specialists than would have been possible if these units had been limited solely to the employment of full-time persons.

Staff losses.-Excessive losses from the staff make it difficult to maintain high standards and continuity of effort. In the 5-year period for which staff losses have been reported, July 1, 1923, to June 30, 1928, 2 deans, 13 professors, 3 associate professors, and 7 assistants were lost by death, 1 professor and 1 associate professor by illness, and 7 professors and 2 assistant professors by retirement on account of age. Eighteen institutions were affected in these changes. Losses for other reasons are indicated in Table 7.

The largest staff losses are due to transfer of members from one institution to another. These amounted to 196 individuals, or 44.14 per cent of all staff losses in agriculture during the 5-year period July 1, 1923, to June 30, 1928. When vacancies occur, if candidates suitable for promotion are not available, it is necessary to look to some other institution. Usually selections are made from institutions where the salary scales are lower or from candidates of suitable qualifications but of lower rank than that carried by the positions to be filled. Transfers of this kind are frequently of decided immediate disadvantage to the institution from which the staff member is taken. On the other hand, the advantages of promotion for the individual and of securing faculty members with college experience make the net result of such movement of the staff a healthful condition. It is by no means disadvantageous for a small institution, with a relatively low salary scale, to establish a reputation of furnishing staff members opportunities for advancement to other and bigger jobs. The opportunity for advancement to staff members in this manner acts as a stimulation to good work, and attracts good men who have little previous experience.

TABLE 7-Staff losses in the ranks of assistant professors and above for the period July 1, 1923, to June 30, 1928, in 43 institutions

That the "pull" of business is strong is evident from the fact that 82 staff members were lost to institutions because of business in the 5-year period considered. In addition, 27 left the institutions to affiliate with agricultural or

ganizations and the same number to enter the professions. The National and State governments were able to attract 31 and 55, respectively, or a total of 86, The majority who make such transfers go into agricultural research, control, or administrative work. They are not lost to agricultural education or the agricultural industry since their work in the new positions usually makes for progress in these fields.

It is interesting to note that losses by transfer of staff members to farming are comparatively few, only 26 from all ranks taking this step in the 5-year period under consideration.

It would be very unfortunate for educational institutions if there were not opportunities for staff members to move from one institution to another or into other walks of life. That these opportunities are present makes possible deserved promotions and gives opportunity to staff members for growth and advancement. Under such conditions the best work is done.

Chapter V.-Courses and Curricula

The aims and purposes of undergraduate instruction in agriculture have been discussed in detail in a previous chapter. Attainment of these purposes is dependent in part upon the courses and curricula offered to students who enroll. This being true, the more careful the consideration given to the content of courses and to the organization of curricula the better will be the likelihood that objectives will be attained.

The courses are prepared by a number of different individuals of the instructional staff, but they are usually inspected by other officers or committees. The procedure varies somewhat in different institutions but usually is as follows: The individual teacher prepares an outline of the material to be presented in a course together with texts or references that will be used, and indicates the number of hours of class-room work required per week. This is reviewed by the department head and is submitted by him to the dean who may refer it to a committee of the agricultural staff or the staff as a whole for approval and to an institution faculty committee or institutional faculty for final approval. In some cases it is referred from the dean or from the agricultural committee or staff direct to the institutional faculty.

Four institutions report that courses to be offered must first have the approval of the individual staff member, after which they go to the department head for approval. The department head is reported as first approving courses in 16 institutions. When a course comes to him he considers it, and if he approves forwards it to the dean for approval in 11 institutions, to an agricultural faculty committee in 5, to the agricultural staff in 2, and to the director of resident teaching in 2. The director of resident teaching gives final approval in 1 institution but in the other he forwards the course to the dean..

The dean of agriculture is the first to receive courses and act on them in 4 institutions, second in 12, third in 1, and fourth in 2. He has final authority on courses in 3 institutions and refers them to others in the 16 instances in which he considers them.

An agricultural faculty committee is the first to receive and approve or disapprove proposed courses in 7 institutions, second in 3, and third in 6. The agricultural faculty as a whole is the first to receive and consider courses in 9 institutions, second in 7, third in 3, fourth in 5, and fifth in 1. It, therefore, acts on courses in 25 institutions but has final authority in only 8.

An institutional faculty committee is the first to receive and act on courses in 2 institutions, second in 2, third in 5. fourth in 2, fifth in 3, thus acting on courses in 14 instances. It has final authority in 5.

The president is the second to receive and act on courses in 1 institution, third in 2, fourth in 2, fifth in 4, and seventh in 1, thus acting on courses in 9 instances with final authority in 6. The board of trustees gives final approval to courses in 1 institution and the State board of regents in 4.

The setting up of curricula is a more complicated process than the preparation of individual courses. Usually no one of the staff is a specialist in this work, and there are no invariable rules to be followed by the individual, committee, or group that undertakes it. On the other hand, a number of guides are commonly used. These are listed as follows in the order of their reported use by the institutions.

Guide

Study of the curricula of other colleges_____

Analysis of occupations of graduates and former students___
Staff discussion of objectives of agricultural training----

Study of elements of basic sciences essential to understanding of the technical courses--

3

Number of institutions

38

37

34

33

30

26

Systematic inquiry of agricultural graduates and others as to the purposes college training should meet----

Analysis of the agricultural industries of the State____. Study of range of opportunities in agricultural occupations and their frequency

Study of reasons for which students abandon the study of agriculture_-_Study of the nontechnical activities of those in agricultural vocations____ Study of the causes of failure in agricultural vocations____

9

6

Curricula with certain aims or objectives may be decided upon as desirable and courses outlined and arranged to give the desired material in the proper place, or the curricula are built out of the courses already offered by the various departments, those being used that seem to be closely related and to contribute the type of material that is desired in the curriculum. While the former plan would seem to be the most desirable from the standpoint of the results that are likely to be obtained, comparatively few institutions follow this practice. The majority construct the curricula largely from the courses already outlined and made available by the different departments. In the one instance the material for the course is planned and shaped to fit into a structure of a certain architectural design. In the other the materials available are examined and the best possible under the circumstances are selected; out of these a structure is built which may or may not follow a well-designed plan. In one case curricular objectives are decided upon and courses are prepared on the basis of desired content with a view to coordination with other similarly prepared courses in a finished curriculum. In the other case the curricula are prepared by arranging combinations of courses already available in the various subject-matter departments. Most institutions have found it impossible to outline courses which will meet fully the objectives in any single curriculum, since the courses usually must be given at one and the same time to many students enrolled in different curricula.

The building or setting up of curricula usually is a complicated process and involves several agencies in practically every institution. The first planning

is done by department heads in 11 institutions. In all cases the curricula are submitted for approval to the dean and agricultural or institutional committees or faculties or several combinations of these. The agricultural dean is the first to plan the curricula in 2 institutions, reviews and acts on them second in 8 instances and third in 2. He has final authority in 3 instances. The director of resident instruction acts second on curricula in 1 instance and third in 1 and has final authority in 1. An agricultural faculty committee plans the curricula in 16 institutions, acts on them second in 3, and third in 2 instances. It has final authority only in 1. The agricultural faculty sets up the curricula in 10 instances, acts second in 17, third in 4, and fourth in 2. Thus this faculty considers the curricula in 33 instances and has final authority in 11. An institutional faculty committee sets up the curriculum in 2 instances, acts second in 2, third in 4, fourth in 1, fifth in 2, and has final authority in 3. The university senate acts first on curricula in 1 instance, second in 2, third in 2, fourth in 5, fifth in 1, and sixth in 1 institution, and has final authority in 5. The institutional faculty acts second on curricula in 2 instances, third in 6, fourth in 2, fifth in 1, and sixth in 1, and has final authority in 7. The president acts first on curricula in 1 instance, third in 2, fourth in 2, fifth in 2, sixth in 1, and seventh in 1, and has final authority in 6. The board of trustees acts third with reference to curricula in 1 instance, fourth in 1, and fifth in 1, with final authority in each case. The board of regents acts on curricula third in 2 instances and eighth in 1, with final authority in all; and some other State agency acts last in 2 instances with final authority in both.

It is clear that both in courses offered and in curricula care is taken that no individual may act alone. In the majority of instances they pass for review before an individual and committee, two or more committees or faculties before they are approved and placed in the catalogue.

Trends in Agriculture Curricula

It is not possible to show full details of the various trends in instruction in the colleges since their organization, because reports were not sufficiently complete with reference to curricula or groups of subjects to draw a finished picture. This is true even when courses were listed with names, numbers, and credit hours and curricula were given in full. To evaluate with certainty the emphasis placed on any subject or group of subjects would involve going back of the names of the courses and the catalogue descriptions. These are indicative of the content of courses but of necessity omit much detail required for judgment. Complete course outlines or syllabi would be more useful, but even these would not furnish a basis for estimate of classroom emphasis. Such study is very desirable and might be conducted by individuals or groups within the institutions themselves but is not feasible in a national study. However, from the data on subjects and curricula reported in more or less detail for this survey, supplemented by the use of catalogues some of the major trends are indicated for the general curriculum in agriculture, or for the curriculum in agronomy where there is no general curriculum.

These curricula perhaps have been weighed and considered more than any others in the agricultural group. The major changes that have taken place since 1880 have been the gradual elimination of