of 280 members. This was a period of increased enrollment in agriculture and of development of specialization that resulted in the organization of new agricultural departments. The agricultural student body increased from 2,405 in 1903 to 4,247 in 1908, or more than 75 per cent; the staff increased in size during the same period by more than 100 per cent.

TABLE 5.-Number of members of teaching staffs in undergraduate agriculture in 43 institutions by 5-year periods from 1902-3 to 1927–281

1 From data furnished by institutional administrations.

The part-time experiment station and teaching staff grew with increased specialization. The student body continued to increase and by 1916 it was more than three times as large as in 1908. During this period also the colleges began to give more attention to extension work. The teaching and experiment station staffs were called upon to give much time to the preparation of material for extension use and to give help in extension meetings and in organization work. The result was an increase of 250 per cent in the number of persons on the agricultural staff from 1907-1917. Then came the war period and with the decrease in enrollments the number on the teaching staff declined somewhat, but by 1922-23 again had increased. Because of the large enrollment of agricultural students in 1920-21, the great demand for research and service work of all kinds and the beginning of training for Smith-Hughes teaching, the staff was the largest up to that time. From 1923-1927 there was a small increase due in part to additional appropriations for experiment station work.

Just how the agricultural staff spends its time is indicated in Table 6. The table is derived from data furnished by 1,849 individual members of agricultural staffs.

It is apparent at once that in addition to undergraduate teaching, the agricultural staff has many duties and renders service in many lines. The teaching of graduate students, creative work and research

(primarily experiment station work), extension teaching, and public contacts are all of them services of great value to the students and to the public.

TABLE 6.—Number of agricultural staff giving different percentages of time to various activities

It is essential that administrative officers and the public thoroughly understand this situation when attempting to secure data about cost per student. Frequently factors that are not properly chargeable to undergraduate instructions are included in computations of how much it costs to educate a student. These distinctions must also be clearly understood when effort is made to determine the load carried by staff members and when budgets and fund allotments for various types of work are considered. Accurate records of time distribution among the several types of duty performed are difficult to obtain, but suitable record blanks may well be prepared on which every staff member will indicate to the best of his ability, at least once each semester or quarter, how his time is used. With such records on file in the administrative offices of an institution, including the offices of each dean and director for the staff under his charge, it is possible to evaluate the approximate time devoted to any one of several groups of activities by any staff member or by the staff as a whole.

Because much of the time of the agricultural staff has been required for activities other than those of teaching, all agricultural institutions have a much larger staff than would be required for undergraduate instruction only. This has made possible specialized work of a high character that would have been impossible if teaching had been the sole function of the staff. The continuous development of new facts in agricultural science which almost immediately find their way into the classroom, has raised the standard of the subjectmatter material presented to the student body.

Experimental and research work, as well as extension work, also have profited greatly by this relationship since it has made possible the joint employment and use of a greater variety of better qualified

specialists than would have been possible if these units had been limited solely to the employment of full-time persons.

Staff losses.-Excessive losses from the staff make it difficult to maintain high standards and continuity of effort. In the 5-year period for which staff losses have been reported, July 1, 1923, to June 30, 1928, 2 deans, 13 professors, 3 associate professors, and 7 assistants were lost by death, 1 professor and 1 associate professor by illness, and 7 professors and 2 assistant professors by retirement on account of age. Eighteen institutions were affected in these changes. Losses for other reasons are indicated in Table 7.

The largest staff losses are due to transfer of members from one institution to another. These amounted to 196 individuals, or 44.14 per cent of all staff losses in agriculture during the 5-year period July 1, 1923, to June 30, 1928. When vacancies occur, if candidates suitable for promotion are not available, it is necessary to look to some other institution. Usually selections are made from institutions where the salary scales are lower or from candidates of suitable qualifications but of lower rank than that carried by the positions to be filled. Transfers of this kind are frequently of decided immediate disadvantage to the institution from which the staff member is taken. On the other hand, the advantages of promotion for the individual and of securing faculty members with college experience make the net result of such movement of the staff a healthful condition. It is by no means disadvantageous for a small institution, with a relatively low salary scale, to establish a reputation of furnishing staff members opportunities for advancement to other and bigger jobs. The opportunity for advancement to staff members in this manner acts as a stimulation to good work, and attracts good men who have little previous experience.

TABLE 7.-Staff losses in the ranks of assistant professors and above for the period July 1, 1923, to June 30, 1928, in 43 institutions

That the "pull" of business is strong is evident from the fact that 82 staff members were lost to institutions because of business in the 5-year period considered. In addition, 27 left the institutions to affiliate with agricultural or

ganizations and the same number to enter the professions. The National and State governments were able to attract 31 and 55, respectively, or a total of 86. The majority who make such transfers go into agricultural research, control, or administrative work. They are not lost to agricultural education or the agricultural industry since their work in the new positions usually makes for progress in these fields.

It is interesting to note that losses by transfer of staff members to farming are comparatively few, only 26 from all ranks taking this step in the 5-year period under consideration.

It would be very unfortunate for educational institutions if there were not opportunities for staff members to move from one institution to another or into other walks of life. That these opportunities are present makes possible deserved promotions and gives opportunity to staff members for growth and advancement. Under such conditions the best work is done.

Chapter V. Courses and Curricula

The aims and purposes of undergraduate instruction in agriculture have been discussed in detail in a previous chapter. Attainment of these purposes is dependent in part upon the courses and curricula. offered to students who enroll. This being true, the more careful the consideration given to the content of courses and to the organization of curricula the better will be the likelihood that objectives will be attained.

The courses are prepared by a number of different individuals of the instructional staff, but they are usually inspected by other officers or committees. The procedure varies somewhat in different institutions but usually is as follows: The individual teacher prepares an outline of the material to be presented in a course together with texts or references that will be used, and indicates the number of hours of class-room work required per week. This is reviewed by the department head and is submitted by him to the dean who may refer it to a committee of the agricultural staff or the staff as a whole for approval and to an institution faculty committee or institutional faculty for final approval. In some cases it is referred from the dean or from the agricultural committee or staff direct to the institutional faculty.

Four institutions report that courses to be offered must first have the approval of the individual staff member, after which they go to the department head for approval. The department head is reported as first approving courses in 16 institutions. When a course comes to him he considers it. and if he approves forwards it to the dean for approval in 11 institutions, to an agricultural faculty committee in 5, to the agricultural staff in 2, and to the director of resident teaching in 2. The director of resident teaching gives final approval in 1 institution but in the other he forwards the course to the dean.

The dean of agriculture is the first to receive courses and act on them in 4 institutions, second in 12, third in 1, and fourth in 2. He has final authority on courses in 3 institutions and refers them to others in the 16 instances in which he considers them.

An agricultural faculty committee is the first to receive and approve or disapprove proposed courses in 7 institutions, second in 3, and third in 6. The agricultural faculty as a whole is the first to receive and consider courses in 9 institutions, second in 7, third in 3, fourth in 5, and fifth in 1. It, therefore, acts on courses in 25 institutions but has final authority in only 8.

An institutional faculty committee is the first to receive and act on courses in 2 institutions, second in 2, third in 5, fourth in 2, fifth in 3, thus acting on courses in 14 instances. It has final authority in 5.

The president is the second to receive and act on courses in 1 institution, third in 2, fourth in 2, fifth in 4, and seventh in 1, thus acting on courses in 9 instances with final authority in 6. The board of trustees gives final approval to courses in 1 institution and the State board of regents in 4.