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IV. ACADEMIC BOARD.

34. The academic board shall be composed as follows: The superintendent.

The commandant of midshipmen.

The head of the department of seamanship.

The head of the department of ordnance and gunnery.

The head of the department of navigation.

The head of the department of marine engineering and naval construction.

The head of the department of mathematics and mechanics.
The head of the department of physics and chemistry.
The head of the department of electrical engineering.
The head of the department of English.

The head of the department of modern languages.

The head of the department of naval hygiene and physiology. 35. The superintendent, or, in his absence, the commandant of midshipmen, shall preside at the meetings. In the absence of both, the senior officer present shall preside.

36. The rules of parliamentary proceedings shall govern at meetings of the board; and in voting the superintendent shall have three votes, the other members one each. No officer shall be entitled to more than one vote by virtue of presiding at a meeting in the absence of the superintendent.

37. Meetings shall be held on the last Monday of each academic month, unless otherwise directed by the superintendent, and at such other times as he may appoint; and a majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. In the absence of the officer regularly detailed as head of a department, the senior officer present on the station attached to such department shall, at the discretion of the superintendent, attend board meetings as its representative.

38. The adjournment of the board shall be directed by the presiding officer.

39. It shall be the duty of the academic board to prescribe, subject to the approval of the Navy Department, the subjects and arrangement of the course of instruction and the textbooks to be used; to regulate the recurrence of examinations; to determine the relative weight of marks for recitations and examinations in each department; to fix the relative weight of the marks in different branches of study; to submit regulations,

prepared in accordance with law, governing the examination for admission; to make annual reports of the relative standing of midshipmen, and of the marks and conduct of midshipmen found deficient, with recommendations as to the disposal of the latter; and "midshipmen found deficient shall not be continued at the academy or in the service, unless upon the recommendation of the academic board." (Rev. Stats., secs. 1519-1525.)

40. The deliberations of the board shall be confidential, and Do decision shall be disclosed by any person connected with the board before the same shall be announced by proper authority.

41. The academic board shall have authority, subject to the approval of the Navy Department, to make from time to time such changes in the course and in the methods of instruction as shall appear necessary or desirable.

42. All matters connected with the methods of instruction, manner of assigning marks, action in regard to deficiencies, etc., in branches under the department of discipline, shall be controlled by the superintendent, and shall be exempt from the jurisdiction exercised by the academic board over the course of instruction in general. The names of midshipmen deficient in such branches only shall not be entered on the semiannual and annual deficiency sheets. The procedure in such cases, when the superintendent believes the continued presence of the midshipman concerned to be contrary to the best interests of the service, shall be in conformity with the instructions embodied in article 4 of these regulations, and sanctioned by the act of Congress approved April 9, 1906; the superintendent's recommendation in the premises being habitually based on the ground of inaptitude. The record of a midshipman in conduct and other branches under the department of discipline shall, however, be considered by the academic board in connection with an existing deficiency under any other department.

43. Committees, composed of members of the academic board, with such additional officers as may be required, shall be designated by the superintendent to conduct the examinations of candidates for admission; to prepare the tabular assignment of section rooms at the beginning of each term; to prepare the program for monthly, semiannual, annual, and final examinations; to prepare the program of recitations, table of coefficients, and assignment of time at the beginning of each academic

year; to prepare the program of practical instruction for the academic year, summer course, and practice cruise; to prepare the annual merit rolls and reports of relative standing, and the final graduating merit roll; and for such other purposes as may be deemed expedient. The reports of all such committees shall be subject to revision or approval by the academic board.

44. The Academic Calendar and Annual Register shall be prepared by the secretary of the academic board, for which purpose he shall be furnished all necessary data by the various committees mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The Annual Register shall bear the date of the beginning of the academic year and shall be published as soon thereafter as practicable.

45. The semiannual and annual deficiency sheets shall be prepared by the secretary of the academic board. The deficiency sheet of the final graduating class shall be prepared under the immediate supervision of the senior member of the committee on final graduation. They shall contain the name of each midshipman whose average in any branch for the first or second term, respectively, falls below 2.50; his final average for that term in all branches, and the number of demerits from the end of the preceding academic year, with a report of all serious offenses; the number of days absent from duty during the term by reason of sickness; and his academic record from the date of first admission to the Naval Academy. The reports, with the recommendation of the academic board as to the disposal of each case, shall be forwarded by the superintendent to the Bureau of Navigation.

46. Midshipmen shall be required to be satisfactory in each branch of study for each academic term, and no deficiency in any branch for one term shall be compensated by the work of the other term. A midshipman found deficient at either the seminnual or annual examination shall be subject to reexamination in the deficient study for the work of the term in which deficient, to be turned back into the next lower class, or to be dropped; but no midshipman shall be subject to be turned back when such action would defer his graduation beyond the date upon which he will become 24 years of age.

47. Both at the semiannual and annual examination the privilege of a reexamination in a deficient branch shall be restricted to the case of midshipmen who are only slightly

deficient, whose academic records warrant the belief that they will be successful in their subsequent academic careers, and whose conduct records merit such indulgence. Reexaminations on the work of the first term shall be held in May; those on the work of the second term in September; the exact date in both cases to be prescribed by the academic board. Midshipmen found deficient on reexamination will be recommended to be turned back into the next lower class or to be dropped, but no midshipman shall be subject to be turned back when such action would defer his graduation beyond the date upon which he will become 24 years of age; those found satisfactory on reexamination will be recommended to be continued with their respective classes with the standing established by their respective aggregate multiples for the academic year, exclusive of the mark obtained on such reexamination.

48. Midshipmen deficient at the annual examination of the last year of their academic course shall be recommended to be turned back into the next lower class or to be dropped, unless the circumstances attending their cases are of so unusual a character as to warrant special consideration.

49. The privilege of reexamination in the event of deficiency at the final graduating examination shall be extended only in the case of midshipmen not seriously deficient and whose reports on fitness" signify their aptitude for the service.

V. HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS.

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50. Heads of departments shall have general charge and supervision of the instruction of midshipmen in their respective departments.

51. The head of each department shall distribute the work of his department among the instructors assigned to duty as his assistants, and shall give such personal instruction in recitations or lectures as he may think proper. He shall arrange the classes under instruction in his department in sections, for purposes of recitation, and shall send the section arrangement to the commandant of midshipmen for publication as often as a change is made. He shall visit frequently the section rooms of his assistants, and make such regulations as to the method of instruction and routine of recitations as may be necessary.

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52. He shall keep a record of the books, instruments, apparatus, and other articles supplied to his department, and shall be responsible for all such articles. He shall keep a file of the examination papers used at each monthly, semiannual, annual, entrance, and final graduating examination in his department, and a copy of specimen questions used at each oral examination.

53. He shall make duplicate weekly reports to the superintendent, by 11.30 a. m. on Saturday, containing the names and averages of midshipmen, in each branch of his department. whose average for the week falls below 2.5. One copy of each report shall be sent to the superintendent, the other to the commandant of midshipmen for publication.

54. At the end of each academic month he shall send to the superintendent class reports in each branch of study in his department, containing the names of midshipmen alphabetically arranged, with the class numbers, weekly and monthly averages, examination marks, and final averages.

55. Before the first day of the last month of each term he shall send a report to the superintendent of the examinations to be held at the end of the term in his department, the time required for each examination, the character of the examination (whether written or oral), and the formula for combining examination marks with term averages.

56. As soon as practicable after the end of the second month of each term, and not later than the end of the first week of the third month, he shall send to the superintendent a list of the midshipmen who are in danger of being found deficient at the semiannual or annual examination in any branch under his department, with their marks in that branch for the completed portion of the term. Midshipmen having an average mark of less than 2.50 in any branch for the first two months of the term shall be regarded as in danger of being found deficient in that branch at the semiannual or annual examination at the end of the term.

57. As soon as possible after the semiannual examination he shall send to the superintendent class reports in each branch of study in his department, containing the names of midshipmen alphabetically arranged, with the class numbers for the term, and the monthly, term, examination, and final averages, and the final multiples for the term.

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