Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1910 [PAGE 73]

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1908]

PROCEEDINGS OF T H E BOARD OF TRUSTEES. E E P O R T OF T H E E X E C U T I V E C O M M I T T E E .

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Mr. Abbott, chairman of the Executive Committee, made the following report with regard to action taken by t h e , committee concerning the C. P . A. examination held in May, 1908.

CHICAGO, NOV. 18, 1908.

To the President and Trustees of the University of Illinois: November 16th, I communicated with Mr. Lehman and Mrs. Carrie T. Alexander, members of the Executive Committee of the Board, regarding the desirability of appointing, without further delay, a special committee of the board to consider the testimony submitted concerning a question raised as to the, fairness of that examination by some of the C. P. A. candidates, who failed to pass the examination held in May this year by the University C. P. A. examining committee. The opinion of the Executive Committee was that to secure an early decision on this question, as requested by the petitioners, a special committee should be appointed to consider carefully the testimony in the case, and report its conclusions at the next meeting of the board. I have accordingly appointed a special committee, consisting of P. L. Hatch, Arthur Meeker and A. P. Grout, to each of whom I have written a letter notifying him of his appointment, giving a general history of the case to date, a copy of which letter is attached hereto. I will ask that this letter, together with the letter attached, be made a part of the records of the board and be filed with the papers concerning this C. P. A. examination protest. Very truly yours,

W. L, ABBOTTT,

Chairman Executive

Committee.

1908.

CHICAGO, NOV. 18,

Hon. F. L. Hatch, Hon. Arthur Meeker, Hon. A. P. Grout, Members Boards of Trustees, University of Illinois: GENTLEMEN—One of the duties laid upon the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois by the State Legislature is that of awarding the degree of Certified Public Accountant to those candidates who pass such an examination in this subject as the University considers necessary to maintain the degree at a proper standard. The University offers no course for this degree, but has placed the entire management of all affairs relating to examinations for the degree in the hands of the President of the University. The President in turn has delegated this duty to a committee of three members of the Faculty, who are known as the University Committee on Accountancy, and this committee is assisted by a board of examiners, two of whom are accountants and one an attorney, who prepare the questions and conduct the examinations. One of the prerequisites which has been prescribed by the Legislature for candidates, before they may be admitted to examinations, is that they must have had the equivalent of a high school preparation, but at the last session of the Legislature a law was passed waiving the pre-educatlonal requirements for candidates for the examination to be held in May, 1908, and May, 1909. This was to admit to examinations those men of middle age and of undoubted ability who now are, and have been engaged in accountancy, but who have not had a high school education. In May of this year the first examination was held under this provision, and about seventy candidates appeared to take the examination, of whom less than 12 per cent were successful; whereupon many of the unsuccessful candidates formed an organization to protest the examination, alleging that it was unfair in many features because of bias on the part of the examiners against those candidates who applied for examination under the "Waiver Act. Their protest was lodged with the University Committee on Accountancy, and by it referred to the President of the Board, who, acting under the