COLGATE PLAN

Colgate, aided by a sizeable grant from the Carnegie Corporation, has recently evolved a system of higher education both interesting and in a sense, new. Freshmen are required to elect a list of five survey courses in philosophy, history, fine arts, physical science and biological science. As sophomores, they may choose one of these fields for extensive cultivation under an elaborate hierarchy of tutors.

Although the "Colgate Plan" is almost identical in many respects with the concentration system introduced at Harvard by President-Emeritus Lowell, it has one obvious advantage. Both universities stipulate a certain number of required courses, but Harvard makes no specification as to just when during the college career those shall be taken. Thus the value of survey courses as an aid to intelligent choice of concentration field is largely destroyed.

It is possible that in this instance the father might learn from the son. The broad surveys in English, history, philosophy and science, whether required for mental discipline or to give intellectual scope, should be included in a uniform freshman curriculum. Such a step would not only benefit the concentration plan, but would disseminate as early as possible those blessings claimed for survey courses, and leave later college years less troubled by cramping loose ends and regulations.