Summer School Weighs Entrance Requirements

The days of nearly requirement-free admission to the Summer School may be drawing to a close. Thomas E. Crooks '49, Director, indicated yesterday that admission procedures for both the entire session and individual courses are under study.

Should requirements be imposed next year, they would probably affect admission to middle group courses, courses numbered above 100. Placement tests might be given, in order to determine better a student's qualification for a particular course.

Open Door Tradition

In a recent statement to a Board of Overseers committee, Crooks called for "careful scrutiny" of "the tradition of the open door." "We must seek to balance the responsibilities and the capacities of the University in the summer time in the same spirit of service which brought about the traditional admission policy."

At present, only a high school diploma is required for admittance to the Summer School, a prerequisite that is sometimes waived. For example, 42 secondary school pupils from Boston are enrolled in this year's session, and this number of high school students may grow in the near future.

Columbia Rejects Students

Columbia University recently announced that about 100 students had been rejected for admission to its summer session. The New York Times quoted the director as saying, "This is entirely an attempt to insist on high quality instruction in the summer session by screening out the poor risks."

Williams A. Owens, director of the Columbia program, felt that summer credits were not considered academically respectable. The number of students turned away, though, represents only five percent of the 2,000 enrollment.

Housing Shortage

Rooming considerations may also help force a re-evaluation of Harvard admission procedures. For the past four years, the Summer School has grown over ten per cent annually, a rate of growth that would make it larger than Harvard College next summer.

Unless substantial amounts of housing can be located, the Summer School conceivably could be forced to limit its enrollment. The entire problem of admission procedure poses, according to Crooks "one of the most serious problems I face."

No discussion will probably be made, however, until Crooks and his staff completes its "careful scrutiny." The survey perhaps may be completed during the Fall term.