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Caption: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1944
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U N I V E R S I T Y OF I L L I N O I S I06l Freshman and Sophomore Students "that steps be taken toward establishing a General Division within the University or in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences." The Senate, influenced by the interest of the various colleges and schools on the campus in the University-wide two-year requirement, refused to adopt the Policy Committee's recommendation. However, on October 3, 1938, the Senate approved another recommendation "that the further development of plans for a general division or curriculum . . . be attempted by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences." The Dean of the College then appointed a committee which drew up a proposal for a completely new unit within the College, having a separate faculty and a separate administrative head. These recommendations were reported to the Executive Committee of the College. The Executive Committee, in turn, modified the proposal and reduced it in scope so as to provide for a General Division corresponding to a department within the structure of the already existing college organization. This is the plan which was finally adopted in the spring of 1940. How has the General Division fared? It is to be admitted that a two-year period is not long enough to serve as a basis for drawing final conclusions concerning an experiment of this character. Nevertheless, some very important facts concerning it can already be cited. First there is the enrollment. Since the establishment of the General Division first semester enrollments have been as follows: 97 in 1940; 109 in 1941; and 92 in 1942. Obviously, the enrollment in the General Division of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences forms an insignificant part of its almost 4,000 undergraduate students, and it shows no tendency to increase. Second, according to all the reports which the Commission has received, the plan is popular neither with the students nor with the faculty members. New students coming to the campus are advised by the upperclassmen not to take it, because, so they are told, it is harder than the regular curriculum. This may be true because it requires the study of a foreign language and a total of two hours of work more per week than do the other freshman and sophomore curricula. [A.C.E. Report — 43]
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