N mmmHIwowH N womHImo¢H N moaHIwan N wmmHIman «<
xUOHm > Moon >H Moon HHH xUOHm HH xoon H xoon

 

 

whom» m>HMIhuao39 mo VOHumm m um>o mwmeHoo mmouo< can ammsumm

muaoamwawuu< Hmuauoauum umHaoHuuzo 6H occupy

Nmn¢ mqm<H

128

During each succeeding five-year block interval, there was a shifting
from one curricular structural arrangement to another, and at the end
of the twenty-five year period, approximately 18 percent of the colleges
had retained the department, approximately 37 percent had retained the
department within division, 25 percent retained the division, and appoxi-
mately 13 percent adopted the department within groups. The department
of instruction was phased out during Block.Interva1 III: 1963-1968,
whereas the department within categories emerged during Block Interval
IV: 1968-1973 with approximately 6 percent specifying this arrangement

and continued this specification at the end of the twenty-five year period.

Analysis Across Colleggs

1. At the closure of the twenty-five year period, three colleges,
or 18.7 percent had retained the department at their curricular structural
arrangement. Over this twenty-five year period the percentage of colleges
shifting to and/or adopting a new arrangement was negligible.

2. One college, or 6.3 percent had retained departments within
divisions at the end of the twenty-five year period. However, at the
introduction of this twenty-five year period, 30.7 specified this curric-
ular structural arrangement, at the closure of this same period, 37.5
percent specified this arrangement--an overall decrease of about 24 percent.

3. Four colleges, or 25 percent had retained the division as their
curricular structural arrangement at the end of the twenty-five year
period. Over this twenty-five year period the percentage of colleges
shifting to and/or adopting a new curricular structural arrangement was

negligible.

129

4. Colleges specifying department within groups, department of
instruction, and departments within categories were not consistent during
each block interval nor were any continuous for the entire twenty-five

year period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

100-
8.AA/
no
.9. 50-
—I
o -
c) 40- 2
'H
O _ 2 /
. 30- \1
g ’ l} 4 4
- L I ~ 1 L4, J
1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 . 1968-1973 1973-1978
Arrangement:
1 - Department 4 a Department with groups
2 a Department within division 5 - Department of instruction
3 - Division 6 a Departments within categories

GRAPH 4:3

Trends in Curricular Structural Arrangements: 1953-1978

7. What quantitative measures (egg., credits, semester hour, quarter-
hour, term, unit, course, etc.) were used in specifyinggdegree requirements
between and across institutions?

During this twenty-five year period, there were a variety of quanti-
tative measures used by these colleges. When colleges shifted and/or
adopted a new quantitative measure in any given block interval, they
did not provide a rationale of explaining these changes in their catalogs.
These decisions apparently lie with curriculum personnel and other college

officials.

130

The analysis of quantitative measures for the colleges included
in the study revealed the following characteristics (Table 4:23 and

Graph 4:4).

Analysis Between Colleges

 

The semester hour was the most consistent quantitative measurement
specified between colleges over the twenty—five year period. Although
it declined gradually during each succeeding block interval, it neverthe-

less remained relatively stable.

Analysis Across Colleges

 

Four types of quantitative measures (the semester hour, unit, credit,
and course) were specified by the majority of the colleges at the closure
of the twenty-five year period. At the introduction of the twenty-five
year period, 77 percent of the colleges specified the semester hour.
At the closure this same period only 18.7 percent retained this same
measurement, a decrease of about 58 percent. Whereas the unit emerged
during Block Interval II: 1958-1963 with approximately 7 percent of
the colleges specifying this measurement, it closed out this twenty-
five year period where 37.5 percent of the colleges specified this
measurement. The credit also emerged during Block Interval II but rela—
tively few colleges specified this measurement during the remaining fifteen
years. The course emerged during Block Interval IV: 1968-1973 and
continued to the closure of this twenty-five year period with 25 percent
of the colleges specifying this measurement.

Colleges specifying the quarter-hour, term-course, year-course,

and year-hour all emerged during the first 15 years of this 25 year period

131

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z z z z z z
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xoon > xUOHm >H MUOHm HHH xoon HH xoon H xoon

 

 

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mumoh o>HwI5uaose mo uoHumm m um>o

MNue MHm<H

”mounmmoz m>HumuHucmao aH mwamufi

132

with negligible representation among colleges, and were eliminated during
the last 10 years. Finally, the competence unit emerged during the last
five years of this twenty-five year period with 6.3 percent of the colleges
reporting its use.

Graph 4:4 displays the trends for the semester hour, unit, credit,
and course measurements. The other quantitative measures are not included
in the graph because their use was negligible during this twenty-five
year period.

100-

Percent of Colleges
I

 

 

 

l l l J I
1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968-1973 1973-1978

 

Quantitative Measures:

1 - Semester hour

2 = Unit
3 = Credit
4 = Course

GRAPH 4:4

Trends in Quantitative Measures: 1953-1978

133

8. What academic systems (e.g. semesters, quarters, etc.) were used
in specifying dggree requirements over a period of twenty-five years?

Over this twenty-five year period, four types of academic systems
emerged: the semester system, quarter system, three-terms, and the
4-1-4 calendar. When a college shifted and/or adopted a new academic
calendar in any given block interval, it did not provide a rationale
for the change in its catalog.

The analysis of academic systems for the colleges included in the
study revealed the following trends (Table 4:24 and Graph 4:5).

1. At the introduction of the twenty-five year period, 92.3 percent
of the colleges specified the semester system, at the closure of this
twenty-five year period, 56.3 percent of the colleges had retained the
semester system, a decrease of about 36 percent. This reduction is
reflected in the termination of this sytem and shifting and/or adopting
other forms of academic calendars.

2. Colleges reporting three-terms, quarters, and 4-1-4 academic
systems were few in number during each block interval, and closed out
the twenty-five year period with 18.7 percent, 6.3 percent, and 18.7

percent respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE 4:24

Trends in the Academic Calendar: 1953-1978 (in percentages)

Block I Block II Block III Block IV Block V
C* 1953-1958 2 1958-1963 2 1963-1968 2 1968-1973 Z 1973-1978 2

N N N N N

1. 12 92.3 13 86.7 11 68.7 9 56.3 9 56.3
2. - - 1 6.7 2 12.5 3 18.7 3 18.7
3. l 7.7 1 6.7 2 12.5 1 6.3 l 6.3
4. - - - - 1 6.3 3 18.7 3 18.7
T 13** "100.0 15** 100.1 16 100.0 16 100.0 16 100.0

 

*Calendar: 1. Semester system; 2. Three terms; 3. Quarter system;
4. 4-1-4 system
**Number of catalogs included in these Block Intervals.

134

 

Percent of Colleges
I

 

(33

g

 

l J l l 1L
1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968-1973 1973-1978

 

GRAPH 4:5

Trends in Academic Calendars: 1953-1978

Comparing quantitative measurements and academic systems (Graphs 4:4
and 4:5) displayed in Graph 4:6 (page 135), 18.7 percent of the colleges
retained the semester hour (Graph 4:4), while 56.3 percent reported the
semester system. This trend suggests that while colleges were shifting
and/or adopting new quantitative measures the majority of the colleges

retained the semester calendar (Graph 4:6).

135

 

Percent of Colleges

 

 

I I I I I
1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968-1973 1973-1978

- Semester calendar

—"“‘—'— = Semester hour.

GRAPH 4:6
Comparison of Quantitative Measures and
Academic Calendar Trends: 1953-1978 (in percentages)
9. Was there a shift away from or toward comprehensive examinations
as part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?
During this twenty-five year period there was a diversity of compre-
hensive examinations associated with the requirements for the baccalaureate

degree among the colleges in the study. This requirement ranged from

136

departmental or senior departmental comprehensive examinations to senior
thesis and comprehensive examinations for honor students. In addition,
there were colleges that did not require a comprehensive examination of
any kind. This no requirement among colleges was particularly noteworthy
at the introduction of the twenty-five year period when approximately
62 percent of the colleges did not require a comprehensive examination
of any kind as contrasted to approximately 38 that did. At the closure
of the twenty-five year period this trend had an inverse relationship
where approximately 69 percent of the colleges required one form of a
comprehensive examination as compared to approximately 31 percent had
retained no requirements, an increase of about 38 percent.

The noteworthy trend among the colleges included in the study was
a shift toward one form of a comprehensive examination. However, this
twenty-five year period revealed a considerable experimentation with various
forms of comprehensives and suggests that comprehensives seldom fully
accomplish the goals intended. Table 4:25 reveals the diversity of com-
prehensives that were used among the colleges over this twenty-five year

period. This trend is graphically displayed in Graph 4:7 on page 138.

10. Was there a shift away from or toward specifications of prereq-
uisite courses in general education, the major, and electives as part of
the requirements for the baccalaureate dggree?

The analysis of prerequisite courses in general education, the major,
and electives with reference to a shift away from or toward baccalaureate

degree requirements revealed the following characteristics:

137

TABLE 4:25

Associated with the Baccalaureate Degree

Comprehensive Examinations and Other Types of Requirements

 

 

 

 

 

Block I Block II Block III Block IV Block V
T* 1953-1958 Z 1958-1963 Z 1963-1968 Z 1968-1973 Z 1973-1978 Z
N N N N N
1. 8 61.5 8 53.3 6 37.5 4 25.0 5 31.2
2. 3 23.1 5 33.3 7 43.7 7 43.7 7 43.
3. l 7. 1 6.7 1 6.3 - - - -
4. - - - - - - 1 6.3 1 6.3
5. 1 7.7 1 6 7 1 6 3 - - — -
6. - - - - - - l 6.3 l 6.
7. - - - - - - l 6.3 1 6.
8. - - - - l 6.3 - - - -
9. - - - - - - 1 6.2 - -
10. - - - - - - 6.2 l 6.3
T 13** 100.0 15** 100.0 16 100.1 16 100.0 16 100.1

 

*Type of Requirement:

U‘l-bLIJNI-I'

OOQNQ

1

None required

Departmental or senior departmental comprehensive examination

Junior qualifying examination and senior thesis

Senior thesis

and comprehensive examination

Exceptional students taking comprehensive examination in history
and/or English

Senior thesis
Comprehensive
Comprehensive
Comprehensive
Senior thesis

**Number of catalogs

only

examination optional or specified course work

examination in history only
examination in physical education only

and comprehensive examination for honor students.

included in these Block Intervals.

138

100-

 

’ I I I I 4

 

1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968-1973 1973-1978

GRAPH 4:7

Trends in Comprehensive Examinations: 1953-1978

139

1. General Education:

 

A. Humanities: Course work above the freshman level, in some
cases, specified prerequisite courses before pursuing an upper level course,
or required adequate background in subject matter. Some expectations
were provided by advanced placement, credit-by-examination and, on occasion
a waiver by the professor.

B. Social Sciences: Course work above the freshman level required
specific prerequisite courses, or required adequate background in subject
matter before a student was allowed to pursue an upper level course. Excep-
tions were provided by advanced placement, credit-by-examination and,
on occasion a waiver by the professor.

C. Natural Sciences: Science courses were more explicit in
requiring prerequisite courses than the humanities and the social sciences.
Many were specifically designated before students could pursue an upper
level course. Some exceptions were provided by advanced placement and
credit-by-examination.

2. The Major: Upon completion of the freshman and sophomore require-
ments, prerequisite courses in the major were courses specified as require-
ment in the major before taking advanced work, many of which were specifi-
cally designated.

3. Electives: Although electives are considered as those courses
left over after a student completes the general education and major require-
ments, no noteworthy characteristics about them were discerned since the
colleges did not make clear how electives were to be used, except they
were offered as part of the total requirements for the baccalaureate degree.

Although no particular characteristics were noted about electives,

courses in general education and the major either specified prerequisite

140

courses or required adequate background work before a student could pursue
an upper level course. The noted trend among colleges in this study was
a shift toward specification of prerequisite courses among general

education and the major.

11. Was there a shift away from or toward accepting credits-by-

 

examination as part of the baccalaureate degree requirements?

 

The analysis of colleges accepting credits-by-examination regarding
a shift away from or toward baccalaureate degree requirements revealed
the following characteristics:

1. Seven colleges, or 43.7 percent did not accept credits-by-
examination of any type for the entire twenty-five year period.

2. Another seven colleges did not accept credits-by-examination
during Block Intervals I, II, and III, but introduced credits-by-examina-
tion by offering College Level Examination Program (CLEP) credits during
Block Intervals IV and V. During Block Interval V, one of these same
colleges, in addition to CLEP, offered departmental examinations in which
32 hours could be applied toward graduation, 8 of which could be in the
major.

3. The remaining two colleges, or 12.5 percent, accepted credits-
by-examination under specified conditions for the entire twenty-five year
period. One college encouraged students "to take proficiency examinations
to earn credit for work not already pursued in the classroom; waiver grad-
uation requirements or prerequisites for advanced courses and; to establish
credit from a non-accredited institution." This same college introduced
CLEP during Block Interval V. The other college provided "exemption by

examination" when appropriate, in which either all colleges or area

141

requirements for the major may be absolved by course examination without
course enrollment, at the discretion of the department concerned.

Although there were an appreciable number of colleges accepting
CLEP credits during Block Intervals IV and V, this increase was not consis—
tent in comparison to those colleges that did not accept credits-by-
examination for the entire twenty-five year period. The trend appeared
to be a shift away from colleges accepting credits-by-examination as part

of the baccalaureate degree requirements.

Additional Research Questions
The remaining three research questions were included because (1)
earlier researchers concerned with changing practices and contemporary
trends did not address them, and (2) recent changes in the law and in
the composition of student bodies and their adequacy of preparation had

necessiated provisions to accommodate new student clientele.

12. Were remedial courses offered duripg the span of twenty-fivepyears?
Was credit awarded? Were credits applicable toward the baccalaureate dggree?

"The term remedial . . . implies improvement of student skills

and knowledge for the purposes of entering a program for which

the student was previously ineligible. Its emphasis is upon

correcting weaknesses" (Levine, p. 55).

The majority of remedial courses offered among colleges in the study
were associated with English composition, were offered for no credit, and
were not applicable to the baccalaureate degree. The following observations
were discerned over this twenty-five year period.

1. Determination of a student taking an English remedial course was

assessed by examination and/or placement test upon entering, and on occasion

by faculty recommendation.

142

2. Remedial courses were designed to improve writing skills.

3. Course titles such as "refresher course, corrective English

course," "English seminar," "English tutorial," "composition conditioned

' and "English critical skills" were used among colleges for

laboratory,’
such courses.
4. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent did not offer a remedial course
of any kind during the entire twenty-five year period.
5. One college, or 6.3 percent, offered a no credit remedial course
in English composition for the entire twenty-five year period and was
not applicable toward the baccalaureate degree.
6. The remaining colleges, or 75 percent revealed the following
characteristics:
(a) Seven colleges, or 53.8 percent offered remedial courses
during Block Interval I (1953-1958).
(b) Nine colleges, or 60 percent offered remedial courses during
Block Interval II (1958-1963).
(c) Six colleges, or 37.5 percent offered remedial courses
during Block Interval III (1963-1968).
(d) Seven colleges, or 44 percent offered remedial courses
during Block Interval IV (1968-1973).
(3) Seven colleges, or 44 percent offered remedial courses

during Block Interval V (1973-1978).

Graph 4:8 displays these changes during this twenty-five year period.

143

80-
70-
60-

50-

 

40-

30-

Percent of Colleges
I

20-

10-
L J l I I

1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968-1973 1973-1978

 

GRAPH 4:8

Trends in Remedial Course Offerings: 1953-1978 (in percentages)

13. Did institutions publish a Non-Discrimination Policy Statement
over a period of twenty-five years?

In 1978, the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare,
Education Division, in conjunction with the Federal Interagency Committee
on Education, published a guide entitled KeepipggYour School or Collegg.
Catalpg:in Compliance with Federal Laws and Regplations, addressed to any
education institution which receives federal funds, must publish a non-
discrimination policy statement in catalogs, bulletins, and other educa-
tional material which are read by students, parents, and other constituencies.
Such a policy statement reads

No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race,

color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in,

be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination
under any program or activity receiving Federal financial

assistance, or be so treated on the basis of sex under most
education programs or activities receiving Federal assistance

(p. i.).

144

Although the guide was published in 1978, the following characteristics
were noted over this twenty-five year period:

1. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent did not publish a non-discrimina-
tion policy statement for the entire twenty-five year period. It is possible
that these institutions did not receive any Federal assistance during this
period.

2. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent published their first non-
discrimination policy statement during Block Interval IV: 1968-1973.

These dates coincide with the time period when colleges were accepting
U.S. Government support programs such as Special Services to Disadvantaged
Students, established in 1968 (Levine, p. 57).

3. The remaining colleges published their first non-discrimination
policy statement during the last five years of this twenty-five year period:
Block Interval V: 1973-1978 (with the majority of them publishing such
a statement in their 1976-1977 and/or 1977-1978 catalog).

Graph 4:9 displays these characteristics during this twenty-five

year period.

 

 

80- l
- /

w 70- /
go - /
H 60' /
H
o - /
Q’ 50- /
“a - /
0 /
3 30- /
m -
Ii. /

20- /

10-

J I I I I
1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968-1973 1973-1978
GRAPH 4:9.

Trends in Non-discrimination Policy Statements: 1953-1978 (in percentages)

145

14. Were minority courses offered during a period of twenty-five years?

 

"Minority studies are viewed as a method for giving cohesion

to the larger minority community and a means of providing a

curricular device to facilitate interaction between the on—

campus and off-campus minority communities" (Mayhew, p. 141).

Over this twenty—five year period, the following characteristics
between colleges were noted:

1. Two colleges, or 12.5 percent, did not offer a minority course
of any kind during the entire twenty-five year period.

2. One college, or 6.3 percent, offered on minority course in sociology
during the entire twenty—five year period.

The following characteristics across colleges during each block interval
were noted:

1. Two colleges, or 15.3 percent offered a black (Negro) course
in sociology during Block Interval I (1953-1958) for credit.

2. Five colleges, or 33.3 percent, offered five black courses during
Block Interval II: 1958-1963 (three in sociology, and two in sociology-
anthr0pology, cross-listed) for credit.

3. Another five colleges, or 33.3 percent, offered five black minor—
ity courses in sociology and sociology-anthropology (cross-listed) during
Block Interval III (1963-68) for credit.

4. Twelve colleges, or 75 percent, offered minority courses in history,
sociology, history-sociology (cross-listed), and political science. One
college offered a bilingual minor, and an interdisciplinary major in black
studies.

5. The remaining colleges, or 87.5 percent, offered minority courses

in either black, Chicano, Native American, and women's topics. Among

these colleges, one offered a bilingual-bicultural teacher certification,

Percent of Colleges

146

another offered a black studies major, and another offered an interdis-
ciplinary major in black and Chicano courses.
Graph 4:10 displays these trends during this twenty-five year period.

Graph 4:11 is a composite of these three trends during this same period.

 

 

 

 

 

30- , ' 80- ' . ' ' I
70- ' m 70—
- ' m -
on
60— '21 60-
- r4 _
o
50- U 50-
‘H ..
r o
40- u 40-
- ‘ 5 _
30- g 30-
_ ‘1’ _.
I m .
20— .’ 20-
10- 10-
’ I J I I I I I .1 .IL I
53-58 58-63 63-68 68-73 73-78 53-58 58-63 63-68 68-73 73-78
GRAPH 4:10 GRAPH 4:11
Trends in Minority Courses: Composite of These Three Trends:
1953-78 (in percentages) 1953-78 (in percentages)

An examination of these three trends, particularly during Block Inter-
val IV: 1963-1968, coincide with the mid-19608 when colleges became more
interested in recruiting low academic-ability students. "Remedial efforts
of the period included intensive . . . English courses . . . and U.S.
Government supported programs such as Upward Bound, created in 1965,
and Special Services to Disadvantaged Students, established in 1968 . . ."
(Levine, p. 57).

The emergence of minority courses during the 19603, especially in

n

the latter years and continuing, were . . . attempts to use the curriculum

to meet the needs of . . . racial and ethnic minorities of black, Chicanos,

147

Native Americans, and Puerto Ricans. The early 19705 and continuing,
women's courses appeared in the curriculum" (Mayhew, 1977, pp. 138-43).
The appearance of non-discrimination policy statements in catalogs
by the colleges included in the study emerged during Block Interval IV:
1963-1968, a period when the 1964 Civil Rights Laws were adopted.
Presumably this increase in the number of colleges publishing a non-
discrimination policy statement were institutions receiving Federal
assistance through education programs such as Upward Bound and Special

Programs for the Disadvantaged.

Summagy

A presentation and analysis of the data appeared in this chapter.
This summary is comprised of fourteen research questions (eleven of which
conform primarily, but not exclusively, to research questions asked of
earlier researchers; Dressel & DeLisle 1969, and Blackburn and associates
1976; and three were included because they were not addressed by these
earlier researchers) on the changing practices and contemporary trends
of the undergraduate curriculum in sixteen private liberal arts colleges
spanning over a period of twenty-five years: 1953-1978, based on the
contents of published catalogs.

Colleges catalog representation for each year during this twenty-
five year period was not available, rather the catalogs ranged from
1953 through 1978 in staggered single years, and on occasion, two-year
catalogs were presented. Because of this arrangement, colleges and
their catalogs were organized into five, five-year block intervals. For

each block interval, one catalog was selected to represent a five-year

148

block interval. The block intervals were Block I: 1953-1958, Block II:
1958-1963, Block III: 1963-1968, Block IV: 1968-1973, and Block V:

1973-1978.

Research Questions

 

1. How had the number of hours required for the baccalaureate degree
changed over a period of twenty-five years?

For the sixteen colleges in the study, the average number of semester
hours required for the baccalaureate degree increased from 120 to 128
between Block I: 1953-1958 and Block V: 1973-1978. Table 4:12 (page 116)
revealed these changes for each college: one college decreased semester
requirements, six increased them, six kept them the same, and three were
excluded in the change. The largest increase was Mars Hill College (when
it a two-year college) from 68 to 140. Next was Alma College from 120 to
136. Table 4:13 (page 117) displayed these changes between and within

colleges included in the study.

2. How had the requirements for the baccalaureate degree in general

education, the major, and electives changed over a period of twenty-five

 

years?

One overall finding of this study was that the relative weight of
each of these areas--general education, the major, and electives--had
changed over this twenty-five year period. While the general education
component had diminished considerably, the major component remained
relatively stable, thus the net effect had been an increase in the
elective component of the student's undergraduate education. The

elective component had increased from 26.5 percent in Block I: 1953-1958

149

to 35 percent in Block V: 1973-1978. Table 4:14 presented below reveals
these changes. The trend toward fewer general education requirements
and an increase in student freedom through electives was evidenced across

all colleges in Table 4:15 (page 119).

TABLE 4:14

Proportions of Undergraduate Education Spent in General Education,
The Major, and Electives (in percentages)
Between Block Intervals I: 1953-1958 and V: 1973-1978

 

 

 

Block I: Block V:
1953-1958 1973-1978
General education require- 54.1 42.1
ments (mean) ~
Major requirements (mean) 19.4 23.0
Available electives (mean) 26.5 35.0

 

3. How had the number of courses and majors offered for the baccalaureate
dggree changed over a period of twenpyffive years?

For the sixteen colleges included in the study, the average number of
courses offered over this twenty-five year period increased from 351 to
574 between Block I: 1953-1958 and Block V: 1973-1978. The average
number of majors offered over this period increased from 21 to 25 between
these same block intervals. Table 4:16 (page 120) revealed these changes,
and Table 4:17 (page 121) revealed these changes between and across all

institutions.

150

4. How had the requirements in English composition, foreign languaggg
physical education, and religion changed over a period of twenty-five years?
Another overall finding of this study was that four components of the
curriculum germane to this study--English composition, foreign language,
physical education, and religion--had changed over a period of twenty-
five years. Fewer colleges required these subjects in Block V: 1973-
1978 than did in Block I: 1953-1958: 92 percent in 1953-1958 and 75
percent in 1973-1978 required English composition; 100 percent and 50
percent required foreign language; 100 percent and 63 percent required
physical education; and 69 percent and approximately 13 percent required
religion. Tables 4:18, 19, 20, and 21 (pages 123 and 124) revealed these
changes. Graph 4:2 (reproduced below) is a composite of these changed

over this twenty-five year period.

100-

Percent of Colleges

 

 

I 1L1 I I I
1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968—1973 1973-1978

GRAPH 4:2

Composite Trends in English Composition, Foreign Language,
Physical Education, and Religion

151

5. Was there a shift away from Or taward English proficiency testing
as part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

Over this twenty-five year period there was a shift away from English
proficiency testing toward English composition courses. Thirteen colleges
in Block I: 1953-1958 (n - 13) or 100 percent to 18.7 percent in Block

V: 1973-1978.

6. What changes in curricular structural arrangements were evident
between and across institutions over a period of twenty-five years?

Albeit, there were a variety of curricular structural arrangements
over this twenty-five year period, they usually feel under the rubric
of humanities, social sciences, and the natural sciences (some colleges
linked mathematics with the natural sciences).

When a college adopted a new arrangement in any given block interval,
its catalog did not provide a rationale for the change. Institutional
rationales for adopting new curricular structural arrangements were not

provided in the catalogs.

Analysis Between Colleges:

At the introduction of the twenty-five year period, approximately
30 percent of the colleges specified the department; approximately 30
percent specified the department within a division; another 30 percent
specified the division; and about 8 percent specified the department of
instruction. Whereas no college specified the department within groups
or departments within categories.

During each succeeding five-year block interval, there was a shifting

from one curricular structural arrangement to another, and at the end

152

of the twenty-five year period, approximately 18 percent of the colleges
had retained the department; approximately 37 percent had retained the
department within a division; 25 percent retained the division; and
approximately 13 percent adopted the department within groups. The
department of instruction was phased out during Block Interval III:
1963-1968, whereas the department within categories emerged during Block
Interval IV: 1968-1973 with approximately 6 percent specifying this
arrangement and continued this specification at the end of the twenty-

five year period.

Analysis Across Colleges:

1. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent had retained the department.

2. One college, or 6.3 percent had retained the departments within
divisions.

3. Four colleges, or 25 percent had retained the division.

4. Colleges specifying department within groups, department of
instruction, and departments within categories were not consistent during
each block interval nor were any continuous for the entire twenty-five

year period.

7. What quantitative measures (eug., credits, semester hour,uquarter-
hour, term, unit, course, etc.) were used in specifying degree requirements
between and across institutions?

Analysis Between Colleges:

 

The semester hour was the most consistent quantitative measurement
specified between colleges over the twenty-five year period. Although it
declined gradually during each succeeding block interval, it remained

the most used.

153

Analysis Across Colleges:

1. Four types of quantitative measures (the semester hour unit,
credit, and course) were specified by the majority of the colleges at
the closure of the twenty-five year period.

A. The semester hour was specified by 18.7 percent of the colleges.
B. The unit was specified by 37.5 percent of the colleges.

C. The credit was specified by 12.5 percent of the colleges.

D. The course was specified by 25 percent of the colleges.

2. Colleges specifying the quarter-hour, term-course, year-course,
and year-hour all emerged during the first 15 years with negligible repre-
sentation and were eliminated during the last 10 years.

3. The competence-unit was not specified by any college during the
first 20 years of the twenty-five year period, but closed out with 6.3

percent of the colleges reporting its use.

8. What academicueystems (e.g. semesters, quarters, etc.) were used
in specifying degree requirements over a period of twenty-five years?

At the closure of the twenty-five year period, four types of academic
systems (calendars) emerged: the semester system, quarter system, three-
terms, and the 4-1-4 system.

1. Nine colleges, or 56.3 percent specified the semester system.

2. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent specified the three-terms system.

3. One college, or 6.3 percent specified the quarter system.

4. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent specified the 4-1-4 system.

Comparing quantitative measurements and academic systems at the closure
of this twenty-five year period, for the semester hour and semester calendar,

18.7 percent of the colleges had retained the semester hour, while 56.3

154

percent specified the semester calendar. These trends are revealed below

(from Graph 4:6, page 135).

90-

80-

70-

60-

50-
A~'
20-

10-
' J I I I L

1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968-1973 1973-1978

Percent of Colleges

 

 

GRAPH 4:6

Comparison of Quantitative Measures and Academic Calendar Trends

9. Was there a shift away from or toward comprehensive examinations

 

as part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

The trend among the colleges included in the study was a shift toward
one form of a comprehensive examination or another. At the closure of
the twenty—five year period 69 percent of the colleges required one
form of a comprehensive examination; at the introduction of this same
period, 39 percent required one form of a comprehensive examination, an

increase of about 30 percent.

10. Was there a shift away from or toward specifications of prerequi—
site courses in general education, the major, and electives as part of the
requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

Although no particular trends were discerned about electives (those

courses left over after a student completes the general education and

155

major requirements; the colleges and their catalogs did not specify how
electives were to be used, except they were offered as part of the total
requirements for the baccalaureate degree), courses in general education
and the major either specified prerequisite courses or required adequate
background work before a student could pursue an upper level course.

The trend was a shift toward specification of prerequisite courses among

general education and the major.

11. Was there a shift away from or toward accepting credits-by-

 

examination as part of the baccalaureate degree requirements?

1. Seven colleges, or 43.7 percent did not accept credits-by-
examination of any type during the entire twenty-five year period.

2. Another 43.7 percent did not accept credits-by-examination
during the first 15 years but introduced credits-by-examination by offering
College Level Examination Program (CLEP) credits during the last ten
years of the twenty-five year period.

3. The remaining two colleges, or 12.5 percent, accepted under
specified conditions, credits-by-examination for the entire twenty-five
year period. One of these same colleges introduced CLEP during Block
Interval V: 1973-1978.

Although there were an appreciable number of colleges accepting CLEP
credits during the last 10 years of the twenty-five year period, this
increase was not consistent in comparison to those colleges which did
not accept credits-by-examination during the entire twenty~five year period.
The trend appeared to be a shift away from colleges accepting credits-

by-examination as part of the baccalaureate degree requirements.

156

Additional Research Questions
12. Were remedial courses offered duringjthe span of twenty-five years?
Was credit awarded? Were credits applicable toward the baccalaureate degree?
The majority of remedial courses offered among colleges in the study
were associated with English composition, were offered for no credit,
and were not applicable toward the baccalaureate degree.
Generally, determination of a student taking an English remedial
course was by an examination and/or placement test upon entering, and
on occasion by faculty recommendation. Finally, remedial courses were
designed to improve writing skills.
Analysis Between Colleges:
1. One college, or 6.3 percent offered a remedial course in English
composition for the entire twenty-five year period for no credit

and was not applicable toward the baccalaureate degree.

2. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent did not offer a remedial course
of any kind for the entire twenty-five year period.

Analysis Across College : The offering of remedial courses decreased
from 53.8 percent to 44 percent between Block I: 1953-1958 and Block
V: 1973-1978. Graph 4:8 (reproduced below) displays this change over
this twenty-five year period.
80-
7o:
60-

50-

 

40-

30-

20-

10-

Percent of Colleges

 

I I I I ll I
1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968-1973 1973-1978

GRAPH 4:8
Trends in Remedial Courses

157

13. Did institutions publish a Non-discrimination Policy Statement
over a period of twenty-five years?
Analysis Across Colleges:

1. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent did not publish a non-
discrimination policy statement for the entire twenty-five
year perod.

2. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent published their first non-
discrimination policy statement during Block IV: 1968—1973.

3. The remaining colleges published their first non-discrimi-
nation policy statement during the last five years of this
twenty-five year period: Block V: 1973-1978.

Graph 4:9 (reproduced below) displays this trend over this twenty-

five year period.

80- l
70: ,/
60: //
so: //

40: //

30: //

Percent of Colleges

20: /

10-
' I I I I 4

1953-1958 1958-1963 1963-1968 1968-1973 1973-1978
GRAPH 4:9
Non-Discrimination Policy Statements

 

14. Were minority courses offered during a period of twenty-

fiveqyears?

 

Analysis Across Colleges: The offering of minority courses

 

increased from 15.3 percent to 87.5 percent between Block I: 1953-1958

Percent of Colleges

158

and Block V: 1973-1978. Graph 4:10 (reproduced below) displays this

change over this twenty-five year period.

Graph 4:11 (reproduced

below) displays these three trends over this same twenty-five year

period.

90-

80-
- r.
70- '

- I

60-

50-

40- .

30- ,' ------ '

20-

 

] I I I I
53-58 58-63 63-68 68-73 73-78

GRAPH 4:10

Minority Courses

Percent of Colleges

 

 

L I I | I
53-58 58-63 63-68 68-73 73-78

GRAPH 4:11

Composite

CHAPTER V
THE PROBLEM, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The Problem

 

Contemporary literature on undergraduate curriculum trends and prac-
tices based on the contents of published college catalogs over a specific
length of time is infrequent despite the fact that the college catalogs
is the official record of the college, and a public statement of the
institution's goals and philosophy.

The paucity of contemporary literature suggests a need for curriculum
planners and/or developers to periodically analyze and review their catalogs
through whatever means are available to them. This review would be bene-
ficial even if one college or an amalgamation of similar colleges conduct
catalog research. Such efforts will provide a historical description
and reveal curriculum changes that emerged in their undergraduate curricu-
lar requirements for the baccalaureate degree over any specific length
of time, as documented by the content of their published catalogs. Such
information is invaluable in assisting in the development of policies
regarding degree requirements.

In liberal arts colleges, such as those included in this study,
there are certain features of progress that take years if not decades
to evolve, and can, over the span of twenty-five years, become lost,
confused, or forgotten, simply because of the unavailability of historical
catalog research. For example, "How had the requirements for the bacca-
laureate degree in general education, the major, and electives changed

over a period twenty-five years?" "What changes in specific curriculum

159

160

requirements in English composition, foreign language, physical education,
and religion were evident over the same period of time?" In addition,
"Were remedial courses offered during any portion of this period?" "Was
a non-discrimination policy statement published in the catalogs?" "Were
minority courses offered?"

Providing historical information in response to these questions can
be of assistance to those persons who are developing an interest in the
curriculum possibly for the first time; the new trustee, the faculty
member's initial appointment to a committee on the curriculum, the new
academic administrator, and the recently elected student leader. The
individual with substantial experience with the curriculum, however,
may also find in such a study, information that would not otherwise come
to his or her attention.

The purpose of the study, therefore, was to determine if the under-
graduate curriculum requirements for the baccalaureate degree in sixteen
private liberal arts colleges changed over a period of twenty-five years:
Vl953-l978, based on the contents of their published catalogs. A secondary
purpose was to document the range and frequency of curricular trends and
practices in these same colleges over this same period. An additional
purpose was to determine if these same colleges offered remedial courses,
published non-discrimination policy statements, and offered minority courses
during this same period: 1953-1978.

The following eleven research questions served as a means in deter-
mining if the undergraduate curriculum requirements for the baccalaureate
degree changed over a period of twenty-five years. These research questions

also served as a guide to document the range and frequency of curriculum

161

trends and practices. Three additional research questions were included
to determine if these sixteen private liberal arts colleges offered
remedial courses published a non-discrimination policy statement, and
offered minority courses.

1. How had the number of hours required for the baccalaureate
degree changed over a period of twenty-five years?

2. How had the requirements for the baccalaureate degree in general
education, the major, and electives changed over a period of twenty-five
years?

3. How had the number of courses and majors offered for the bacca-
laureate degree changed over a period of twenty-five years?

4. How had the requirements for English composition, foreign language,
physical education, and religion changed over a period of twenty-five
years?

5. Was there a shift away from or toward English proficiency testing
as part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

6. What changes in curricular structural arrangements were evident
between and across institutions over a period of twenty-five years?

7. What quantitative measures (e.g. credits, semester hours,
quarter-hour, term, unit, course, etc.) were used in specifying degree
requirements within and across institutions?

8. What academic systems (e.g. semesters, quarters, etc.) were
used in specifying degree requirements over a period of twenty-five years?

9. Was there a shift away from or toward comprehensive examinations

as part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

162

10. Was there a shift away from or toward specifications of
prerequisite courses in general education, the major, and electives as
part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

11. Was there a shift away from or toward accepting credits-by-

examination as part of the baccalaureate degree requirements?

Additional Research Questions
12. Were remedial courses offered during the span of twenty-five
years? Was credit awarded? Were credits applicable toward the baccalau-
reate degree?
13. Did institutions publish a Non-Discrimination Policy Statement
over a period of twenty-five years?

14. Were minority courses offered over a period of twenty-five years?

Methodology of the Study

 

The sample of this study was a select group of sixteen private liberal
arts colleges and their catalogs spanning a period of twenty-five years:
1953-1978. The sample does not represent any particular size, control
or geographic location.

College catalog representation for each year during this twenty-
five year period was not available, rather the catalogs ranged from 1953
through 1978 in staggered single years, and on occasion, two—year catalogs
were represented. Because of this arrangement, colleges and their catalogs
were organized into five, five-year block intervals. For each block inter-
val, one catalog of each college was selected to represent a five-year
block interval. The block intervals were: ‘Block I: 1953-1958 Block

II: 1958-1963, Block III: 1963-1968, Block IV: 1968-1973, and Block

163

V: 1973-1978. The total number of catalogs available for this study
was 76 out 80, five catalogs per college per block interval (except in
Block Interval I where n - l3 and Block Interval II where n - 15).

Two methodological approaches were followed: First, a longitudinal

 

approach was used to examine and identify the changes in the undergraduate
curriculum across institutions for each block interval and over the entire
twenty-five year period: 1953-1978. Second, a cross-sectional approach

was used to examine and identify the changes in the undergraduate curriculum
between institutions over this same twenty-five year period.

Longitudinal Approach: For each college and its catalog in each

 

five-year block interval, tabulations were arranged and recorded to each
research question asked in the study. For example, how many semester

hours were required for the baccalaureate degree? Thus, catalog documen-
tation was recorded across each college for each five-year block interval
over a period of twenty-five years: 1953-1978. Dressel and DeLisle (1969)
used a similar approach when they recorded undergraduate trends of 322
institutions between 1957-1967 where each institution was asked to provide
a current catalog (1967) and one of ten years previous (1957). Blackburn
and associates (1976) also used this similar approach with 271 institutions
between 1967-1974.

Cross-sectional Approach: For each college and its catalog in each

 

five-year block interval, tabulations were arranged and recorded according
to each research question asked in the study. For example, how did
institutions differ in the number of semester hours required for the
baccalaureate degree? Thus, catalog documentation was recorded between

each college during each five-year block interval, and subsequently for

164

for the entire twenty-five year period: 1953-1978. This approaCh was
not found previously used in the investigator's search of the literature
pertinent to this study.

The data were tabulated by means of table formats, graphs, and
descriptive statistics (percentages). Narrative statements were pro-

vided to describe other changes and/or trends in the curriculum.

Summary of Findinge

 

The summarized results for the fourteen research questions asked
in the study are presented in the following pages, and where appropriate,
citations of previous research are presented that are in agreement with
the research questions asked in the study.

1. How had the number of hours required for the baccalaureate degree

 

changed over a period of twenty-five years?

 

For the sixteen colleges included in the study, the average number
of semester hours required for the baccalaureate degree increased from
120 to 128 between Block Interval I: 1953-1958 and Block Interval V:
1973-1978.

This area of the undergraduate curriculum and the average number
of semester hours required for the baccalaureate degree was also reported
in Blackburn and associates' study (1976) where they found the average
number of semester hours required for the baccalaureate degree decreased
from 125 to 123 between 1967 and 1974. Aggregating the data on the
average number of semester hours required for the baccalaureate degree
for private liberal arts colleges from their study, the average also

decreased from 123 to 122.5 between 1967 and 1974.

165

2. How had the requirements for the bacCalaureate degree in general
education, the major, and electives changed over a period of twentyffive
years?

One overall finding of this study is that the relative weight of
each of these areas--general education, the major, and electives--had
changed over this twenty-five year period. The general education
component diminished considerably from 54.1 percent to 42.0 percent
between Block Interval I: 1953-1958 and Block Interval V: 1973-1978,
while the major component remained relatively stable from 19.4 percent
to 23.0 percent between 1953-1958 and 1973-1978. The net effect was an
increase in the elective component from 26.5 percent in Block Interval
I: 1953-1958 to 35 percent in Block Interval V: 1973-1978. This
trend toward fewer general education requirements and an increase in
student freedom of choice through electives was evidenced across
all five, five-year block intervals.

The proportions of undergraduate education spent in general educa-
tion, the major, and electives was also reported in Blackburn and
associates study (1976) where they found the general education require-
ments (mean) decreased from 43.1 percent in 1967 to 33.5 percent in
1974, while the major requirements (range) remained relatively stable,
26.7-40.1 percent in 1967 and 25.2-41.0 percent in 1974. The percent
of electives (range) increased from 16.8-30.2 in 1967 to 25.5-41.3 in
1974. The net effect was an increase in the elective segment of the
student's total educational experience.

Dressel and DeLisle (1969) reported that general education require-

ments fell between 31 and 40 percent of the total requirements for

166

graduation. The majority of the colleges and universities had total require-
ments ranging from 21 percent to 50 percent. In 196%,89 percent of the
colleges were found at those ranges, as compared to 82 percent in 1957.
The median, however, was essentially 37 percent for both periods.

About 39 percent of the institutions in 1967 required 24 to 32 credits

for a major, as compared to 45 percent in 1957, a decrease of about 6
percent. The median was 31 percent of the total of the total requirements
for graduation. No comparative data between 1957 and 1967 was available
for the percent of electives available after the general education and
major requirements were fulfilled, except that the number of institutions
allowing electives suggested an increase in the practice of providing
more opportunities for students to make choices.for themselves. However,
in 1967 more than one-half of the institutions clustered at 21 to 30
percent or 31 to 40 percent of the total requirements. The median fell

at 29 percent. A profile of general education, the major, and electives
for 1967 (medians) was: 39 percent for general education, 31 percent

for major requirements, and 29 percent for electives.

3. How had the number of courses and majors offered for the baccalau-
reate degree changed over a period of twenty-five years?

The average number of courses offered increased from 351 to 574 between
Block Interval I: 1953-1958 and Block Interval V: 1973-1978. The average
number of majors offered also increased from 21 to 25 between these same
block intervals.

4. How had the requirements in English composition, foreign language,

 

physical education, and relfgion changed over a period of twenty-five

years?

167

The finding of this study was that four subjects considered essential
to a liberal arts education--English composition, foreign language, physi-
cal education, and religion--had changed over a period of twenty-five
years. Fewer colleges required these subjects in Block Interval V: 1973-
1978 than did in Block Interval I: l953-l958--92 percent in 1953-1958
and 75 percent in 1973-1978 required some form of English composition;
and the percentage of colleges requiring one-year of English composition
also decreased from 77 percent to approximately 13 percent. One hundred
percent and 50 percent required some form of foreign language; and the
percentage of colleges requiring two years of foreign languge also decreased
from 39 percent to about 13 percent. One hundred percent and 63 percent
required some form of physical education; and the percentage of colleges
requiring 3-6 hours (one year) also decreased from 46 percent to about
19 percent. Sixty-nine percent and approximately 13 percent required
religion between 1953-1958 and 1973-1978.

Catalog studies by Dressel & DeLisle (1969) and Blackburn et. a1.
(1976) reported on the trends of these subjects (Blackburn et. a1. did
not report on religion) and found fewer colleges required English
composition and physical education. Foreign language requirements
increased in the Dressel & DeLisle study and increased in the Blackburn
et. a1. study. Mbre specifically, Dressel & DeLisle reported that
colleges requiring one-year of English composition decreased from about
60 percent in 1957 to about 46 percent in 1967. Blackburn et. al. also
reported a decrease in English composition from 90 percent in 1967 to

72 percent in 1974.

168

Two year foreign language requirements in the Dressel & DeLisle
study (bachelor of arts) increased from about 58 percent in 1957 to about
64 percent in 1967. Whereas Blackburn et. al. reported a decrease in
two-year foreign language requirements from 72 percent in 1967 to 45
percent in 1974. Aggregating the data for private liberal arts colleges
from Blackburn et. al., two-year foreign language requirements also
decreased from 49 percent in 1967 to 43 percent in 1974.

Physical education requirements (two years required) in Dressel
& DeLisle study decreased from 68 percent in 1957 to about 62 percent
in 1967. Blackburn et. al., reported physical education requirements
(one college-level course) decreased from 78 percent to 55 percent between
1967 and 1974. Aggregating the data for private liberal arts colleges
from Blackburn et. al., 47 percent in 1967 required one college-level
course as compared to 33 percent in 1974.

Religion requirements in the Dressel & DeLisle study revealed that
22 percent of the institutions in their sample required two years or
more of religion courses in 1957 as compared to 18 percent in 1967.
Similarly, approximately 15 percent of their sample required one year
of religion courses in 1957, while 13 percent did so in 1967.

5. Was there a shift away from or toward English proficiency testing
as part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

Between 1953-1958 and 1973-1978, approximately 81 percent of the
colleges shifted away from English proficiency testing toward requiring
English composition.

6. What changes in curricular structural arrangements were evident

between and across institutions oVer a period of twenty-five years?

169

Analysis Between Colleges:

At the introduction of the twenty-five year period, approximately
30 percent of the colleges specified the department; approximately 30
percent specified the department within a division; another 30 percent
specified the division; and about 8 percent specified the department
of instruction. Whereas no college specified the department within
groups or departments within categories.

During each succeeding five-year block interval, there was a shift
from one curricular structural arrangement to another, and at the end
of the twenty-five year period approximately 18 percent of the colleges
had retained the department; approximately 37 percent had retained the
department within a division; 25 percent had retained the division; and
approximately 13 percent adopted the department within groups. The
department of instruction was phased out during Block Interval III:
1963-1968, whereas the department within categories emerged during
Block Interval IV: 1968-1973 with approximately 6 percent of the
colleges specified this arrangement and continued this specification
through the end of the twenty-five year period.

Analysis Across Colleges:

1. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent had retained the department.

2. One college, or 6.3 percent had retained the departments within
divisions.

3. Four colleges, or 25 percent had retained the division.

4. Colleges specifying department within groups, departments of
instruction, and departments within categories were not consistent during each

block interval nor were any continuous for the entire twenty—five year period.

170

7. What quantitative measures (e;g. credits, semester hour, quarter-

 

hour, term, unit, course, etc.) were used in specifying degree requirements
between and across institutions?
Analysis Between Colleges:

The semester hour was the most consistent quantitative measurement
specified between colleges over the twenty-five year period. Although
it declined gradually during each succeeding block intervals, it remained
the most used. Other forms of quantitative measurements were the unit
and course.

Analysis Across Colleges:

1. Four types of quantitative measures (the semester hour, unit,
credit, and course) were specified by the majority of the colleges at
the closure of the twenty-five year period.

A. 18.7 percent of the colleges specified the semester hour.
B. 37.5 percent of the colleges specified the unit.

C. 12.5 percent of the colleges specified the credit.

D. 25 percent of the colleges specified the course.

2. Colleges specifying the quarter-hour, term-course, year-course,
and year-hour were represented during the first 15 years of the 25 year
period with negligible representation but these measurements were eliminated
during the last 10 years of this twenty-five year period.

3. The competence-unit was not specified by any college during
the first 20 years, but during the remaining 5 years 6.3 percent of the
colleges reported its use.

8. What academic systems (eug, semesters, quarters, etc.) were used

 

in specifying degree requirement over a period of twenty-five years?

171

At the close of the twenty-five year period, four types of academic
systems (calendars) emerged: the semester system, quarter system, three-
terms, and the 4-1-4 system.

1. Nine colleges, or 56.3 percent specified the semester system.

2. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent specified the three-terms system.

3. One college, or 6.3 percent specified the quarter system.

4. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent specified the 4—1-4 system.
Comparing quantitative measurements and academic systems at the close
of the twenty-five year period for the semester hour and semester calendar,
18.7 percent of the colleges had retained the semester hour, while 56.3
percent specified the semester calendar.

9. Was there a shift awey from or toward comprehensive examinations
as part of the requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

The trend among the colleges included in the study was toward one
form of a comprehensive examination. At the introduction of the twenty-
five year period, 39 percent of the colleges required one form of a compre-
hensive examination; at the close of the twenty-five year period, 69
percent required one form of a comprehensive examination, an increase
of about 30 percent.

10. Was there a shift away from or toward specifications of prerequi-
site courses in general education, the major, and electives asupart of the
requirements for the baccalaureate degree?

No particular trends were discerned about electives (those courses
remaining after a student completes the general education and major require-
ments. The colleges did not specify through their catalogs how electives

were to be used, except they were offered as part of the total requirements

172

for the baccalaureate degree). Catalog discussion about courses in general
education and the major either specified prerequisite courses or required
adequate background work before a student could pursue an upper level
course. The trend was a shift toward greater specification of prerequisite
courses among general education and the major.

11. Was there a shift away from or toward accepting credits:py-examina—

tion as part of the baccalaureate degree requirements?

 

1. Seven colleges, or 43.7 percent did not accept credits-by-examina—
tion of any type during the entire twenty-five year period.

2. Another 43.7 percent did not accept credits-by-examination during
the first 15 years, but introduced credits-by-examination by offering
College Level Examination Program (CLEP) credits during the last ten
years of the twenty-five year period.

3. The remaining two colleges, or 12.5 percent, accepted under
specified conditions, credits—by-examination for the entire twenty-five
year period. One of these same colleges introduced CLEP during Block
I Interval V: 1973-1978.

Although there were an appreciable number of colleges accepting CLEP
credits during the last 10 years of the twenty-five year period, this
increase was not consistent in comparison with those colleges which did
not accept credits-by-examination during the entire twenty—five year period.
The trend appeared to be a shift away from colleges accepting credits-by-

examination as part of the baccalaureate degree requirements.

Additional Research Questions

 

12. Were remedial courses offered during the epan of twenty-five years?

was credit awarded? Were credits applicable toward the baccalaureate degree?

173

The majority of remedial courses offered among colleges in the study
were associated with English composition, were offered for no credit,
and were not applicable toward the baccalaureate degree.

Analysis Between Colleges:

 

1. One college, or 6.3 percent, offered a remedial course in English
composition for the entire twenty-five year period for no credit and
was not applicable toward the degree.

2. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent did not offer a remedial course
of any kind for the entire twenty—five year period.

Analysis Across Colleges:

 

The percent of colleges offering remedial courses over the twenty-
five year period decreased from 53.8 percent in Block Interval I: 1953-
1958 to 44 percent in Block Interval V: 1973-1978, a decrease of approxi-
mately 10 percent.

13. Did institutions publish a Non-discrimination Policy Statement

 

over a period of twenty-five years?

 

1. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent did not publish a non-discrimina-
tion policy statement for the entire twenty-five year period.

2. Three colleges, or 18.7 percent published their first non-discrimi-
nation policy statenent during Block Interval IV: 1968-1973.

3. The remaining colleges published their first non-discrimination
policy statement during the last five years of this twenty-five year
period: Block Interval V: 1973-1978.

14. Were minority courses offered during apperiod of twenty-five years?

 

The percent of colleges offering minority courses over the twenty-
five year period increased from 15.3 percent in Block Interval I: 1953-

1958 to 87.5 percent in Block Interval V: 1973-1978.

174

Conclusions

 

The conclusions (where stated) drawn from the findings of this study
are conjectural statements since the study was to report "how" these
sixteen colleges changed over a period of twenty-five years and not "why"
they changed. Hence, the study was empirical and historical in nature.
Also, the researcher is aware of the unequal number of catalogs in Block
Intervals I: 1953-1958 (n = 13) and II: 1958-1963 (n a 15), and that
any findings may mitigate the conclusions. However, any overall appraisal
and/or statements of conclusion are speculative.

1. Change in number of hours required for the baccalaureate degree

over the twenty-five year period.

 

There was an increase in the average number of semester hours
required for graduation. It appears this increase may be attributed
to the increase in student freedom of choice through electives, and/or
the increase in the number of courses offered over this twenty-five year
period.

2. Change in the requirements for the baccalaureate degree in general
education, the major, and electives over the twenty-five year period.

Since the general education component diminished considerably, while
the major component remained relatively stable; the net effect was an
increase in the elective component of the student's undergraduate
education. This finding may be related to the reduction in the required
courses in English composition, foreign language, physical education, and
religion (research question number four), and may be related to the per-
ceived trends of student demands in the 19603 and 19709 (Winston, 1974,

p. 215).

175

 

3. Change in the number of courses and majors offered for the bacca-

laureate degree over the twenty-five yearuperiod.

 

There is evidence that the number of courses and majors increased
over this twenty-five year period. Reasonable assumptions for these
increase may be attributed to student body growth and student body growth
and student interest, faculty interests, technological needs for special-
ized personnel, social pressures, addition of minority course offerings,
the introduction of many types of courses made necessary by a system of
electives, and in general, the expansion of new knowledge (Dressel and
DeLisle, 1969, p. 8).

4. Change in requirements in English composition, foreign languagez
physical education, and religion over the twenty-fiveuyear period.

Fewer colleges required English composition, foreign language,
physical education, and religion over this twenty-five year period.

These findings may be attributed to the decline in the number of majors

in these subjects and subsequently the economic demands on these depart-
ment's survival, and the ferment of the 1960s and 19708 when students

called for greater curricular relevance, greater curricular flexibility,
greater freedom of individual choice, greater student voice in planning
their own education, greater curricular and instructional concern with
social, economic, moral, and ethical values (Mayhew, 1977, pp. 124-125).

5. Shift toward comprehensive examinations as part of the requirements

for the baccalaureate degree.

 

The trend among these colleges was a shift toward one form of a com-
prehensive examination or another. It appears that this twenty-five

year period was one of considerable experimentation with various forms

176

of comprehensives and suggests that comprehensives seldom fully accomplish
the goals intended.
6. Remedial courses were offered for no credit and were not applicable

toward the baccalaureate degree over the twenty-five yearuperiod.

 

Of those colleges offering remedial courses, the majority of them
were associated with English composition, were offered for no credit, and
were not applicable toward the baccalaureate degree.

It was noted that the percentage of colleges offering remedial courses
fluctuated between 1958 and 1978. During the period between 1958 and 1968,
the percentage of colleges offering remedial courses decreased about 17
percent (there are no reasonable conclusions for this decrease). The
period between 1968 and 1978, this trend was reversed where approximately
10 percent of the colleges began to offer remedial courses.

This increase may be due to the increase in the number of minority
students attending colleges throughout the country as a result of colleges
accepting federal assistance for special programs such as Talent Search
and Upward Bound, as well as declining English and reading skills which
were evident nationally during this time period. This is to say that white
students were reflecting the same problems (Cross, 1976, pp. 4-6). It
appears that the increase in these students exacerbated the need for
remedial courses, particularly in the area of writing since these students
themselves were unable to write anywhere near the standards set for them.

7. Institutions publishinguNon-Discrimination Policy Statements over

the twenty-five year period.

 

Approximately three-fourths of the colleges began to publish non-

discrimination policy statements during the last 10 years of the 25 year

177

period. This finding appears to be strongly related to the period when
colleges were accepting U.S. Government support programs such as Special
Services, therefore any institution receiving federal assistance are
required to publish a non-discrimination policy statement in all
correspondence relating to education.

8. Minority courses offered over a period of twenty-five years.

 

Although a negligible percentage of colleges offered minority courses
during the first 15 years of the 25 year period, the percentage of
colleges offering minority coureses were more conspicuous during the last
10 years (1968-1978) of the twenty-five year period. This finding appears
to be strongly related to the period when colleges were beginning to
recruit and accept minority students and accepting federal assistance for

special programs.

Implications

 

This study attempted to determine if undergraduate curriculum trends
in sixteen private liberal arts colleges changed over a period of twenty-
five years: 1953-1978, based on the contents of published catalogs. This
study, however, reported on "how" undergraduate curriculum trends changed
and now "why" they changed. The educational implications are many.

Over this twenty-five year period there were events taking place
in society as well as within institutions of higher education that had
an influence on undergraduate education. There was the launching of
Sputnik in 1957, the Free Speech Movement at the University of
California at Berkeley, 1964, the inclusion of minorities in colleges

and universities in the late 19603, the escalation of the War in

178

Vietnam in 1970, the shooting of students at Kent and Jackson State
in the spring of 1970, and the creation of community colleges and alterna-
tive school systems in the late 19603 and 19703.

The major findings of this study were more apparent during the last
ten years (1968-1978) of this twenty-five year period then the previous
fifteen. The period, 1968-1978, corresponds when institutions of higher
education were suffering from financial or enrollment declines, from
public systems responding to perceived new needs, and from organizations
not traditionally associated with higher education, such as brokerage
organizations and propriety schools. This period also corresponds to the
decline in general education majors (humanities, social sciences, and
physical sciences) and a move toward majors in engineering, business,
health sciences, and trade and technical arts (Levine, 1977, 32-33).

The Carnegie Surveys of 1969-1970 and 1975-76 (as reported in The

Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1977; pp. 103-110)

 

revealed that humanities majors dropped from 9 to 5 percent of all under-
graduates between 1969 and 1976, social science majors dropped from 18
percent to 8 percent, and the physical science majors was a modest
percentage-point increase from 7 to 8 percent.

Then there was the concerted and formal efforts on the part of
faculties to become more intimately involved in governance and the wide-
spread movement toward unionism and collective bargaining. In addition
to these efforts on the part of the faculties, there were curricular and
instructional changes going on in higher education. There was an interest

in nontraditional learning, which makes great use of independent study,

179

life experience, educational potentialities of noneducational institutions,
and many types of part-time study or interrupted periods of study
(Mayhew, 1977, pp. 297—298).

As indicated earlier, educational implications are many. To what
extent these events had on the undergraduate education in these sixteen
liberal arts colleges, as well as other institutions of higher education,
is uncertain. The only tangible evidence available is that general
education majors are on the decline and trade and technical majors are

on the incline.

Recommendations for Further Research

 

Recommendations drawn from the findings of this study include:

1. If a similar methodological approach is used, e.g., dividing
colleges into five, five-year block intervals where one catalog is chosen
from each college for each interval, it is recommended that each block
interval have an equal number of catalogs per block interval. Provision
for such continuity and consistency will strengthen findings and conclu-
sions. In addition, the methodological approach should be longitudinal
(over time) only and not include a cross-sectional approach, since the
latter appraoch is meaningless over time.

2. Eliminate research questions that are not particularly relevant
in determining undergraduate trends and/or practices. For example, What
academic systems (academic calendars) were used in specifying degree
requirements? or What changes in curricular structural arrangements
(administrative units, e.g. departments, departments within a division,
etc.) were evident between and across institutions over a period of

twenty-five years? Questions of these types have some curriculum value,

180

but they do not necessarily indicate undergraduate trends and]or
patterns.

3. It is recommended that if a similar research is attempted,
there should be a team of investigators (for example 5) to eliminate
over-count or under-count when providing statistical data.

4. A similar study is recommended to ascertain if these under—
graduate trends are common among similar colleges, or if they are the
exception. Such a study will enable curriculum planners andlor developers
to compare trends and/or practices in order to determine if internal changes
in their curriculum need to be updated or changed.

5. An in-depth study of colleges' curriculum records, minutes, notes,
faculty correspondence, etc. are needed to determine "why" curriculum
change occurred. This information will provide a more accurate and
meaningful means of determining change. This information may be useful
to curriculum planners in formulating a better understanding of under-
graduate education. This approach may be in the form of case studies.

6. Further research beyond the three traditional components of the
undergraduate curriculum is necessary since the principal concerns of
tomorrow will be professional education (Blackburn and associates, 1976,

p. 42). What kinds of knowledge best prepares people for careers? Such
research may include an examination between the preprofessional and the
professional; who should be admitted into medical school when ten apply

for every position; and how will students know what to take to best prepare

themselves for the profession they have in mind?

GLOSSARY

GLOSSARY

Academic advising--is guidance or counseling concerned with the intellec- ./
tive or cognitive components of the curriculum, such as course
selection, prerequisites, major cognates, requirements and student
performance and progress.

Academic time--refers to college calendars and the number of years of
study required for a student to earn a college degree.

Advanced Placement Programs-is a College Entrance Examination Board
endeavor that allows high school students to earn college credits.
It involves college-level courses in high school and standardized
tests at the completion of each course to assess whether there has
been college-level learning. The examinations are prepared and
graded by committees of high school and college faculty in 13
subject areas.

American College Testing Program--is a college aptitude examination covering
English, mathematic, science, and social science.

Arts and sciences colleges--refer to institutions or units with larger
institutions that offer programs in the fine arts, humanities,
natural sciences, and social sciences.

Audio-tutorial instruction--is a form of programmed education utilizing
a tape-recorded study guide supplemented with texts, films, and
other learning materials. This mode of instruction, which blends
independent study with in-class meetings, was created by S. N.
Postlethwait in 1961.

Basic skills and knowledge--refers to the information and skills a student V/
needs to commence college study.

Blanket grading--is the practice of giving all students in a class the
same grade.

Block calendar--also called the modular calendar or intensive course calen-
dar, is an arrangement whereby students study one course at a time.

Career advising--is guidance or counseling concerned with career planning, V
occupational preparation, and job placement.

Career education--is education intended to develop the skills necessary
to live a full life that revolves about satisfying and meaningful v’
work.

Certificate programs--are college courses of study that do not lead to degrees
and are generally, though not universally, shorter than degree courses.
They are usually highly specialized career programs, and they are
occasionally geared for admission to licensure or career entrance
tests.

181

182

Challenge tests--are examinations created by an individual college covering
subject matter equivalent to that offered in a course. Students
who pass challenge tests are commonly exempted from or given credit
for the course counterpart of the examination.

Closed-book tests-~seek to discover exactly what students have learned.
Textbooks, notebooks, and other forms of assistance cannot be
used during the test.

Cognates--are related courses outside of a particular discipline needed
for work in that discipline, for example, mathematics for physics.

College-—refers to both freestanding undergraduate institutions and under-
gradute schools within large universities.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)--is a form of credit by examina-
tion administered by the College Entrance Examination Board, intended
for adults beginning college or resuming college study after a hiatus,
who acquired the equivalent of college learning through experience,
work, or self-education.

Community and junior colleges-—are two-year institutions offering a variety
of programs that might include credit-free instruction, liberal
arts courses, professional/technical courses, degree and nondegree
programs, and adult and continuing education. They are also referred
to as "two-college." '

Compensatory education--attempts to enhance students' skills, knowledge,
and attitudes--not necessarily to qualify them for more advance
academic programs but simply to build basic new strengths.

Competency-based education--places emphasis on learning outcomes and
student attainment of them rather than on the experience (courses)
that comprise a curriculum or on a prespecified amount of seat time
that students must put in to earn a degree. In competency programs,
students ideally earn a degree whenever and however they achieve
the learning outcome required for graduation.

Comprehensive examinations--test students in broad areas such as general
education or major studies. They are written and/or oral examinations
covering material taught in more than one course and usually
administered to all the members of one college class.

Comprehensive universities and college--include both comprehensive universi-
ties and college I and comprehensive universities and colleges II
(see below).

Comprehensive universities and colleges I--are institutions that offer
a liberal arts program as well as several other profession/technical
programs. Many offer master's degrees; none offer doctorates.

183

Comprehensive universities and colleges II--are institutions that offer
liberal arts programs and at least one professional or occupational
program.

Compression of undergraduate programs-~13 a mechanism for reducing the
time necessary to earn a bachelor's degree by one or more years
by compacting the course of study.

Concentration. See major.

Contract learning--involves a pact between a student and one or more
faculty members outlining a course of studies to be pursued over
an agreed-upon period of time. The course of studies may include
formal courses, independent study, and experiential learning.

Core general education programs--are tightly knit, yet broad and often
interdisciplinary, series of courses, usually required of all students.

Course overload-~occurs when a full-time student enrolls in more than
the institutionally recommended or prescribed number of courses
or credits per term.

Covert grading--involves evaluating students but not informing them of
their grades.

Credit--is a time-based quantitative measure assigned to courses or course-
equivalent learning. A credit can be defined as 50 minutes of instruc-
tion per week for a term. As terms vary in length, credits are
usually referred to as semester or quarter credits. Unit and credit
hour are synonyms for credit.

Credit-by-examination--refers to the practice of granting students college
credit for passing tests based on the subject matter of college
courses they have not attended.

Curriculum--is the body of courses and formally established learning
experiences presenting the knowledge, principles, values, and skills
that are the intended consequences of the formal education offered
by a college.

Degrees--are grades or ranks which colleges and universities confer upon
students for their educational attainments.

Developmental education. See compensatory education.

Disciplinary major--the most common form of major, is a concentration in
an area having a unique body of knowledge and method of inquiry.
Biology, English, and sociology are examples of disciplinary
majors.

Discipline--refers to a discrete body of knowledge with a characteristic
regimen for investigation and analysis, such as history, English,
and biology.

184

Distribution general education requirements-~are designed to ensure that
each student takes a minimum number of courses or credits in specified
subject areas. There are four forms of distribution requirements--
prescribed distribution requirements, minimally prescribed or
"smorgasboard" distribution requirements, recommended distribution
guidelines, and a small group of programs which can be described
only as miscellaneous.

Doctorate-granting universities--inc1ude both doctorate-granting universi-
ties I and doctorate-granting universities II (see below).

Doctorate-granting universities I--awarded 40 or more Ph.D.s in 1969-70
or received at least $3 million in total federal financial support
in 1969-70 or 1970-71.

Doctorate-granting universities IIe-are institutions awarding at least
ten Ph.D.s, with the exception of several embryonic institutions.

Dossier--is a nongraded transcript listing student educational activities,
and containing faculty and student evaluations and examples of
student work.

Double major--simply involves completing the requirements of two majors.

Dropping out--is leaving college on one's own volition without receiving
a degree and without returning at a later date.

Early admission--refers to the practice of enrolling students in college
prior to completing high school.

Elective general education curriculum-~exists when no general education
program is prescribed by a college. The student can create a
general education based on whatever courses he or she selects or
may simply neglect general education.

Essentialism--is a philosophy that holds that education should be based
upon an "essential" or prescribed body of knowledge dealing with
the heritage of humankind. The subject matter tends to be abstract
or conceptual rather than applied or practical. There is no one
essentialist curriculum; however, all essentialist curricula are
teacher centered, utilize tried-and-true forms of pedagogy, and
are premised on the assumption that learning is hard work which
is often done unwillingly by students.

Experiential learning--refers to learning acquired outside the college
classroom. The source of learning may be noncollege courses,
work, self-teaching, travel, or other life activities. Such
learning can occur before or during college enrollment.

Extracurriculumr-consists of the noncredit and nonclassroom activities
available to students through recreational, social, and cultural
activities sponsored by colleges or by college-related organizations.

185

Field distribution subjects--involve no specified courses but only require
that students take courses or credits in one or more of three broad
areas--humanities, natural science, and social science.

Field major--are broad-based concentrations composed of several disciplines
in related areas. Natural sciences, social science, fine arts,
and humanities are examples of such concentrations.

Formative evaluation-~13 a nonfinal assessment designed to identify strengt'
and weaknesses in student performance. The emphasis is upon improveme:
of student achievement.

4-1-4 calendar--consists of two fourdmonth terms separated by a one-month
mini-term which is used for intensive study, special projects, instruc-
tional innovation, or off-campus study.

Free elective system--in its purest form requires of students no prescribed
courses; every student can freely elect whatever courses he or she
desires.

Freshman seminar—-is a pedagogical technique introduced by Nathan Pusey
at Lawrence College in 1945. It is basically a small class concerned
with general education and writing for freshmen. Intimate faculty-
student contact is emphasized.

General education--is the breadth component of the undergraduate curriculum
It usually involves study in several subject areas and frequently
seeks to provide a common undergraduate experience for all students
at a particular institution. See liberal education.

General understanding courses--are intended to give students a broad and
basic undergraduate learning experience.

Grade inflation--is the artificial raising of student grade-point averages.

Great Books--refers to slightly more than 100 books intended to embody the
heritage of Western civilization, ranging from Homer to Einstein. The:
form the basis of the St. John's College curriculum.

Hidden curriculum--consists of learning that is informally and sometimes
inadvertently acquired by students in interactions with fellow student:
and faculty members and inferred from the rules and traditions of the
institution.

Higher education--refers strictly to college and university education.
Honors programs--are courses of study reserved for excellent students.
Independent study--is out-of—class, self-directed education with varying

degrees of faculty guidance or supervision. It can be an individual
or group endeavor.

186

Instruction--is guidance or direction intended to cause learning.
Interdisciplinary courses--are courses that combine two or more disciplines.

Interdisciplinary major (also called the interdepartment major)--is any
formally established or institutionalized concentration linking two
or more disciplines. Field majors and joint majprs are forms of the
interdisciplinary major. ‘

 

Introductory courses--are the most common element in general education
programs. They are overview courses such as "Introduction to
Sociology."

Joint major--involves student construction of a concentration with the
participation and consent of two departments. The student generally
fulfills most of the requirements of both departments.

Junior colleges. See Community colleges.
Learning--is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

Learning centers--are walk-in, frequently individualized, basic skills
resources centers for students.

Lehrfreiheit--is freedom of inquiry, teaching, and publication for
faculty members.

Lernfreiheit--is freedom for the student to move from university to
university and to take whatever courses he or she chooses.

Letter grades-—come in two forms--traditional letter grades, the familiar
A, B, C, D, F, with or without pluses and minuses; and modified letter
grades, which include variations such as no F or no D grade.

Liberal arts colleges--include both liberal arts colleges I and liberal
arts colleges II (see below).

Liberal arts college I--are those included among the 200 leading baccalau-
reate-granting institutions in terms of number of graduates receiving
Ph.D.s at 40 leading doctorate-granting institutions for 1920 to
1966. They are also referred to as "selective" and "the most selec-
tive" liberal arts colleges.

Liberal arts colleges II--include all liberal arts colleges not meeting
the criterion for liberal arts I. They are also referred to as
"less selective" liberal arts colleges.

Liberal education--is perhaps the most commonly used synonym for general
education.

Major (or concentration)--which usually consists of a number of courses in
one field or in two or more related fields, is the depth component
of the undergraduate curriculum.

187

Major-minor--involves completing one major and a shorter-term concentration
in another area. The shorter-term concentration, or minor, generally
involves a course of study equivalent to about one-half of a major.

Minor--an abbreviated concentration, generally consisting of half as many
courses as a major.

Nontraditional-—describes students (such as minorities, women, adults)
and curricla (such as external degree program, credit for prior
experience) which were not integral parts of the American college
in the past.

Numerical grading--generally relies upon a 1-to-100 scale.

Open-book tests--allows students to use resource materials such as textbooks
and notebooks during examinations.

Oral evaluations--are formal, face—to-face assessments of student performance.

Oral test--is generally a face-to-face, question-and-answer session between
a student and his or her teacher, though it can involve a student and
a panel of faculty members.

Pass-fail grading--consists of only two grades, which may be called credit-
no credit, satisfactory-unsatisfactory, pass-no credit, or pass-fail.

Peer advisers--are students knowledgeable in some area of undergraduate
concern who counsel other students desiring to learn about that area.

Peer grading--involve3 evaluation of each student by the other members
of the class.

Peer teaching--involves students teaching one another.

Perennialism—-is a philosophy of education founded on the assumption that
the substance of education is perennial or everlasting. Perennialists
view the ability to reason as the characteristic that distinguishes
human beings from other animals and believe that education should
be concerned principally with training the rational faculties.
Perennialist also believe that people are everywhere alike and that
education should be the same for everyone. As a result, perennialist
education, or the training of the rational faculties, is based upon
the study of immutable and universal truths, which are thought best
acquired by study of the Great Books.

Postsecondary education--refers to all types of education beyond high school.

Prerequisites--are courses specified as requirements for taking more
advanced courses.

188

Prescribed distribution requirements--involve combination of specified
courses, student course options from short preselected lists, and a
limited number of electives in designated areas.

Progress by examination curriculum--involves earning a college degree
by passing tests rather than courses.

Progressivism--is a philosophy of education based on life experience. The
practical progressive philosophy is student centered, which is to
say that student interest is the primary determinant of the direction
of education. The instructor is viewed as an expert and advisor whose
job is to guide the student. The progressive curriculum is problem-
oriented rather than subject matter based. Progressives believe that
the methods of critical thought are life-long skills while bodies
of knowledge are continually changing.

Quarter calendar-~consists of four tendweek terms. The full-time student
takes three courses per quarter and attends three quarters per year.

Remedial education--is instruction designed to bring students up to required
basic skills or knowledge levels in order for them to attend a program
for which they were previously ineligible. Its purpose is to correct
weaknesses.

Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)--is a college aptitude test in verbal and
mathematical skills.

Self-evaluation--is assessment by the learner.

Semester calendar--consists of two terms which average 15 weeks each, but can
be as long as 20 weeks. Full-time students take four or five courses
per term.

Seminar--is generally a small class consisting of advanced students and a
faculty member investigating a field of the faculty member's research.

Senior seminar--is a course designed to cap the general education experience
by assembling, in one class, students with differing majors for the
purpose of solving a common problem.

Senior thesis or project--is an undergraduate creation produced by upper-
division students, generally in an area related to the major.

Sequencing--involves courses that build upon one another and must as a
result be taken in a particular order.

Stopping out-—is leaving college with the intention of returning at a later
date.

Student-created major--is a concentration constructed by the student with
approval of a designated university officer or committee.

189

Summative evaluation--is terminal assessment intended to provide a final
or overall judgment of student performance. The emphasis of summative
grading is upon describing how well the student succeeded.

Tests--are means of measuring student ability or attainment.
Three Rs--are reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Transfer--refers either to a student who changes colleges or to the process
of changing colleges.

Trimester calendar--is a variation of the semester system consisting of
three 15dweek terms. Full-time students attend two terms per year
and take four courses per term or attend three terms per year and take
three courses per term. The latter arrangement is called the 3-3
calendar.

Tutorial--is a formal course pairing one student and one faculty member.

Undergraduate education--refers to learning opportunities available to
students at the pre-baccalaureate level.

Unit. See credit.

APPENDICES

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

15.

16.

APPENDIX A

COLLEGES PARTICIPATING IN THE STUDY BY CARNEGIE TYPE

Liberal Arts College_l
Albion College, Albion, Michigan, 1835, coed.
Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts, 1821, coed.
Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota, 1866, coed.
Colby College, Waterville, Maine, 1813, coed.
Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, 1825, coed.
Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina, 1834, coed.
Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1833, coed.
Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio, 1824, coed.
Reed College, Portland, Oregon, 1904, coed.

Liberal Arts College 11

 

Alma College, Alma, Michigan, 1886, coed.
Birmingham-Southern, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1856, coed.
Converse College, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 1889, coed.
Hope College, Holland, Michigan, 1851, coed.

Mars Hill College, Mars Hill, North Carolina, 1856, coed.
University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, 1851, coed.

Comprehensive Universities and Colleges II

 

St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, 1874, coed.

190

SELECTED COLLEGE CATALOGS BY BLOCK INTERVALS

Albion

1956-1957 B-I
1961-1962 B-II
1965-1966 B-III
1972-1973 B-IV
1977-1978 B-V

Carleton

NCA B-I
1961-1963 B-II*
1967-1968 B-III
1972-1973 B-IV
1977-1978 B-V

Guilford

1953-1954 B-I
1959-1960 B-II
1964-1966 B-III*
1969-1971 B-IV*
1976-1977 B-V

Mars Hill

1955-1956 B-I#
1960-1961 B-II#
1965-1966 B-III
1970-1971 B-IV
1977-1978 B-V

Block Intervals:

APPENDIX B

 

£18. balm—reg
1955-1956 B-I NCA B-I
1961—1962 B-II 1961-1962 B-II
1967-1968 B-III 1965-1966 B-III
1970-1971 B-IV 1970-1971 B-IV
1976-1977 B-V 1977-1978 B-V
Colby Converse
1957-1958 B-I 1955-1957 B-I*
NCA B-II 1960-1961 B-II
1964-1965 B-III 1966-1967 B-III
1971-1972 B-IV 1972-1973 B-IV
1977-1978 B-V 1977-1978 B-V
Hope Kalamazoo
1956-1957 B-I 1955-1956 B-I
1962-1963 B-II 1960-1961 B-II
1967-1968 B-III 1964-1966 B-III*
1972-1973 B-IV 1970-1971 B-IV
1976-1977 B-V 1977-1978 B-V
.3229 §£;_912£
1955-1956 B-I NCA B-I
1960-1961 B-II 1961-1962 B-II
1965-1966 B-III 1964-1965 B-III
1970-1971 B-IV 1970-1971 B-IV
1975-1976 B-V 1977-1978 B-V
Block I: 1953-1958
Block II: 1958-1963
Block III: 1963-1968
Block IV: 1968-1973
Block V: 1973-1978

191

Birmingham-Stu

 

1957-1958 B-I
1961-1963 B-II*
1967-1968 B-III
1972-1973 B-IV
1976-1977 B-V

Furman

1957-1958 B-I
1961-1962 B-II
1967-1968 B-III
1971-1972 B-IV
1976-1977 B-V

Kenyon

1954-1955 B-I

1958-1959 B-II
1964-1965 B-III
1970-1971 B-IV
1975-1977 B-V*

University-Pfc

 

1954-1956 B-I*
1958-1960 B-II*
1962-1964 B-III*
1970-1972 B-IV*
1976-1977 B-V

* = Two Year Catalog
# - Two-year college

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IIIIIIIIIIIIIII“