Faculty Decides to Ease College Language Rules

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences officially liberalized the College's language requirement in four ways yesterday, although the basic requirement for the bachelor's degree was retained.

Acting on a motion of the Committee on Educational Policy, the Faculty voted final approval to four proposals, which take effect for all students in residence in 1950-51. Major provisions of the measure are:

(1.) Lowering the minimum entrance examination score necessary for exemption from 594 to 560.

(2.) Extending the approved list of languages to include any languages, knowledge of which can "competently" be tested by the College. The current list includes only ten languages.

(3.) Waiving the language requirement for any student whose native tongue is not English, providing he is proficient in both languages.

(4.) Instituting a new Proficiency Examination, to be drawn up under the Committee on Educational Policy, which will test reading knowledge of the various languages. This test will replace the College Board examination, now in use for students already taking language courses.

Study Begun

Also at yesterday's meeting the Faculty instructed the Committee on Educational Policy to study the problem of the "people who are not benefiting from rigid application of the language requirement in every case." The Committee will deliver a future report on the results of this study.

Under the new system students can satisfy the language requirement three ways: passing the entrance examination with 560 or better, passing the Proficiency Test, or passing with certain grades the language courses now specified in Rules Relating to College Studies. (There is not change in this third method of satisfying the requirement, except that amendments will cover the languages not currently on the approved list.)

Under another revision voted yesterday, elementary language courses will in the future include instruction in "the culture of the people to whom the language is native."