by those who are next above them in quality, and by those who most frequently come in contact with them. One end of the social scale is weighted, and in some degree the weight affects the whole scale.

The religious relations of operatives to the community were referred to in the first article and will be discussed hereafter. The chief facts have now been set forth. They constitute a serious problem in civilization. The statement of that problem and some suggestions toward the solution of it will be the theme of a closing article.

FALL RIVER, Mass.

William W. Adams.

THE ELECTIVE SYSTEM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF

VIRGINIA.

[THE discussion started in the November number of this "Review," by the article of Professor Palmer, on "The New Education," will, doubtless, be continued by the advocates respectively of the curriculum and the elective system of education. The present article is in no sense polemic, and the system described is not new. This elective system has been in operation in the University of Virginia for over sixty years. Its working is well known throughout the South, but it is not so well understood in the North, and discussions of the elective system of education have grown out of the adoption of the system, in a somewhat different form, by Harvard University in recent years. The writer has thought that a plain and simple description, without argument, of the system pursued for so long in a sister university may not be without interest to educators who are seeking to find out the best way to attain the objects which we all have in view. The success

which has attended the University of Virginia, and the prominence which its alumni have attained in all walks of life, are at least a testimony to the suitableness of the system for this particular institution.

This article was prepared, by invitation, for the International Congress of Educators, which met at New Orleans in February, 1885, during the World's Exposition, and will appear, in time, in the Proceedings of that body to be published by the United States Bureau of Education. It was intended to show the inner working of the university, and as a supplement to "A Sketch of the

University of Virginia," prepared by a committee of the Faculty as a part of the university exhibit in the Exposition, and containing a brief history of the origin of the university, an account of its early organization, and the subsequent additions to its subjects and means of instruction, and a particularly full account of its local arrangements, endowments, and income. Such matters are, therefore, not described in this article, except in so far as the present organization of the university illustrates the working of its elective system. The University of Virginia was the first institution in the country to adopt this system, and its work has been consistently done on the lines originally laid down, the question of changing it for any other having never even been mooted, as far as the present writer is informed.]

The University of Virginia was first opened for the reception of students on March 7, 1825, so that it may now be said to have completed its period of middle life, and to have attained the comparatively venerable age of sixty years. The system with which it started, then altogether unique in this country, continues to be the system at the present day, notwithstanding the many changes and additions which have since taken place. This system was an arrangement of the subjects of instruction taught at that time into eight separate and distinct schools, as they are technically termed, namely, Ancient Languages, Modern Languages, Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Natural History (soon, however, limited to Chemistry), Moral Philosophy (including Mental Philosophy), Anatomy and Medicine combined, and Law. These eight schools have expanded into nineteen, in some of which, besides the professor, there are assistant instructors, and of these, twelve are academic schools, six being literary, and six scientific (though two of the latter are attended only by specialists), and seven are professional schools, three being in the Medical Department, two in the Law, one in the Engineering, and one in the Agricultural. Each of these schools is independent of every 1 These schools are now designated as follows:

ACADEMIC SCHOOLS.

Literary Department. - Schools of Latin, Greek, Modern Languages, English Language and Literature, Historical Science, and Moral Philosophy (six). Scientific Department. — Schools of Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, General and Industrial Chemistry, Analytical and Agricultural Chemistry, Natural History and Geology, and Practical Astronomy (six).

other as far as its course and methods of instruction are concerned. The professor himself is the sole judge of the special subjects which he shall include in his course, and of the manner in which he shall teach those subjects. Within the limits, then, of each particular chair there is the greatest freedom allowed in the selection of subjects and arrangement of the course. One of the cardinal principles of German university organization, Freiheit des Lehrens (freedom of teaching), was thus initiated in this country sixty years ago.

The Faculty, as a whole, consisting of the professors at the head of each school, is the immediate governing body of the university, and controls the number of hours, and even the particular hours, which are devoted to instruction in each school; and, subject to the approval of the Board of Visitors, representing the State authority, directs what honors shall be awarded in a part, or the whole, of the course taught in each school, and what schools, in whole or in part, shall be required for the academic and professional degrees of the university. The Faculty is presided over by a chairman, appointed annually by the Board of Visitors, although, in practice, the same professor is reappointed as often as he is willing to undertake the onerous duties, which no one desires to undertake, notwithstanding the additional compensation. Upon the chairman devolve all the administrative and executive duties usually discharged by the president of a literary institution, but his power is more limited, for every question that arises outside of the ordinary routine must be referred to the Faculty, and be decided by that body. The Faculty acts usually through committees, but no decision of a committee is final unless approved by the Faculty. This feature of the university system is thought by some to be open to objections, and the more common organization, with a president at the head of the institution, is considered, in some respects, better; but the plan has been found to work well in practice, it is thought to place more responsibility upon the individual professor, and it is at least an open question whether a different organization would be better for this particular instituMateria Medica, Medicine, Obstetrics and Medical Jurisprudence, and Chemistry and Pharmacy [same as Academic] (four).

Law Department.

Schools of Common and Statute Law, and of Constitutional and International Law, Mercantile Law, Evidence and Equity (two). Engineering Department. - School of Mathematics applied to Engineering (one).

Agricultural Department.- School of Agriculture, Zoology, and Botany (one).

tion. Moreover, it was a pet idea of Mr. Jefferson's, derived, perhaps, from the annual election of a Rector magnificus in the German universities, and we are told in a paper from the pen of Professor Minor, written thirty years ago, that "Mr. Jefferson attached not a little importance to this republican feature of rotation, insomuch that at the very last meeting of the Board [of Visitors] before his death [in 1826], Mr. Wirt, then Attorney General of the United States, having been appointed Professor of Law and President of the University, Mr. Jefferson, while expressing his hearty concurrence in Mr. Wirt's appointment to the Chair of Law, entered upon the minutes, with his own hand, so strong a protest against the creation of the office of president that, upon Mr. Wirt's declining, the proposition was never renewed." 1 But though the rotation existed in the early days of the university, no professor having then held the office more than two years in succession, this ceased forty years ago, and, as already stated, it is customary for the Board of Visitors to reëlect the same professor as often as he is willing to retain the office. Another feature of the organization of the Faculty deserves notice, and that is, that there is no distinction whatever between the professors in the academic and in the professional departments. They all meet on an equal footing as one body, and questions relating to each department are decided by the whole body. The division of the Philosophical Faculty, which has recently agitated the German universities, has not yet been suggested here, even so far as relates to a separation of academic and professional schools, but each professor avails himself of whatever light may be thrown upon the subject under discussion by any one of his colleagues. This tends to prevent narrowness, to avoid considering the claims of one school, or department, separate from the rest, and to give force to a decision of the Faculty as that of the whole body, and not of a fractional part of it.

The Board of Visitors has been referred to as the highest authority of the university. This board consists of nine members, appointed every four years by the Governor of the State, and confirmed by the Senate, three from the Piedmont region, in which the university is situated, and two from each of the other three grand divisions of the State, the Valley, Southwest Virginia, and the Tidewater region. In the hands of this board are lodged all powers usually exercised by boards of trustees, and especially the control of the finances of the university, although in respect to

1 Jefferson and Cabell Correspondence, Appendix Q, p. 519.

these the Faculty, at the close of each session, through one of its committees, prepares for its annual report a statement of estimated receipts and expenditures for the ensuing session, with such suggestions as it may think proper in respect to expenditures for special purposes, which statement serves as a guide to the Board of Visitors in authorizing the disbursements. This board is required by law to make to the Legislature an annual report of the condition of the university. The university receives from the State an annual appropriation of forty thousand (40,000) dollars, in return for which it is required to admit, free of charge for tuition in the academic schools, all Virginia students sixteen years of age who pass an elementary examination for admission into the respective schools which they desire to attend, or who present certificates of satisfactory attainments from some college or preparatory school. The limit of age has heretofore been eighteen years, but this was changed by the Legislature in 1884 of its own motion.

Having thus briefly sketched the organization of the university as regards its subjects of instruction and its governing bodies, let us consider it from the point of view of those for whose benefit the university is established, and see how it affects them. A student who enters the university is supposed to have arrived at such an age as to know what he wishes to study, or to have had directions from his parents to pursue certain subjects of study. This is, of course, true with respect to professional students, whose average age on entrance is over twenty-one years, and it is presumed to be true with respect to academic students. The average age of these students on entrance is about nineteen years, so that the presumption is reasonable. The entering student finds at least ten academic schools open for his selection, three of which he is required to enter, unless he is of age or has his parents' authority to enter a less number. Sometimes as many as four are entered, in whole or in part, but it is seldom advisable for a student, and especially a first-year student, to enter more than three. Cases frequently occur where a student has taken up more studies than he can attend to, and therefore applies to the Faculty for permission to drop some one school. If the student is a candidate for a titled degree, he will find these schools grouped in accordance with the requirements for that degree, but the order in which he shall take up the specified schools is left entirely to his own selection. The schedule of hours is to some extent a limitation upon his selection, as, of course, students cannot enter the same

1 See the Table on next page.