Columbia Will Expand Enrollment 20 Percent

Columbia became the first Ivy college to take an official stand on the controversial problem of expansion last week when the Dean of the College announced that undergraduate enrollment will increase 20 percent during the next 15 years.

At the same time, the Columbia faculty, which decided on the expansion program, stated that the college must maintain its qualitative standards if the increase in quantity is to be a success.

Dean Lawrence H. Chamberlain, in announcing the decision, said Columbia has taken this step in order to meet the rising tide of qualified applicants expected during the next decade. Private colleges, he declared, "cannot ignore the growing pressure on their gates from hordes of high-school graduates."

As a result of this move, Columbia's undergraduate body will grow from 2436 students this year to a limit of 2800 in 1970.

The faculty will be enlarged in proportion to the increase in the student body, and new physical facilities will be added. The college will enhance its classroom, laboratory, and library space, and will provide new dormitory rooms for the increasing numbers of resident students.

The Faculty stressed the fact that Columbia's qualifications for admission would not be changed as a result of the greater enrollment. The present requirements of the college's curriculum and general education program will also be maintained.

Small Groups to Continue

Class sections will continue to meet in small groups, and the faculty advising program will be expanded to meet the demands of the growing student body.

Not all members of the Columbia faculty agreed with decision to expand. "It would be awfully hard to have the College both bigger and better," said Boris M. Standfield, associate professor of Economics, "and if a choice has to be made, I would choose better."

The majority of the faculty, however, was optimistic about the plan. Dean of Students Nicholas McNight said that expansion was "inevitable and desirable provided that the conditions stipulated in the resolution are met."