COLLEGES. Three forms of the in stitutions of the higher education are easily distinguished. The earliest was the private, or ecclesiastical. By this method a few citizens, usually members of a church, associated themselves for the purpose of securing a charter from the government of the State in which it was desired to establish a college. Under the public funds raised by taxation. Its government is vested in a board of re gents or trustees, either appointed by the governor or elected by the people. At least 40 such universities are found in the United States.
In the government of each college or university are usually associated two bodies, the one called trustees, or direc tors, or overseers, or regents, or fellows, who represent the legal side of the cor poration. The other is called the faculty, which is the body of instruction. These two bodies work in co-operation in car rying on the essential service of the in stitution.
To the college, or to the undergradu ate department of the university, stu dents are admitted from the high school or the academy. The average age is 18, plus. The direct preparation consists in studies embodying English literature and language, mathematics, solid geometry, either Latin or French or German and occasionally Greek, pursued for four years; history, either ancient or modern, and an elementary knowledge of chemis try and physics. The students of the age of 18 enter college usually, though not always, with a direct purpose. To prepare themselves for a profession was formerly a primary purpose. It is now not the only purpose. The preparation for business, for engineering, for jour nalism, for farming, has, however, in re cent years become an aim not unusual.
The studies which are pursued on en tering the four years' course are easily divided into the old humanities, the new humanities, and the sciences. The old humanities were primarily Latin and Greek. These have in recent decades, es pecially Greek, become largely eliminated for modern linguistic studies. French or Spanish have been substituted. For merly German held a large place. The new humanities include the English lan guage and literature, history, economics, political science, sociology, philosophy, and psychology. The rise of the sciences
in the last 70 years has been constantly reflected in the college curriculum. They have now assumed an important place as educational instruments. The chief sub jects in this field studied in addition to mathematics are physics, chemistry, biol ogy, and geology.
The principle on which these studies, in part prescribed and in part elective, are arranged for the student are, first, to promote the power of thinking, and, secondly, to develop the character of the individual. In the interpretation of the purposes of the higher education such phrases as "Education is self-unfolding," "Education seeks to train leaders in de mocracy," "Education endeavors to form the character as well as to discipline the mind," "Education is aimed to secure rational living," "Education is to help one to enjoy one's self," "Education is a preventive of evil and a promotion of the good," "Education is designed to develop the individual and to incorporate this in dividual into the whole community," "Education is a process of laying up cap ital, both intellectual and ethical," are constantly used.
In addition to the scholastic feature of the college and the university, is found a very vital undergraduate life. This life is composed of manifold associations. First among them is the system of fra ternities—brotherhoods, organized for so cial purposes—not a few of which are intercollegiate. Houses, either owned or leased, are the homes of these organiza tions. Next to them the highest place is occupied by athletic sports, including football, baseball, basketball, hockey, ten nis, and many other sports. Dramatic associations, musical societies, debating clubs, literary organizations, civic clubs, Young Men's Christian Associations, and Young Women's Christian Associations, daily and weekly papers, monthly maga zines, parliamentary associations, repro sent happy and, in many relations, prof itable forms of undergraduate activity.