COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY ORGANIZATION EXPLAINED

To the Freshman coming to Harvard for the first time this year, the machinery of the College and University government under which he is now living is a profound mystery. Even the average upperclassman does not realize that in University Hall several changes have been inaugurated. To many men not only the innovations but even the fundamentals of College administration are entirely unfamiliar.

When the prospective student first seeks to enter College the unit of University administration which he encounters immediately is the Committee on Admission, the chairman of which is Mr. Henry Pennypacker '88. The purpose of this board it to supervise the rules for admission as they have been formulated by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. If a man enters College by means of the regular College Board Examinations, he is not likely to have anything to do with this committee once he has received his certificate of admission. If, however, he has transferred to the University without examinations from another college such is not the case. Here the board investigates his previous work, classifies him provisionally, and at the end of his first year assigns to him his permanent class.

Once a man is admitted to the College, he would be hopelessly confused by the multitude of courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences were it not for the Committee on the Choice of Electives. This board prints the regulations in regard to what courses must be taken for concentration, distribution, etc., and appoints an advisor for each new man. The advisor consults with the student, draws up with him a plan of study, which is submitted to the Committee and checked over to be sure that it complies with the regulations. The rules for concentration, however, are not absolutely hard and fast, exceptions being constantly made for students who obey the spirit of the law although appearing to violate its strict interpretation.

The work of administering the College proper falls chiefly upon Dean C. N. Greenough '98 and four Assistant Deans. Of these assistants Mr. K. B. Murdock '16 has charge of Seniors and out of course students, Mr. E. A. Whitney '17 of Juniors and Sophomores, Mr. P. P. Chase '00 of all new men, while Mr. E. R. Gay '19 keeps the records of the Dean's office.

The Assistant Deans are consulting experts on the regulations of the College. Their chief function is the administering of minor discipline warning men who are taking too many cuts, neglecting their work, or are otherwise likely to come into conflict with official regulations. As a part of this duty the Assistant Deans deal with all cases of men on probation. If a man has such grades that he would ordinarily be put on probation, the Dean in charge of his class looks over his record and reports to the Administrative Board any mitigating circumstances which might justify a suspension of the usual rules. In the same way the Assistant Deans inspect the work of men already on probotion and specify the conditions under which relief will be granted.

On the shoulders of the Assistant Deans falls also the compilation and administration of the Dean's List. All men in Groups I and II go on this list automatically as do any in Group III who apply for a degree with distinction. The primary object of the Dean's List is to give men of proven ability more liberty in the ordering of their work than can be accorded to average students.

Under the charge of these same officers is the administration of the various scholarships as well as beneficiary and loan funds. In the cases of men who do not win scholarships and desire financial aid from one of the numerous loan funds, each individual application is investigated by the Assistant Dean of the applicants class and the required funds specified. Scholarships of all kinds are under the control of the Scholarship Committee at the head of which is Mr. Murdock.

It is in the keeping of the College records that the reorganization of University Hall has been most extensive. In past years attendance records have been kept by the Recorder, Mr. G. W. Cram '88. Last spring Mr. Cram continuing as Secretary to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences also took charge of University printing and of student employment, the office of "Recorder" was abolished and the task of keeping the College records turned over to Mr. Gay. Several innovations were introduced at the same time. For instance, where before only a report of the year's work was sent to students at the end of the college year, last summer was added to the report what courses the student had yet to take, how much of the concentration and distribution program was yet to be filled and what grades must be secured during the coming year in order to win promotion. The attendance records are also kept in the Dean's office, including the attendance of all engineering students taking courses in the College. The latter records, however, are not filed in the office at University Hall but are sent directly to the Engineering School in Pierce, where all accounts of them are made.

Very closely connected with the Dean's office is the Administrative Board of the College. As has been said before, the Dean and his assistants are the consulting experts who advise what action shall be taken in the various cases. It is the Administrative Board which takes the final action, which puts a man on probation, reinstates him, severs his connection with the University, etc. The Deans advise in each individual case because they can meet each man personally but it is the Board which issues the final decision.

There are two officers of the University as a whole with which the College student is sure to come in contact. The first is the Bursar, who is responsible for collecting the dues, fees, and bills of the University and spending the funds as the Controller may direct.

The second University officer is the Regent, whose primary function is to look after undergraduate relations and affairs. For this purpose he appoints the proctors for the various dormitories and is head of the Parietal Board which administers the rules governing life in the dormitories. Infractions of these rules are treated by him before being sent to the Dean's office. As a part of his duties the Regent has general supervision over all undergraduate activities except those of a purely athletic nature which are under the control of the Athletic Committee of which Dean Briggs is chairman.

The distinction between College and University officers is due to the fact that the College is only a part of a much larger organization, the University.

The University comprises, in all twenty-two separate and distinct departments. Chief among these are the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Engineering School, the Graduate School of Business Administration, the Schools of Architecture, the Law School, the Divinity School and the Medical and Dental Schools. Joining all these departments is the corporate body known as the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Overseers Cooperate With President

Cooperating with the President in his work is the general supervisory organization known as the Board of Overseers. This board consists of the President and Treasurer of the University together with thirty other persons elected by general vote of all the graduates. Its main function consists in controlling the general policy of the University and supervising the different departments by means of delegated committees. All appointments of officers and instructors must be ratified by the Board of Overseers before they become official.

A distinct division of the University, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences is in turn divided into two parts, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the College. Dean L. B. R. Briggs '75 heads this division and controls all matters which deal with the policy of both departments.

Connected with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences there is the Committee on Instruction of which Professor C. H. Moore is chairman. This Board consists of the heads of all the divisions (History, English, Economics, etc.), the Dean of the College and the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and constitutes the final court of appeal in all cases relating to instruction. In general it does not deal with the petty problems of routine but seeks rather to direct the general policy of instruction under the Faculty.

The administrative force of the College itself consists of Dean Greenough and his assistants, together with the three committees whose work has already been described in this article. While on the organization chart the College appears only as a subdivision of a subdivision of the University, in point of numbers and of general publicity this division is by far the most important as far as the public is concerned.

Although the Engineering School is an entirely independent part of the University with its own Dean, Faculty, office force and records, very close liason is maintained between it and the College. Men in the Engineering School can take any courses in the College for which they are qualified, many of the Engineering Faculty teach in the College, while many courses are run jointly for the students of both institutions. Among the most notable of these are Engineering Sciences 3 and 5 known in the Engineering School as Engineering 30 and 51 respectively. Admission to the Engineering School is handled by the regular College Committee on Admissions, but the student passes into the control of the School once he has been given his final grading.

Besides the better known parts of the University there are several departments which exert a very wide influence. The University Extension each year conducts hundreds of lectures in districts about Boston and does a great deal towards bringing education to the door of even the poorest man. The Summer School performs the same function when for six weeks in the vacation, school teachers and others who are unable to pursue their studies during the winter months have an opportunity to take courses in specialized fields relating to the work