fold function which seems to serve a distinct purpose for the College. On the one hand it is a Committee of advice to the Dean on all matters that he chooses to bring before it, whether technically under the jurisdiction of the Faculty or of the Dean. It is also the Executive Committee of the Faculty, preparing legislation for its consideration in the form of resolutions, thus sparing the Faculty countless hours of discussion. By means of conferences with representatives of departments and with students, the Committee is able to carry most questions that should be brought before the Faculty through the controversial to the judicial stage. As a consequence, during recent years there has been practically no discussion or debate on the floor of the Faculty, all of the resolutions presented by the Committee being accepted unanimously without comment.

The provision of the Faculty that a member of the Committee on Instruction is not eligible for reelection until at least one year has elapsed has been in force for nearly fifteen years. As a consequence of this provision a considerable number of the Faculty have served on the Committee and know from their own experience the painstaking care with which the Committee considers the questions that are brought before it. It may be that this policy has resulted in a certain amount of confidence in its deliberations.

If the situation just described meant that the Faculty is not sufficiently interested in the affairs of the College to care to discuss them there would be ground for serious alarm. After careful thought I am convinced that such is not the case. During the past year several meetings of the teaching staff have been held at the Faculty House for the informal discussion of live educational topics. Not only have these meetings been largely attended, but the interest displayed in the discussions has been marked. It is perfectly evident that the Faculty is vitally interested in the educational work of the College, but it is just as evident that they are perfectly willing to let the details of administration and discipline be attended to by someone else. This seems to mean that the Faculty assume that the administrative officers will make the

conditions under which the real work of the College is done as satisfactory as possible without their being asked or expected to attend to it. The entire time and energy of the teaching staff can, therefore, be devoted to educational work with a minimum of diversion to administration.

It should not be forgotten, however, that certain details like the regular observance of stated and adequate office hours, the punctual report of grades and attendance, sufficient conference with colleagues regarding the content and conduct of courses, are semi-administrative duties which cannot be avoided if the College is to progress smoothly and effectively. For example, an important result of one of the conferences of the teaching staff was the discovery that the grades handed in by the instructors to the Registrar are by no means uniform in meaning. Some instructors give grades that are in part based on estimates of certain qualities of character, such as reliability, industry, punctuality, and the like. Others rule out all such considerations and give grades that indicate only knowledge of the course. There can be no doubt that the qualities of character referred to are important and that some method should be devised to make them matters of record, provided a reasonably accurate method of estimating and reporting them can be developed. But at the present time there seems to be no conviction on the part of the teaching staff that their estimate of such qualities would be sufficiently accurate to be helpful. It goes without saying that inaccurate estimates of qualities of character on the record of a student would be grossly unfair and misleading. One of the immediate necessities is to find out whether any of the means of estimating qualities of character now used in other institutions are really safe and fair, and to see to it that our own records mean something which is definite and uniform.

The whole question of measurement in collegiate education is gradually progressing to a point where another forward step can be taken. The use of the so-called Intelligence Test as a part of our requirement for admission has passed the experimental stage. Our experience of this past six years

assures us that this test gives us important information about our entering students. The Placement Examinations referred to in my last report are still in the experimental stage. They were given in September, 1923, to all students who were admitted to College, in order to determine exactly what courses in English, modern language, and mathematics each student was qualified to take. The results in the Department of English were definite and resulted in the complete organization of the freshman courses in that subject several weeks earlier than has been previously possible. In modern language and in mathematics the results indicate the possibility of far more accurate placement than is possible on the basis. of the school records. The examinations will be continued in September, 1924, with the expectation of results that will be conclusive regarding the significance of these tests.

There can be little doubt that one of the most pressing needs felt at present by our colleges is that of obtaining data for and methods of giving correct vocational advice to students. The best information available indicates that an average of about ten years is spent by college graduates before. they find the life work for which they are best adapted. The saving in human energy that would result from the discovery of a means of avoiding even a small percentage of this floundering is evidently very great.

At present the most effective method seems to be the timehonored one of personal interview. The reasons for the inadequacy of this method are many and probably unavoidable. Not enough persons exist in our college faculties who have the combination of temperament, judgment, time and opportunity to give advice to all who ought to have it. And even if they did exist, few of them are or can be on sufficiently intimate terms with the students to afford them adequate data for accurate advice. Consequently, any attempt to develop the method of personal interview as a final solution of this problem seems doomed to failure from the start. It is probable that the study of individual differences and the methods of testing these differences have progressed to a point where a scientific study of at least some of the simpler

aspects of the problem might yield important results. But the field is too vast for any one college to attempt to cover, or even to enter without the cooperation of other institutions. There are very few scholars who possess the equipment, the training, the vision, and the human sympathy to direct such work. The coming year, however, should see the organization of a means of attacking this difficult problem on a scale commensurate with its importance. And when this is done, the preliminary work which has already been accomplished in Columbia College will undoubtedly be of value, both on account of the actual results obtained and the methods employed.

There seems to be no reason to fear that the College may not continue during the coming year to improve its distinctly academic work, always remembering that it is educating a whole man rather than a scientific or a literary or an artistic fragment. It is hoped that it may also progress toward a solution of the great problem of discovering these young men to themselves, to the end that they may see clearly into what niche of our complex social order they may fit with the greatest satisfaction to themselves and the maximal benefit to the community.

Respectfully submitted,

June 30, 1924

HERBERT E. HAWKES,

Dean

SCHOOL OF LAW

REPORT OF THE ACTING DEAN

FOR THE ACADEMIC YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1924

To the President of the University

SIR:

I have the honor to submit the report for the School of Law for the academic year ending June 30, 1924.

The registration of the School was as follows:

Colleges and universities whose graduates were in attendance during the academic year 1923-1924 number 103.

During the year the degree of LL.B. was awarded to 172 candidates and the degree of LL.M. to 3 candidates.

The retirement of Dean Stone upon leave of absence from October 1, 1923, and by resignation effective June 30, 1924, coupled with the desire of the President and Trustees of the University to give the fullest consideration to the selection of his successor, resulted in the designation by the President, in accordance with the Statutes of the University, of an Acting Dean.

Dean Stone had been connected with the Law School since 1895, first as a student, then as instructor and Professor of Law, and since 1910 as Dean of the Law Faculty. Under his