Chapters 4 - 7

Question 1

When and how was Ricks academy founded?

Answer 1

Founded in 1888 at Rexburg by Ricks

Question 2

What elements did Ricks academy copy from Harvard at the beginning?

Answer 2

Credits, electives, private fundraising, athletics, an initial short-lived secularization, departmentalization, small face to face classes

Question 3

What were Ricks academy’s key DNA traits in 1888-1914? What were their implications?

Answer 3

(1) Religious & strict moral code - High social cohesion, value-laden curriculum
(2) Partial summer classes - more students, lower cost per student
(3) No grad programs - Focus on young students, lower cost and prestige
(4) No tenure or rank & low self governance - teaching oriented, lower scholarly notoriety
(5) Open admissions - Accessible, need for remediation

Question 4

What were Lowell’s criticism of Eliot’s accomplisments?

Answer 4

• Leisure gained too much importance over academia (for students)
• Disconnectedness of students from faculty - senior professors only available in huge lectures
• Class distinctions between students
• Abuse of elective system - no cohesion

Question 5

Why were there financial difficulties when Lowell took the position?

Answer 5

Eliot’s innovations (electives, investment in faculties etc.) had led to an increase in costs while tuition had maintained at 150$

Question 6

How did Lowell deal with financial difficulties at the beginning of his presidency?

Answer 6

He proposed a 3-pronged strategy that moved the university forward while finding alternative income sources:

• Rebuilding sense of community - Harvard academy for evening classes, dormitories for freshmen that cost more than double price of tuition yearly
• Breadth & depth - concentrations & distributions (Lowell first at this)
• Academic excellence - competition (latin honours and other honours,), support, grading curve

Question 7

What were the main problems of the breadth that Lowell tried to instill?

Answer 7

(1) Hard to provide significant (cohesive) breadth without first laying a strong foundation in specific subjects
(2) Best professors didn’t want to tackle this problems because they preferred more advanced courses

Question 8

Compare knowledge discovery vs instruction missions. What is the main problem for students?

Answer 8

• Knowledge discovery: Scholars are actors nd consumers are other scholars and non academic experts
• Instruction of students: Value adding process that attempts to equip students with skills & knowledge
• A problem of these missions is that students end up subsidizing (via tuition) knowledge discovery from which they are not themselves benefited directly

Question 9

What was Lowell’s stance on academic freedom?

Answer 9

Academic freedom of speech inside our outside the classroom subject to expertise. However, he wanted to limit constraint of statements unrelated to academia (from professors) as much as possible. Even something that might misrepresent the university (i.e. vaccines are bad) because by constraining something he endorses everything else

Question 10

What were Harvard’s DNA changes during Lowells era (1909 - 1933)? What were their implications?

Answer 10

(1) Residential house system - alternate income, faculty-student connection, social & academic support for students
(2) Curricular distributions and concentrations - balance of depth & breadth, tendency towards delegation of instruction in distribution courses
(3) Grading curve and academic honours - competition, more academically-oriented, potentially decreased intrinsic motivation

Question 11

What was the impact of Christensen, Romney, and Manwaring on Ricks academy?

Answer 11

• Christensen - built gym & library, turned academy into 2 year college
• Romney - Starts planning for acadmey to become a senior college → investment in football faculty & elimination of high school classes
• Manwaring - continues to improve transportation & football to increase enrollment. Fails to sell school to Idaho state 3 times, church reduces participation but at the end of the decade it increases it again leading to greater religious influence (mandatory classes)

Question 12

How did Ricks College DNA changed between 1914 - 1944?

Answer 12

(1) 2 year status - advanced study opportunities, end of high school program, specialisation
(2) Admissions standards and honours - basic student preparedness
(3) Recommitment to values - increased moral content, potential for dogmatism