GENERAL EXAMINATIONS

There has been an increasing amount of discussion in recent years of the pros and cons of certain features of the present system of General Examination in History Government and Economics. Men concentrating in this division take three three hour examinations at the end of the Senior year; one covering the department of History, Government or Economics as the case may be one on a special field with in the department and a so called "general" examination on the two related departments in which the student is not concentrating.

It is in regard to this test on the related fields that most of the criticisms have arisen. Honors men particularly find it difficult at the conclusion of a year in, which they have had to write a thesis and study a great deal in a special field to cover all the work of their own department not to mention the "related" ones. Review can at best be of a cursory nature; tutorial work can be of little help where the tutor is a specialist in another department and feels that most of the time must be spent in the particular subject of concentration. The result as shown by the examination papers is that the broad knowledge aimed for is spread out so much that it becomes extremely thin.

Various steps might be taken to remedy the present situation it has been proposed by some to abolish the examinations in "related" fields entirely. And substitute certain course requirements which would cover the ground. But this suggestion is hardly in line with the increasing emphasis toward tutorial work as distinguished from mere counting of courses. Another solution might lie in giving these examinations at the conclusion of the Sophomore or Junior year so that men would have a fresher knowledge of the subjects and would have more leisure to prepare for them. While there is much to be said for such a plan the experiences of other departments with Junior Divisional should be carefully weighed before their extension to this division is considered.

Perhaps a better remedy would be an attempt to recast the form of the examinations in related fields in such a way that there would be a real correlation with the student's special line of study. A man concentrating in Government for example instead of attempting to become an authority on the whole field of Economics might be examined on some more restricted subject such as Public Finance or Governmental Regulation of Public Utilities in such a way that he would be able to focus his knowledge of Economics on something of real interest to his own line of study. Under such a plan a broad basis of knowledge in the related fields would still be essential, but the grind of going over the details of elementary courses would give way to more profitable and interesting study. Some sort of move in this direction would be in keeping with the noteworthy place which the Division of History Government and Economics has held in the progress of the Tutorial System.