The regents of the university are chosen by the legislature, one retiring each year; and an act of 2909 requires that their number shall at all times be three more than the number of judicial dis tricts. The commissioner of education is chosen by the regents and continues in office during their pleasure. The commissioner (sub ject to approval of the regents) appoints three assistant com missioners for higher, secondary and elementary education re spectively. The elementary schools are under the general con trol of district superintendents. The number in a county ranges from five to eight. Any two or more adjoining school districts may unite to form a union free school district, and in any village or union free school district having a population of 4,500 or more the board of education may appoint a superintendent of schools. The total public school enrolment in 1934 was 2,296,868, and the total school expenditures were $285,559,319. Of the total public school enrolment, 1,683,731 were enrolled in the elementary and kindergarten schools and 613,137 were enrolled in secondary schools. The public schools of the State employed 84,806 teachers. In 1934 there were pupils enrolled in the private and parochial schools within the State. School attendance has long been compulsory.
For the training of teachers the State maintains teachers col leges at Albany and Buffalo, and normal schools at Brockport, Cortland, Fredonia, Geneseo, New Paltz, Oneonta, Oswego, Platts burg and Potsdam. The State controls professional and technical schools through the regents' examinations of candidates for admis sion to such schools and to the professions, determines the mini mum requirements for admission to college by the regents' aca demic examinations, maintains the large State library and the valuable State museum, and occasionally makes a gift to a college or university for the purpose of maintaining courses in practical in dustry. Under such an arrangement are maintained the State col lege of Agriculture and the State college of Home Economics both connected with Cornell university (q.v.), at Ithaca; the State agri cultural experiment station, at Geneva; the State school of Agri culture at St. Lawrence university, at Canton; the State school of Agriculture at Alfred university at Alfred; the State school of Agriculture at Morrisville ; the State school of Agriculture at Cobleskill; the State school of Agriculture at Delhi; the State Institute of Applied Agriculture on Long Island at Farmingdale, L.I. ; the State school of Forestry at Syracuse university, Syra cuse; and the State school of Clay Work and Ceramics at Alfred university, at Alfred.
Among the institutions of higher learning in the State, besides Columbia university (q.v.) and Cornell university (q.v.), are : Union university at Schenectady ; Hamilton college at Clinton; Colgate university at Hamilton ; Hobart college at Geneva ; Rens selaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy ; New York university in New York city; Alfred university at Alfred; Fordham university in New York city ; College of the City of New York; University of Rochester at Rochester; Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn at Brooklyn ; Niagara university at Niagara Falls ; St. Lawrence uni
versity at Canton; St. Bonaventure's college at Alleghany; Long Island university at Brooklyn; Manhattan college at New York city ; Vassar college (q.v.), Poughkeepsie; St. John's university, Brooklyn; Canisius college at Buffalo; Syracuse university at Syracuse ; Adelphi college at Brooklyn ; Clarkson college of Technology at Potsdam; St. Rose's college at Albany; Wells col lege at Aurora; St. Francis college at Brooklyn; D'Youville col lege at Buffalo; St. Joseph's college for Women at Brooklyn; University of Buffalo at 'Buffalo; Elmira college at Elmira ; Houghton college at Houghton; Keuka college at Keuka Park; College of New Rochelle at New Rochelle ; College of Mount St. Vincent at New York city ; College of the Sacred Heart at New York city; Cooper Union at New York city; Hunter college of the City of New York; Skidmore college at Saratoga Springs; Marymount college at Tarrytown ; Russell Sage college at Troy; Good Counsel college at White Plains; and Brooklyn college at Brooklyn. The U.S. Military academy (2802) is at West Point.