5. COUNTRY-LIFE CONFERENCES.

Country-life conferences have been held at the university during the last four summer-school sessions; the first in 1914 under the direction of Dr. Liberty H. Bailey, of Cornell, and Prof. Branson, of the university. In 1915, the prominent figure was Dr. William A. McKeever, of the Kansas State University.

In 1916 a country-life institute of illustrative sort was directed by Prof. Branson, the purpose being to stimulate the holding of such institutes in country communities throughout the State under local ministerial guidance. The attendants upon this institute at the university were 232, with 21 ministers among the number. Two thousand copies of a special bulletin embodying the plan were published, and the entire edition was distributed in response to requests for it from the State at large and from other States. Nine local institutes were held in country communities in north Alabama by a single minister. In North Carolina the State community service commission has held such institutes in 15 country communities.

In 1917, the Country-Life Conference held an eight-day session, including two Sundays, on which days special addresses on country church and Sunday school problems were delivered by Dr. Victor I. Masters, of the Southern Baptist home mission board, Prof. E. L. Middleton, of the State Baptist Association, and Prof. Branson. The home, school, and health problems of the countryside were treated by Dr. C. J. Galpin, of the University of Wisconsin and representatives of the State departments of education, agriculture, and public health. The attendants numbered 274.

6. THE UNIVERSITY NEWS LETTER,

Ten thousand copies of the university News Letter are mailed weekly to people in North Carolina who want it and write for it. The increase in this way has been 6,500 since November 18, 1914, when the first number was issued. It is devoted to the economic, social, and civic phases of North Carolina life, and it enables the university to present to the people of the State the intimate studies of North Carolina made in the department of rural economics and sociology and by the students of the State and county clubs.

III. PUBLIC DISCUSSION AND DEBATE.

North Carolina has always had a special bent for public discussion and debate. In order that such discussion might be better informed and more intelligent, the division of public discussion and debate has attempted to promote discussion and debate not only among the high schools, but among clubs and societies of every sort, and to supply

outlines and material for use in such discussions. The organizations through which the work has been carried on most successfully, however, have been the school literary societies having membership in the High-School Debating Union.

This organization, through the cooperation of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Literary Societies of the university, was established in 1912 with an enrollment of 90 schools. In March, 1913, each of these 90 schools, after carefully studying an 80-page bulletin prepared by the division, put out an affirmative and a negative team, grouped them in triangles with teams from neighboring schools, and held spirited debates in 90 North Carolina communities. The local contests in these communities were heard by 30,000 North Carolinians, leaving out of consideration the pupils in the schools who became familiar with the subject in the school societies and competitive contests for positions on the teams.

Following this, all schools whose two teams had won in both of their local contests were entitled to enter final contests at the university. Sixteen schools, whose representatives were entertained at the university for two days by members of the faculty and the student body, won this privilege; and after further elimination, Pleasant Garden, a farm-life school of Guilford County, won the decision over the high school of the city of Durham. Woman suffrage was the subject for debate, and the affirmative won.

In 1914 the number of schools grew to 150, and a number of girls made places on the teams. Forty-one schools won in the first preliminary and sent 164 representatives to the university for the final contest. Winston-Salem won on the negative of the subject of the initiative and referendum. Sixty-four of the one hundred North Carolina counties were represented, and a total audience of more than 50,000 was reached.

Enthusiasm and interest have steadily increased from the beginning. In 1915 the number of schools reached 250; in 1916 it grew to 325; and in the 1917 contest it reached 332, with a total of 1,328 debaters, all speaking in 332 North Carolina communities on the same night (March 20) to audiences of 125,000 to 150,000 people. In these three contests the subjects were ship subsidies, the enlargement of the Navy, the Government ownership of railroads, the winners being the high schools of Wilson, Graham, and Waynesville.

The part that girls have played in these debates has been most significant. In the first no girls won their way through the eliminations at the university; in the second a half dozen participated in the semi-finals; in the third a team composed of two girls won the finals over their 998 competitors; in the fourth one member of the winning team was a girl; in the fifth, of the 328 representatives of the 87 schools which won the privilege of entering the finals, 101,

almost one-third, were girls. Of these, two from Mount Olive won the distinction of defending the negative in the final debate and lost the decision by the narrow margin of three to two.

In addition to the annual contests, interest in discussion is maintained throughout the whole school year by means of fortnightly debates, for which material is supplied in the university News Letter, the special discussion and debate bulletins issued by the Bureau of Extension, and from the library of the university, local public libraries, or from the North Carolina library commission. Every section of the State, and every type of high school, feels the stimulation of the union; and in these days of national crisis, when the thought of the Nation is focused on the question of ships, navies, and railroads, the youth of North Carolina is laying the firm foundation of intelligent citizenship.

In all the work of this division the bureau has had the support of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Literary Societies of the university, whose record for debating dates back to 1795. The influence of the alumni and of the student body has been felt in every community, and in many communities the alumni and present members of the student body have made all the plans for the conduct of the local debates. The bureau has been entirely relieved of entertaining the boys who have won the privilege of entering the finals at the university, as this has been done by the university students in residence, leaving only the girls, their chaperons, and the principals of the high schools, to be entertained by the members of the faculty.

The activities of this division have been carried on by the assistant director of the bureau. Expressed in tabular form, they exhibit the following scope:

Letters written in conducting the debate__
Bulletins on query furnished debaters___
Other documents and material on query fur-

nished debaters______

Number of schools participating

Number of counties represented__

Number of debaters participating.

Total North Carolina audience reached____.

In 1915-16.

In 1916-17.

5,000
2, 943

6, 000
3,000

IV. CORRESPONDENCE STUDY COURSES.

As a means of placing the teaching force of the university at the disposal of the people in the State, correspondence study courses are offered. About one-half of these courses carry credit toward the undergraduate degree; the other courses carry no credit. Practically every department is represented by these courses, with the exception of science. All the work in the conduct of the courses is done by the regular faculty members without extra pay.

The courses are arranged on the basis of 30 lessons, each of which is equivalent to one week's work in the regular session at the university. Credit is allowed on the basis of one, two, or three units, depending upon whether the course in regular session comes one, two, or three times per week through the year. A unit means a year-hour, not a semester-hour.

After registration the first two of these lessons are sent to the student who is expected to do the work of the first lesson and send in a report within one week. While this report is being examined by the instructor and returned within the week, the student is expected to prepare the work of the second lesson and report. As these corrected reports are sent back to the students, a new assignment is also sent, thus keeping the student supplied with a new lesson each week and helping to keep the interest alive.

The majority of these courses are taken by teachers, although a fair proportion of the students represent other professions and occupations. Prevailing conditions in North Carolina determine what the student body in correspondence work shall be. There are no large industrial centers in which sufficiently large groups of engineers, mechanics, salesmen, clerks, etc., can be organized to warrant the expense of supplying an instructor to the group. It is not desirable or feasible to carry on work in such with individuals by correspondence alone. Little or no opportunity has been offered so far by which this work can be carried on through the summer months, because so many of the instructors are away on vacation. This has proven a handicap, and steps are being taken to overcome it.

The work is made self-supporting by fees for the courses. The fee for credit courses is $5; for noncredit courses, $3. An additional registration fee of $2 is also charged the first time a student registers for any course. This registration is permanent so long as the student continues to take the work. Fees are not remitted once the work is begun. No credit courses of junior or senior grade are given as yet, and courses for not over one-fourth the credits required for the A. B. degree can be taken by correspondence study. Sixty yearhours, or 120 semester-hours, is the minimum for graduation. Hence, 15 year-hours or 30 semester-hours may be taken toward a degree through correspondence study.

The officer in charge of this work is a professor in the university, who serves without extra pay. A paid secretary attends to all the clerical work and handles the routine matters. At present this secretary does not have to devote full time to this work, but has other clerical and stenographic duties.

The number of students enrolled is not large, but every year sees a substantial increase in the enrollment. Several students who began

in the correspondence study division have later come to the university and attended the regular session. A few students in the regular session who have been obliged to discontinue regular work in residence have completed it by correspondence study. Through summer school work, correspondence study, and attendance at the regular session, a few students have been able to obtain a degree who otherwise could not have taken the necessary time from their livelihood to give full residence during the four years.

CLUB STUDY COURSES.

During the past year a plan has been devised by which the correspondence study division cooperates with the North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs to aid the members of literary departments in planning the year's programs.

The president of the federation, together with a professor from the department of history and the secretary of the correspondence study division, chose Latin America as the general topic of study for the year and worked out in detail topics and programs for the year's study and club discussion.

This program was printed in attractive booklet form under the university's direction and is supplied with a syllabus on Latin America and a textbook for each member, together with a map of the country for club use, to the literary clubs for a $1 fee from each member of those clubs which register. The university undertakes to aid further by furnishing reference books from the college library to individual members in the preparation of club papers or club dis

cussions.

V. LECTURES.

For many years the university has, upon invitation, sent members of its faculty to communities of the State to deliver special lectures and educational addresses. In 1913-14 it extended this work through the Bureau of Extension by organizing a lecture division, through which it might aid schools, Young Men's Christian Associations, women's clubs, and other organizations in obtaining speakers to discuss with them the problems incident to their daily activities and to interest them in the welfare of the State and in the cultivation of the finer things of the spirit.

During the four years members of the faculty have offered annually a total of from 100 to 152 subjects suitable for various organizations. A bulletin has been published annually indicating the character of the lectures, a number of which are illustrated with stereopticon slides.

No fee has been given the instructor delivering the lecture, and no charge has been made for the service except that in every instance