Theundergraduateorcollegiateschools，thatnowbulksolargeinpointofnumbersaswellasintheattentiondevotedtotheirwelfareinacademicmanagement，haveundergonecertainnotablechangesinotherrespectsthansize，sincetheperiodofthatshiftingfromclericalcontroltoabusinessadministrationthatmarksthebeginningofthecurrentr間ime。Concomitantwiththeirgrowthinnumberstheyhavetakenoveranincreasingvolumeofotherfunctionsthansuchasbeardirectlyonmattersoflearning。Atthesametimetheincreaseinnumbershasbroughtachangeinthescholasticcomplexionofthisenlargedstudentbody，ofsuchanaturethataveryappreciableproportionofthesestudentsnolongerseekresidenceattheuniversitieswithaviewtothepursuitofknowledge，evenostensibly。Byforceofconventionalproprietya\"collegecourse\"——theduetermofresidenceatsomereputableuniversity，withthecollegiatedegreecertifyinghonourabledischarge——hasbecomearequisiteofgentility。Soconsiderableistheresultinggenteelcontingentamongthestudents，andsodesirableistheirenrolmentandthecountenanceoftheirpresence，intheapprehensionoftheuniversitydirectorate，thattheacademicorganizationisingreatpart，andofstrategicnecessity，adaptedprimarilytotheirneeds。
Thiscontingent，andthegeneralbodyofstudentsinsofarasthiscontingentfromtheleisureclasshasleavenedthelump，arenotsoseriouslyinterestedintheirstudiesthattheycaninanydegreebecountedontoseekknowledgeontheirowninitiative。Atthesametimetheyhaveotherintereststhatmustbetakencareofbytheschool，onpainoflosingtheircustomandtheirgoodwill，tothedetrimentoftheuniversity’sstandingingenteelcirclesandtotheseriousdeclineinenrolmentwhichtheirwithdrawalwouldoccasion。Hencecollegesportscomeinforaneverincreasingattentionandtakeanincreasinglyprominentandvoluminousplaceintheuniversity’slife;asdoalsootherpolitelyblamelesswaysandmeansofdissipation，suchasfraternities，clubs，exhibitions，andtheextensiverangeofextra—scholastictrafficknownas\"studentactivities。\"
Atthesametimetheusualandaverageageofthecollegestudentshasbeenslowlyfallingfartherbackintotheperiodofadolescence;andtheirregularitiesanduncertaintemperofthatuneasyperiodconsequentlyarecallingformoredetailedsurveillanceandamorecircumspectadministrationofcollegediscipline。Withabodyofstudentswhoseeverydayinterest，asmaybesaidwithoutexaggeration，liesinthemainelsewherethaninthepursuitofknowledge，andwithanimperativetraditionstillstandingoverthatrequiresthecollegetobe（ostensiblyatleast）anestablishmentfortheinstructionoftheyouth，itbecomesnecessarytoorganizethisinstructiononacoerciveplan，andhencetoitemizethescholastictasksoftheinmateswithgreatnicetyofsubdivisionandwithameticulousregardtoanexactequivalenceasbetweenthevariouscoursesanditemsofinstructiontowhichtheyaretobesubjected。Likewiseasregardsthelimitsofpermissibleirregularitiesofconductandexcursionsintothefieldofsportsandsocialamenities。
Tomeetthenecessitiesofthisdifficultcontrol，andtomeetthemalwayswithoutjeopardizingtheinterestsoftheschoolasacompetitiveconcern，aclose—cutmechanicalstandardization，uniformity，surveillanceandaccountancyareindispensable。Asregardsthescheduleofinstruction，bonafidestudentswillrequirebutlittleexactingsurveillanceintheirwork，andlittleinthewayofanapparatusofcontrol。Butthecollegiateschoolhastodealwithalargebodyofstudents，manyofwhomhavelittleabidinginterestintheiracademicwork，beyondtheacademiccreditsnecessarytobeaccumulatedforhonourabledischarge，——indeedtheirscholasticinterestmayfairlybesaidtocentreinunearnedcredits。
Forthisreason，andalsobecauseofthedifficultyofcontrollingalargevolumeofperfunctorylabour，suchasisinvolvedinundergraduateinstruction，theinstructionofferedmustbereducedtostandardunitsoftime，gradeandvolume。Eachunitofworkrequired，orratherofcreditallowed，inthismechanicallydrawnschemeoftasksmustbetheequivalentofalltheotherunits;otherwiseacomprehensivesystemofscholasticaccountancywillnotbepracticable，andinjusticeandirritationwillresultbothamongthepupilsandtheschoolmasters。Forthegreaterfacilityandaccuracyinconductingthisscholasticaccountancy，aswellaswithaviewtothegreaterimpressivenessofthepublishedscheduleofcoursesoffered，thesemechanicalunitsofacademicbullionareincreasedinnumberanddecreasedinweightandvolume;untiltheparcelmentandmechanicalbalanceofunitsreachesapointnoteasilycredibletoanyoutsiderwhomightnaivelyconsidertherequirementsofscholarshiptobeanimperativefactorinacademicadministration。Thereisawell—consideredpreferenceforsemi—annualorquarterlyperiodsofinstruction，withacorrespondingtimelimitonthecoursesoffered;andtheparcelmentofcreditsiscarriedsomewhatbeyondthepointwhichthissegmentationoftheschoolyearwouldindicate。Soalsothereprevailsasystemofgradingthecreditsallowedfortheperformanceoftheseunitsoftask—work，bypercentages（oftencarriedouttodecimals）orbysomeequivalentschemeofnotation;andinthemoresolicitouslyperfectedschemesofcontrolofthistask—work，thepercentagessoturnedinwillthenbefurtherdigestedandweighedbyexpertaccountants，whoreviseandcorrectthesereturnsbythehelpofstatisticallyascertainedindexnumbersthatexpressthemeanaveragemarginoferrortobeallowedforeachindividualstudentorinstructor。