Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1948 [PAGE 1099]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

1098

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[May 22

"The Committee on Admissions from Secondary Schools shall supervise the accrediting of high schools by the University of Illinois for admission to the University of Illinois. It shall be the duty of this committee to determine, with the approval of the University Senate, the conditions for the accrediting of high schools, to specify the criteria by which they shall be evaluated, to give advice and guidance to the secondary schools, and to encourage and promote the development of sound educational policies pertaining to secondary education in the State of Illinois. The High School Visitor, with the approval of the Committee on Admissions from Secondary Schools, shall publish information pertaining to the accrediting of high schools and such other material as may appear necessary to fulfill the functions of the Committee." This matter of accreditation by University of Illinois staff members has been explored in the past few years, the studies having been carried on by the Senate Committee on Educational Policy, the office of the Provost, the College of Education, and the High School Visitor's Office. They indicate that the University of Illinois should discontinue formal inspections, devoting the talent and funds available to research and to field services and conferences. Along with other educational institutions in the State we are alread}' engaged in an elaborate study of the secondary school curriculum and in programs of research and advice concerning the reorganization of the schools of Illinois. We plan to maintain such functions at a high professional level. We feel that it is valuable to all concerned to keep the high schools in close contact with the work and resources of the University. We do not feel, however, that accreditation is a necessary condition of such helpfulness; it may, in fact, operate to reduce effectiveness. As far back as 1944, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Admissions from Secondary Schools pointed out certain weaknesses in the present arrangement: A. Related functions are scattered and uncoordinated. B. The University controls unduly the high-school education of pupils who will not attend the University. C. Inspection of high schools by the University does not necessarily lead to better high schools and may lead to poorer ones. D. Inspection by the University overemphasizes secondary education and underemphasizes elementary and adult education. E. The present system does not send to the University the kind of students who most need a University education. F. The requirements of the University regarding the pattern of high-school subjects can not be defended. G. School inspection and service to the schools (i.e., by the University of Illinois) can not be successfully combined. H. Service to the schools should be a function of the College of Education and the University Extension Service, not of the High School Visitor's Office. I. No other state university follows a plan similar to ours in dealing with the secondary schools. J. Even if the present system were continued, the rules and controls governing the secondary schools should be simplified and made more relevant to the educational process. Of course, these weaknesses are relative and they are balanced to some degree by special activities in the High School Visitor's Office. I should say that increasingly the Office has emphasized its responsibility in discussion and demonstration; it has set up some very effective conferences in various areas. Its chief value now is not in inspectional enterprises but in terms of professional leadership. In recommending a reversion of the full responsibility for inspection to the State Department of Public Instruction, we contemplate the retention and expansion of these professional services in the College of Education. The University, of course, retains full control over its requirements for the admission of students. I should point out that some of our educational friends are fearful that the withdrawal of the University from these inspection, policing, and accrediting services will have unhappy effects. However, joint conferences held recently between the officers of the Illinois Secondary School Principals' Association and the officers of the University did not yield any explicit argument against the proposed transfer, but only the general feeling that in some fashion the work would