University Has Reached No Policy on Expansion

President Pusey yesterday said that the administration has made no decision on the question of expanding undergraduate enrollment and indicated the College may never establish a rigid formula for limiting student numbers.

The President further cautioned against attempting to reach an immediate settlement of the expansion problem, before sufficient data has been collected. He pointed out that three or four years still remain in which to collect and weigh evidence before the rising flood of students reaches the College level.

The President told the CRIMSON that the nature of the expansion problem could preclude its ever coming up for a definite vote by either the administration or the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He noted that the College has steadily expanded in the past 25 years without the enrollment increase ever being voted upon.

"It's very difficult to legislate on a problem of this kind," he stated. Outside pressures are such, he continued, that even in the past when the size of the College was specifically restricted, the figure was immediately broken the following year.

Contrast to Yale and Princeton

The President's position came in marked contrast to earlier statements within the week from Yale and Princeton, which indicated both colleges will definitely hold the line against rising application figures.

At present, President Pusey said, no special committee has been established to study the expansion problem.

Although long-run policy is undetermined, present crowded facilities would seem to preclude any extensive expansion over a short term, he indicated.

President A. Whitney Griswold of Yale last week said his college definitely would not increase its enrollment for over a decade. And a high admissions official outlined the same policy for Princeton earlier this week.

But President Pusey did not block the possibility of Harvard's expanding at some point in the future.