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From the figures given it is computed that, of the total extension enrollment as given above, 65 per cent represents the total student enrollment; that is, the number of different students enrolled in university extension credit courses during the past fiscal year was, in round numbers, 77,000.

(c) Extension credit courses like or unlike residence courses.-In 29 of the 40 institutions listed, extension credit courses are practically the same in character and content as are the corresponding courses offered on the campus. Extension credit courses differing in certain particulars from the courses given in residence are offered by 11 institutions. In most cases this difference is very slight. In general, the object of this modification is to meet certain peculiar local situations and special cases. It should be noted in this connection, however, that in the case of practically all institutions coming within this latter classification, the courses which differ in any particular from those listed in the regular semester, term, or summer announcement are organized in practically all cases with the approval of the head of the academic department concerned, and in a number of cases approval is required also by the dean of the department or other administrative officer.

(d) Range and content of subjects offered. The data here presented reveal the fact that a grand total of about 5,000 courses are offered through university extension. These courses include 75 different general subjects. By the term "general subjects" we mean department subjects, as, for example, economics, mathematics, philosophy, etc.

(e) Instructors.-Twelve of the institutions listed employ as instructors in extension credit courses members of the resident faculty only. In the remaining 18 cases, additional instructors are employed; that is, instructors other than those of the regular resident faculty. In the great majority of these cases, however, such nonresident or special instructors are approved and appointed in accordance with the usual official procedure governing the appointment of members of the resident staff. There are a few exceptions to this rule, however.

(f) Cost of instruction.—In the case of extension courses by class instruction, 27 of the institutions giving more or less complete information as to the cost of instruction reported as follows:

Number paying a fixed fee per unit of class work independent of the rank of the instructor___

Number of institutions grading the fees strictly according to the rank of the instructor_.

Number of institutions in which variation in instructors' fees depends upon the distance of the class center from the base, the need for special instruction in individual cases, income from the class, and various other conditions--‒‒‒‒‒

10

7

10

In the case of correspondence study, a few institutions pay a fixed fee per course, as is done in class instruction. Others pay a definite fee per student per unit of credit. Most institutions, however, pay from 25 to 50 cents per assignment for the reading and correction of papers.

(g) Preparation and method of conducting correspondence courses.-Corre spondence study outlines are, in general, prepared by regular faculty members, such outlines being subject to the approval of the director of the extension division and of the dean of the department concerned. In general, the reading, correction, and instruction given in connection with correspondence study assignments are done by regularly appointed instructors who have the specific courses in charge. In a few cases, persons below the academic rank of instructor are employed to read and grade papers. The appointment of such persons, however, is in general subject to the approval of the director of the extension division and the head of the department giving credit.

(h) Income from extension credit courses.-For extension credit courses by class instruction the fees paid by the students vary from $2 per unit of credit to $15. The average fee received, as reported by 30 institutions, is $5 per credit hour.

The fees received for extension credit courses by correspondence study cover about the same range as in the case of class instruction.

Of the 29 institutions reporting definitely as to the relation of income from extension credit courses to the total cost of conducting the same, 23 report that the fees received are sufficient to cover practically the cost of maintaining the courses, not including office overhead.

(i) Residence requirements for graduation.-In general the institutions listed require one year of residence work for graduation, this year in the great majority of cases being the senior year.

In nearly all cases, extension courses do not count as residence courses. There are a few exceptions, as follows: In Indiana, a year's work for the master's degree may be taken in extension classes and counted as residence work; in Minnesota, extension credit courses offered in St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Duluth are recognized as meeting residence requirements for the B. A. degree; in Oregon, extension courses in the Portland center count as residence work; in Pittsburgh, in some special cases; in Syracuse, courses by extension count as residence work; in Wisconsin extension classes in the Milwaukee district are being developed under university administration as residence courses; at Yale, extension courses given under the direction of the department of education count as residence work.

(j) Undergraduate credit allowed for extension credit courses.-Of the 35 institutions furnishing data, 3 report "no ruling" as to the total number of hours of credit which may be earned through the medium of extension credit courses; 9 allow one year of credit toward graduation; 11 allow two years; the remaining 12 institutions have set no special limit, subject to the restriction incident to the requirement of the senior year in residence and certain special courses which require the work to be done in residence.

In general, students are allowed to take as many hours of extension credit work as they can carry satisfactorily, this last point to be determined by the director of the extension division in conference with the instructor in charge. Twelve institutions reporting do not permit students to carry extension credit courses while in residence. The remaining 23 institutions permit students to carry extension courses while in residence, provided permission is granted by the dean.

(k) Graduate credit allowed for extension credit courses.-The question of allowing graduate credit for work done in extension classes is subject to great variation. For example, Chicago allows extension credits earned by correspondence to count toward the doctor's degree under certain specific conditions; Colorado, on the other hand, allows credit toward the master's degree but not for the doctor's degree.

Eighteen universities accept credits for graduate work under certain conditions. In general, such credits are allowed subject to the condition that cases be passed upon individually by the dean of the graduate school.

(1) Attitude of universities regarding extension credits earned in other institutions.—The University of Oklahoma accepts full credit for work done only through its own extension division.

The following universities accept extension credits only when the work is done under the direction of regularly organized extension divisions: Columbia, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Virginia.

The following universities accept full credit for work done in extension courses from institutions which are members of the Association of American Universities: Alabama, Chicago, Kansas, Missouri.

The following universities accept extension credits from any college or university of "high standing": Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee, Washington State College.

The following universities accept extension credits from those institutions which are members of the National University Extension Association: Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota.

The following institutions accept no correspondence study credits: Columbia, Harvard, Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College, University of Pennsylvania, Virginia.

The following universities accept extension credits that have been approved by the institution from which the credits are transferred: Arizona, California, Chicago, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, West Virginia, University of Washington.

The following institutions limit the number of extension credits which they will accept: Chicago, 18 majors, about 60 hours; Colorado, one-fourth of requirements for B. A. degree; Kansas, 60 hours; Kentucky, 32 hours; Michigan, 15 hours; Texas, 60 hours; Washington University, St. Louis, none after the sophomore year.

The following recommendations with reference to the standardization of university extension credit courses, conducted both in class centers and by correspondence study, were adopted by the National University Extension Association at Lexington, Ky., 1922:

(a) Character and content of extension courses.-The content of extension credit courses shall be practically equivalent to that of similar courses offered in residence. Such courses shall be approved by the head of the department directly concerned and such other authorities as the rules of the institution provide for, and also the names and numbers of such courses shall appear in the proper place in the general announcement.

(b) Conditions of admission to extension courses.-Students shall be admitted to extension credit courses, provided that they satisfy the proper official that they can pursue the courses with profit, and provided that they pay the regulation fee. (c) Time allotted for extension class work. In the case of direct class instruction, extension credit courses shall involve practically the same number of hours of class instruction as are devoted to similar classes in residence, and in the case of correspondence study the extension courses shall be equivalent in scope to those of the corresponding courses offered on the campus.

(d) Examinations.-No student shall be given credit in any extension credit course unless he satisfies the instructor of his mastery of the course by means of a thorough examination or other suitable test.

(e) Extension instructors.-All instructors of extension credit courses shall be members of the regular university faculty, or shall be appointed as nonresident members of the faculty, their names to appear in the regular faculty list.

(f) Credits.-Students who pursue an extension credit course and who meet all the requirements laid down with reference to attendance, class work, and examinations shall be given the same credit as that given for a similar course conducted in residence.

(g) Records. In recording extension credit courses, it is suggested that note shall be made that such credits were earned through extension work, either by direct class instruction or by correspondence study.

CHAPTER XV

PARENT-TEACHER ASSOCIATIONS AT WORK

By ELLEN C. LOMBARD

Junior Specialist in Home Education

CONTENTS.-Introduction-Training for leadership in parent-teacher associations-Financial work of parent-teacher associations-Scholarship foundations and student loan funds-Parent-teacher movement in States-Field service-National organization of parent-teacher associations-Work of committeesAssociations in high schools-Legislation-Preschool study circles, mothers' circles, and reading circlesMethods of reading circles-Bureau of parent-teacher associations-Cooperation of State departmentsParent-teacher associations in churches-National conference on home education-School improvement associations-Rural parent-teacher associations-Literature of parent-teacher associations.

INTRODUCTION

Need of cooperative action for the benefit of the children is at the root of the movement to organize teachers and school patrons into working units as auxiliaries to the schools. For many years parents have turned their children over to the school with little thought of whether the children were physically fit for school life; with little attention to the question of habit-forming during preschool years, and perhaps in many cases with a sigh of relief that with the children's entrance into school the responsibility for matters of morals, manners, and habits were to be placed in the hands of the teachers.

Originally, organizations of parents approached the schools with the desire to do something to benefit them; that is, to improve physical conditions and to offer new opportunities by furnishing equipment for playgrounds, hot lunches, and school equipment usually furnished by the use of school funds but which for one reason or another were not available. All of this was good, and produced results of great value. Material assistance is still necessary in some States because of the existing conditions, and these auxiliaries to the schools continue to supplement inadequate appropriations.

But the sentiment is growing that parents may make their best contribution to the schools by training their children during the preschool period, so that when they enter school they will be physically fit, mentally alert, and morally upright. Parents are already beginning to take back into the home some of the responsibilities which, in the past, they willingly surrendered to the schools.

The parent-teacher associations have emphasized the necessity of an educated parenthood, and to accomplish this they have organized within the associations small groups for the study of child problems. These groups are called mothers' study circles, preschool

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study circles, reading circles, etc. The work of these circles is in harmony with the original purposes for which the National Congress of Mothers was formed in 1897. The incorporation of the parentteacher association in the organization of the National Congress of Mothers took place when mothers discovered that they could do their work better by close association with the teachers, and the further inclusion of fathers as parents interested in the welfare of their children brought about finally another change of name for this organization to include fathers and mothers as well as teachers, when it became the National Congress of Parents and Teachers in 1924.

During the biennium of 1922-1924 new and important levels have been reached, according to reports, in parent-teacher associations in respect to growth, stability of organization, efficiency in methods, responsibility in leadership, and practical results obtained. The gradual molding of many small groups of school patrons into an efficient machine capable of giving effective service to a nation is a task requiring patience, and one that will hardly be accomplished in a decade of efficient management; but this is the goal set by the National Congress of Parents and Teachers.

In 1923 this organization set for itself a program which included an all-the-year-round parenthood; an effort to bring the things of the home back to the home; educating the membership and interpreting the value of education to the American people. This program has formed the foundation of the work of not only the National but of State and local parent-teacher associations.

Several types of auxiliaries to the public schools have appeared from time to time, emphasizing some of the needs of the schools. The names of these organizations have been varied, but their purposes have been more or less common. They are sometimes called home and school associations or parents' leagues, or school improvement associations or leagues, or parent-teacher associations. The parentteacher associations, however, have reached the stage of development into a state-wide and national movement reaching every State and with the exception of the State of Nevada organized into a national group of considerable size. Nebraska, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Louisiana associations were formed into State organizations, during the past two years.

Other state-wide movements, however, of some importance have developed to meet school needs, such as school improvement associations which in the past accomplished excellent results for the schools of the Southern States and still function in Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, and South Carolina. Another example of state-wide organization of school patrons is to be found in the community leagues of

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