This result may seem highly technical, but was not unforeseen. The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs in its report of May 16, 1952, to accompany the bill which became the Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1952 (H. Rept. 1943, 82d Cong.), stated: "*** a veteran might say that he was going to an institution of higher learning to complete his work toward a bachelor of arts degree, and that at the end of that period he would continue his education toward a master of arts degree specifying in advance that this would constitute his selected program. Such action would not be considered to be a change of program. However, if the veteran indicated at the time of his application that he wished to obtain a bachelor's degree and later, after obtaining such degree, indicated he wished to continue toward a master's degree, this would be considered a change in program." The difficulty has always been the highly practical one of devising an objective test which does equity, does not open the doors to "course-hopping," and is feasible to administer. S. 906 avoids the seemingly inequitable situation in which the veterans' right to continue with advanced education or training depended on the initial specification of the higher goal, and we do not believe that it would introduce any insuperable administrative problems. Accordingly, I recommend its favorable consideration by your committee. There is no basis upon which to estimate the probable increase in the cost of direct benefits which might be attributable to enactment of S. 906, but obviously it would be relatively small. Advice has been received from the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the submission of this report to the committee and that the Bureau would favor enactment of the bill for the reasons stated herein. Sincerely yours, SUMNER G. WHITTIER, Administrator. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, Hon. LISTER HILL, BUREAU OF THE BUDGET, Washington, D.C., March 23, 1959. Chairman, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This will acknowledge your letter of February 5, 1959, requesting the Bureau of the Budget to comment on S. 906 a bill to amend section 1622 of title 38 of the United States Code in order to clarify the meaning of the term "change of program of education or training" as used in such section. The purpose of the bill is to provide that, in determining whether a veterantrainee may make a change in his program of education or training, "a change from the pursuit of one program to pursuit of another where the first program is prerequisite to, or generally required for, entrance into pursuit of the second" will be considered a continuation of his original program rather than a change to a new program. The Bureau of the Budget concurs in the views of the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs as set forth in his report on S. 906 and recommends that your committee give favorable consideration to this bill. Sincerely yours, PHILLIP S. HUGHES, Assistant Director for Legislative Reference. Senator YARBOROUGH. The first witness before the committee this morning is Dr. Robert G. Bernreuter, dean of admissions of Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Bernreuter, we have a message for you from Senator Clark of Pennsylvania, who sends his regrets for not being able to be here this morning. He wished very much to be here to introduce you to the subcommittee, but he is testifying at this moment in a committee before the House of Representatives. Dr. Bernreuter, will you proceed, please. STATEMENT OF DR. ROBERT G. BERNREUTER, DEAN OF ADMISSIONS AND SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS, THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. Dr. BERNREUTER. Mr. Chairman, my name is Robert G. Bernreuter. I am the dean of admissions and special assistant for student affairs at the Pennsylvania State University. Senator Clark sent an inquiry to the president of our university, Eric A. Walker, as to whether the colleges and universities could take care of veterans in the event that S. 1138 is enacted. The inquiry was made because it has been stated that the number of applications for admission to our American universities will be greatly increased during the next 10 or 15 years and that this expected increase is a reason against the extension of veterans' benefits. It is strange that the question has been raised in light of the tremendous expansion that the universities underwent to accommodate the veterans after World War II. Not only did the universities demonstrate their willingness and ability to expand, but the general public demonstrated its willingness to support this expansion because of its faith in the importance of higher education. It is quite apparent that there will be a marked increase in the number of young men and young women of college age between now and 1973, which is the year the educational benefits would end under the provisions of S. 1138. Studies made at the Pennsylvania State University indicate that our present enrollment of 19,869 will, by conservative estimate, need to be increased to over 35,000 students by 1970. Between now and the time of the termination of the benefits under the bill, The Pennsylvania State University will need to educate twice its present number of students. Universities all over the country are planning to meet the increased demands upon them through expansion of their facilities and through increased efficiency. They are reevaluating their procedures and are attempting to increase their efficiency in all aspects of their operations. For example, experimentation is now being carried out by using new types of teaching methods, by using classes of varying sizes, by increasing the amount of independent study that is required of the students, and by increasing the use of television. One of the most important ways of increasing the efficiency of a university is to enroll students at a time when they are prepared to make the fullest use of the facilities. It is in this phase of university operations that the work of the dean of admissions becomes important. It is his task to enroll those students who will benefit most from the opportunity given them and who will, in turn, contribute most through their education to the country's well-being. As the admissions officer for the Pennsylvania State University, it is my responsibility to enroll a total of 6,700 new undergraduate students for the fall semester of 1959. In doing so I will give preference to those students who have served on active duty in the Armed Forces. This policy of giving preference to a veteran is not based, to any significant degree, upon sentimentality. Even though I am myself a veteran of the Second World War and have personal sympathy with the problems confronting the young veteran, I do not give preference to veterans for sentimental reasons. Nor am I giving preference to them because of the nostalgic memories of those professors who remember with pleasure the days immediately following World War II when a large proportion of all their students were veterans who enlivened their classes with their alert minds and their pointed questions. They enjoyed teaching such classes. The policy of giving preference to veterans is based upon the results of research studies contrasting the accomplishments of veterans with nonveterans. A study which we have just completed shows that veterans make better scholastic records than do nonveterans. Last semester at the Pennsylvania State University, the average grade earned by the male nonveteran student was a C. The average grade made by a male veteran student was a C plus. The proportion of nonveterans who were dismissed for poor scholarship was twice as large as the proportion of veterans. Another indication of the extent to which the veterans make better use of their opportunities is shown in the percentage of students who quit before graduating. Among those who were admitted last year as freshmen, more than one-third of the nonveterans quit. Among the veterans, less than one-fourth did not return. Proportionately, approximately 121⁄2 times as many nonveterans quit as was true of the veterans. Still another reason for preferring veterans has been found through a study of the disciplinary actions the university has had to take involving undergraduate students. In view of the great deal of talk we hear about juvenile delinquency, it may surprise members of the committee to learn that on the main campus of the university, out of 8,654 nonveteran males, only 1 out of 84 was involved in a disciplinary action during the past year. We are proud of this record made by the nonveterans, especially in light of the fact that our rules are strict and a goodly proportion of the students involved in these disciplinary actions had not done anything serious enough to require action by the courts. We are more proud, however, of the record of our veterans. Out of 1,587 veterans, only 4 were involved in disciplinary actions. This is approximately 1 out of each 400 veterans. This is a clear demonstration of the reason why the dean of men at our university, who is responsible for the discipline of men students, prefers to have us enroll veterans. The dean of men has also provided evidence which shows that veterans more frequently possess the desirable attributes which we seek to develop in our students. Each year the male students who reside in our residence halls are evaluated with regard to their personal adjustments, their maturity, the leadership qualities that they show, the seriousness of their attitudes toward their studies, and their ability to get along with other students. The veterans consistently receive higher ratings in these desirable attributes than do the students who have not had military experience. Each year the dean of men chooses a group of male students to act as residence hall counselors. In choosing such counselors from among those students who apply in large numbers each year, he chooses those who show the greatest degree of maturity and seriousness of purpose, and the ability to assume responsibility. He has not consciously given preference to men with military experience. Nevertheless, when he made a tally at my request, he found that of the 36 students now employed as counselors, 32 of them are veterans. Only four nonveterans were able to meet the standards set by his office for the position of residence hall counselor. It is now clear that veterans have shown themselves to be better students than nonveterans through their more serious application to their studies, through their earning of higher grades, through their smaller dropout rates, through their better discipline, through their better citizenship, and through their increased ability to assume responsibility. I feel confident that the general public will again support the universities in their efforts to provide educational opportunities for all well-qualified young men and women, including veterans. Anything that Congress can do to encourage the young men to fulfill their military obligations before they go to college and anything that Congress can do to make it possible for veterans to go on with their educations will help the universities fulfill their missions. For these reasons I am convinced that the passage of Senate bill 1138 is in the best interests of our country. The Pennsylvania State University appreciates this opportunity to present these views to the Subcommittee on Veterans' Affairs. Senator YARBOROUGH. Dr. Bernreuter, this is a very, very fine statement. I have heard many statements by educators who gave essentially the same conclusions that you have expressed here not all of them, but some of them. I believe, though, this is the first time I have heard those conclusions presented with so much supporting data on the superior performance of veteran students, actually broken down by grades in the university to show the percentage of the fallout of students, and comparative average grades between male veterans and male nonveterans. I am very much interested in another statement you made in the last paragraph of the first page of your prepared statement. There you state that Pennsylvania State University has a present enrollment of 19,869 and that, by conuservative estimate, such enrollment will need to be increased to over 35,000 students by 1970 to take care of the increased demand for higher education and the large number of young people coming to college due to the age brackets at that time. I take it by this statement that Pennsylvania State is preparing to take care of that 35,000. Dr. BERNREUTER. Yes, sir; we are. Senator YARBOROUGH. I want to congratulate you and the great university you represent for that forward-looking action. I have heard the administrative officers of some universities with smaller enrollments than yours say that when a school reaches this enrollment-15,000 to 20,000-that that is the maximum enrollment any university can properly teach; they also say that there just would not be any place for more young people in the university and that new ones will have to be set up. I see Pennsylvania State is not awed by the increasing population of this country, and I want to express my commendation on the fact that you do not throw up your hands and say to the next generation "It is just going to be impossible to educate you." You are making plans to educate the coming generation, and I congratulate you. We may have some other questions, but I believe it would be well, since we have a panel this morning, to go ahead with the statements of all of the witnesses, and then perhaps take these questions up with the entire panel. It is a little different from our procedure; but, since all of the witnesses are educators, and accustomed to symposiums, I think this might well be a more efficient method of doing it. Dr. Clarence B. Hilberry, the president of Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich. Dr. Hilberry, Senator McNamara, the coauthor of the bill, expresses his regret at the fact that the debate now going on on the floor has required his presence there as it has that of a number of other Senators who wanted to be present this morning. You may proceed. STATEMENT OF DR. CLARENCE B. HILBERRY, CHAIRMAN, MICHIGAN COUNCIL OF STATE COLLEGE PRESIDENTS Dr. HILBERRY. Senator Yarborough, Senator McNamara got this word to me. I understand entirely that this is no lack of interest on his part in the problems which we have before us here this morning. I am here representing not Wayne State University primarily but the Michigan Council of State College Presidents, of which I am chairman this year. This council is made up of the presidents of the nine State-supported institutions of higher education in Michigan. The statements I make do not represent official action on the part of the nine presidents, but I shared these ideas with them and they represent their opinions. Senator Yarborough, the statement is very general, almost of necessity, since I am speaking for nine institutions and nine people. Also, I thought that perhaps I could be more helpful in answering questions than in making a longer, more formal statement. I have been asked to speak on the following bills: S. 270, S. 930, and S. 1138, which provide educational benefits for veterans who have served in the Armed Forces after January 31, 1955. Such educational benefits to ex-servicemen obviously cannot provide an adequate means of meeting our total national needs for financial assistance to students, enabling them to enjoy equal educational opportunity. I am especially concerned, as I am sure my colleagues here this morning are, with one group of these students, our ablest young people. I am sure you are aware that only one-half of our best mindsthat is, of the top 25 percent in mental ability graduating from high school-go on to college. Incidentally, there is a new study in the State of Wisconsin, a statewide inquiry. It is called an inquiry into decisions of youth about education beyond high school. It is done by J. Kenneth Little, of the School of Education of the University of Wisconsin, which provides current data on this group of students supporting the earlier studies in every respect. Recent studies of these talented students who do not attend college reveal that between one-third and one-half of them indicate that a lack of money is the principal deterrent to their attending college. The educational benefits made available by the bills before you can, therefore, make it possible for many young men in this category to |