Change of Rules Ends 'Hypocrisy' In Scholarships

Holders of Harvard College National Scholarships will no longer be guaranteed continuation of their awards through the three upperclass years under new rules to be announced March 1 by the Admission and Scholarship Committee.

Under the new plan, National Scholars will also be permitted for the first time to take term-time jobs and loans. In addition, the Committee will use a "flexible definition of honors work" in determining who is eligible for the scholarships.

The changes will have the effect of eliminating "hypocrisy" in the administration of the program, Henry P. Briggs, Jr. '54, director of freshman scholarships, said yesterday. "The new rules," he explained, "will permit us to do in theory what we are already doing in practice."

"In the past," Briggs said, "we have, for example, taken a National Scholarship away from a holder who was doing very poorly even though, technically, we probably should not have done so." The old rules guaranteed continuation of National Scholarships once they had been renewed at the end of the freshman year. When the new plan goes into effect in July, National Scholars will have to ask for renewal every year.

The new rules will also eliminate certain inequities in the scholarship system, according to Briggs. He said the Committee thought it was "unfair to give some students three years insurance even if they were doing poorly, and not give it at all to others." Similarly, he said, it was not fair to deny some scholarship holders the right to term-time jobs and loans while others had them.

Briggs stressed that the new rules will give the Committee and the student increased flexibility. He said this is necessary "because we realize we aren't infallible. It is possible for us to underestimate someone's need or overestimate his ability."

This added flexibility is possible, he said, because rules adopted in 1958 renewal of all scholarships held by students with "satisfactory" academic records (3 C's and 1 D or better).

National Scholarships differ from regular scholarships since they are gives only to students with "honor records" and are intended to cover the full amount of a student's need.