UNIVERSITY EXTENSION. A system of higher education designed to meet the needs of men and women who are unable to attend higher institutions of learning. University extension work was begun by the University of Cambridge, England, in 1872-73, when, largely owing to the zeal of Professor James Stuart, it offered to supply the towns of England with capable in structors in the various departments of knowl edge, under the supervision of the university. The administration of this work was vested in a syndicate instituted in 1873. In 1876 uni versity men in London founded the London So ciety for the Extension of University Teaching, which was, in 1902, made a department of the University of London. In 1885 the University of Oxford instituted its 'Delegacy for the Ex tension of Teaching Beyond the Limits of the University.' This action was the result of the success attained by several of the Oxford colleges in the establishment of 'Extension Colleges' at Reading and other English towns. At the pres ent time every university in England is engaged in extension work.
University extension teaching has been in troduced, sometimes in a modified form, and suc cessfully carried on in the United States, Ger many, France, Belgium, Austria, Denmark, Scandinavia, Russia, Australia, and Canada. In a few instances, notably in the State of New York and in Vienna, the enterprise has received Government aid. But in general it has been supported by the fees of the students, assisted by college grants or private subscriptions.
The subject of university extension was first publicly presented in the United States at a meeting of the American Library Association dur ing their session in the Thousand Islands in Sep tember, 1887. The English system, as adapted to American local needs, was promptly taken up by librarians in Buffalo, Chicago, and Saint Louis. in these and many other cities the idea was gradually developed and extended by the co operation of university graduates with libraries, churches, and other local institutions. In Jan uary, 1888, Melvil Dewey, then chief librarian of Columbia University, laid the plan before the regents of the University of the State of New York, and at the University convocation in Al bany, July, 1888, advocated university exten sion in connection with public libraries. In Feb
ruary, 1890, a committee of New York colleges and universities urged the regents to establish, under State supervision, a system of extension teaching. On May I, 1891, a bill was signed by the Governor of New York appropriating $10,000 for the State organization of university extension. No part of the grant could be used for the pay ment of lecturers, but only for purposes of or ganization, supervision, and printing. This grant of $10,000 is the first case on record of a State appropriation for university extension.
In 1890 a few public-spirited citizens of Phila delphia founded the American Society for the Extension of University Teaching. In 1891 fol lowed the Albany movement mentioned above; and upon its opening in 1892, the University of Chicago established an extension division as one of the main departments of its work. Mainly from these three centres university extension in the United States has been carried on, though other educational institutions in various parts of the country have done similar work. Some of the more notable of these are: Johns Hopkins, Brown, Stetson (Fla.), and Northwestern univer sities; the universities of Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, and Cali fornia; Colby College (Me.) ; Rutgers College (N. .1.) ; Lowell Institute, Boston; Brooklyn In stitute; People's Institute (N. Y.) , etc. Teachers College, Columbia University, has also conducted extension classes, and in 1903 Columbia Univer sity instituted an extension department, the administration of which is vested in Teachers College. Mention should be made of the system of 'free lectures to the people' of the New York Board of Education, embodying most. of the fea tures of university extension work.
As a system of instruction, university exten sion involves the following elements: